keg carbonation help

[JLivermore]

My beer comes out all foam and tastes flat.

I had it 15 psi for a week.

I burped (the keg, not me) and lowered it and it was foamy and tasted flat.

I put it to 25 psi for a day.

Burped, lowered -- still comes out all foam and tastes flat.

I'm guessing it's still not carbed enough. But wouldn't too much foam mean it's plenty carbed?

 

[Yooper]

My beer comes out all foam and tastes flat.

I had it 15 psi for a week.

I burped (the keg, not me) and lowered it and it was foamy and tasted flat.

I put it to 25 psi for a day.

Burped, lowered -- still comes out all foam and tastes flat.

I'm guessing it's still not carbed enough. But wouldn't too much foam mean it's plenty carbed?

Yes, it's probably overcarbed. The reason it seems flat is that it's coming out too fast, and foamy, so the co2 in the beer is all in the foam.

A couple of things to help us troubleshoot- first, what is the temperature of the beer/kegerator?

And secondly, and this is just a guess, but I'm willing to bet money that your beer lines are under 5' long. Is that so?

 

[JLivermore]

Thanks for the quick response.

Keg is in a fridge at 50 degrees.

The beer line is the "out" from the keg to the spout? The plastic part is about 4 inches.

I'm surprised it's overdone; I thought after a week at 15 psi it would not be carbed enough...

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the quick response.

Keg is in a fridge at 50 degrees.

The beer line is the "out" from the keg to the spout? The plastic part is about 4 inches.

I'm surprised it's overdone; I thought after a week at 15 psi it would not be carbed enough...

At 50 degrees, your psi on your regulator should be set at about 16-17 psi (see this chart: http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php)

Warmer beer will foam quite more readily than colder beer, and that could be part of the problem. But I think you need to increase your beer line length, from your description.

Do you have a photo?

 

[JLivermore]

Attached photo.

I thought I lowered psi when serving. It's around 6 now. Also since it's overcarbed, do I really want to crack the pressure back up now?

 

[Yooper]

Attached photo.

I thought I lowered psi when serving. It's around 6 now. Also since it's overcarbed, do I really want to crack the pressure back up now?

You need to take off that beerline, and replace it with 3/16" beverage tubing that is 10' long, or even a bit longer. 12' would not be too long, at 50 degrees.

 

[SathingtonWilloby]

You're probably not really overcarbed based on the temp and pressure you had on the keg. Your problem is that your beer line needs to be much longer. Start with 8-10 ft of 3/16 beer line. If it pours too slow, cut the length back half a foot or so until you find the right balance of speed/foam.

 

[JLivermore]

thanks. i'll pick one up in a couple hours and let you know how it goes.

 

[JDFlow]

This is interesting because I just bought kegging equipment and I've been researching for when it arrives. My beer line is 5' which is what I've read should be perfect. Do I need a longer line for stouts ill be serving at higher temps? Also, I thought you were supposed to have the psi at 20 for 2-3 days then lower to serving temps to check the carbonation? Is it tempurature based or is there a general rule that works?

 

[Yooper]

This is interesting because I just bought kegging equipment and I've been researching for when it arrives. My beer line is 5' which is what I've read should be perfect. Do I need a longer line for stouts ill be serving at higher temps? Also, I thought you were supposed to have the psi at 20 for 2-3 days then lower to serving temps to check the carbonation? Is it tempurature based or is there a general rule that works?

You can "burst carb" (carb up faster) if you start with a higher pressure. But sometimes that causes overcarbing and foaming and other issues if you're not very experienced with doing it.

If you set it at whatever pressure the chart above says you should, it'll be perfectly carbed up in about 10-14 days, but you could drink it a little earlier. The problem with turning it up and down is that you can't tell if it's undercarbed, overcarbed, etc, because of foaming and other problems that occur.

My kegerator is at 40 degrees, so my regulator is set at 12 psi. I have 10' lines on all of my taps. I started with 5', I think, then went to 8' and finally 10'. It's a little short for highly carbed beers, as I get a little foaming, but for 90% of my beers, it's perfect.

