Interesting foaming problem - like gas bubbles in beer

[Patirck]

First, let me say that I have been brewing and kegging for several years now. And I don't think this is a typical problem with line length, temperature, over carbing etc...

I recently kegged a batch of pilsner and to say it pours all foam is sort of a misnomer - it pours bubbly white stuff (like giant soap bubbles and it pushing out as much gas as liquid. The beer coming from the tap is a dribble of foam - not a stream of beer that foams when it hits the glass. I thought maybe I had a plumbing problem but I tried it on three taps that are working fine with other kegs.

When I use a bowie bottler with a lengh of tube to fill a growler, I can hear bubbles being blown into the bottom of the growler - like when a keg is out of beer. I opened it up and I have at least 2/3 of a keg left.

I have a kegerator with 6 taps and have tried it on multiple taps. Other beers pour just fine from the setup. I carbed this batch along with another Vienna lager using the set and forget method. The Vienna lager was carbed and poured so well that it didn't last long. I have tried burping the keg, removed the dip tub and post and cleaned them with boiling water.

I am thinking that I did not rinse the keg well enough when I cleaned it last and it is left over oxyclean, but I don't get any bad or even soapy taste (not sure what oxyclean would taste like... Could it be that I left too much sanitizer in the keg and it mixed with the beer when I kegged it? The bubbles do like like sanitizer bubbles only bigger.

The beer iteslf tastes like beer - it is certainly not the best pilsner I have made but it is ok and drinkable once the foam goes down.

I have thought of transferring it to a different keg to see if it makes any difference.

 

[pelipen]

That sounds a lot like a pinhole leak in a diptube, like if you've ever taken a sip through a broken straw. Could be some kind of bothersome nucleation site in a popette too. Is the beer foamy coming through the line as you pour?

 

[mattd2]

I have seen some have this issue due to a worn dip tube o-ring - depressurise the keg, remove the liquid post & dip tube, check all the fittings and o-rings for damage (replace any that are) and reassemble.

 

[Patirck]

I just tried changing out the dip tube, liquid post from the keg that just kicked and I got pretty much the same result. I am thinking that this is built into the liquid somehow.

 

[mattd2]

I just tried changing out the dip tube, liquid post from the keg that just kicked and I got pretty much the same result. I am thinking that this is built into the liquid somehow.

As pelipen ask, just to confirm - it is like mostly gas is coming out with a little bit of beer?
I really does sound like a o-ring issue since you changed the diptube with no luck. Did you change the o-ring as well or reuse the o-ring from the "bad" keg? Or it could be the surface on the keg threaded post that the o-ring seals against?

 

[day_trippr]

Agreed, this sounds like the classic out dip tube o-ring failure/missing syndrome. Especially if the tap line was tried on another keg without similar issues...

Cheers!

 

[Patirck]

I changed the o-ring and dip tube at the same time. I think later today when I get a chance I'll change out the o-ring to a new one and see if that makes a difference. I'll also check the post where the o-ring seats against.

One other consideration is that this is a "new" keg - on of the italian made ones instead of an old pepsi keg. I have owned it for 2 or 3 years and have used it many times. I just am unsure if there is something specific to these new kegs versus the old ones.