 

[JLivermore]

I should have mentioned I am borderline retarded, mechanically inept, and paranoid about gas.

I biked 2 miles to the store and proceeded to purchase ten FEET of tubing.

Came home, managed to cut it, then decided to be on the safe side I'd get all the gas out of the keg and cut the gas and everything before taking the spigot off.

I did. Somewhere in that process I decided to relax, not worry, and have a homebrew, and the **** poured out wonderfully!

(or at least totally acceptably in my book)

I took the beer hose off, realized I have no idea how to get the wire wraps off the tubing that is on there, or even what tool one would use to accomplish such a feat.

I put it back on as is, put psi to 5, poured a beer -- GOOD TO GO!

I may one day worry about adding the 10 inch hose but this is my first brew, and I can drink it, so I'm pretty excited for now and it's unlikely I'll get around to further worry at least til after this keg is gone...

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

I should have mentioned I am borderline retarded, mechanically inept, and paranoid about gas.

I biked 2 miles to the store and proceeded to purchase ten FEET of tubing.

Came home, managed to cut it, then decided to be on the safe side I'd get all the gas out of the keg and cut the gas and everything before taking the spigot off.

I did. Somewhere in that process I decided to relax, not worry, and have a homebrew, and the **** poured out wonderfully!

(or at least totally acceptably in my book)

I took the beer hose off, realized I have no idea how to get the wire wraps off the tubing that is on there, or even what tool one would use to accomplish such a feat.

I put it back on as is, put psi to 5, poured a beer -- GOOD TO GO!

I may one day worry about adding the 10 inch hose but this is my first brew, and I can drink it, so I'm pretty excited for now and it's unlikely I'll get around to further worry at least til after this keg is gone...

They meant 10 foot hose, not 10 inch.

10' = 10 Feet
10" = 10 Inches

As stated, @ 50F you probably need 10' lines @ like 12-15PSI?

 

[JLivermore]

right. as i said, i confuse easily.

well, i have 9 now. eventually i'll figure out how to get it on there.

 

[JDFlow]

You can "burst carb" (carb up faster) if you start with a higher pressure. But sometimes that causes overcarbing and foaming and other issues if you're not very experienced with doing it.

If you set it at whatever pressure the chart above says you should, it'll be perfectly carbed up in about 10-14 days, but you could drink it a little earlier. The problem with turning it up and down is that you can't tell if it's undercarbed, overcarbed, etc, because of foaming and other problems that occur.

My kegerator is at 40 degrees, so my regulator is set at 12 psi. I have 10' lines on all of my taps. I started with 5', I think, then went to 8' and finally 10'. It's a little short for highly carbed beers, as I get a little foaming, but for 90% of my beers, it's perfect.

Thanks. One more question: Will the beers flavor develop in a cold keg or should it be left at room temp for a few weeks? Trying to decide if I should keg when fermentation is done or let it age in secondary. Have you ever bottle conditioned a beer that you also kegged and tasted them side by side? Any difference?

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Thanks. One more question: Will the beers flavor develop in a cold keg or should it be left at room temp for a few weeks? Trying to decide if I should keg when fermentation is done or let it age in secondary. Have you ever bottle conditioned a beer that you also kegged and tasted them side by side? Any difference?

Almost all Ales will get better with age @ room temperature...things like Wheat beers not so much.

What you could do is use your keg as your secondary. Just be sure to seal it up good @ 30PSI then purge and lower it down to like 10PSI and age it like you normally would. Then carb it @ cold temps @ pressure like normal, and the first pint or two you pull off should be all the trub at the bottom of your carboy.

 

[Yooper]

Most of my beers are two weeks in the fermenter, then kegged and ready to go. I have a couple of ales that need a bit longer- like my oatmeal stout. It needs a week or two at room temperature after kegging.

A well made ale, with a "regular" OG and not a higher gravity beer and with non-complex flavors, doesn't need much aging.