Keggin
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How long do you let it sit for before serving?
Is it chilled while carbonating?
Do you "set and forget" or shake it?
Most beers, imo, need at least 7 days at serving temp on gas. I find the "sweet spot" is more like 10 days
Also- and i dont have the math here- but maybe your run is too long? Can you try 1/4" at 5 to 6 feet? I think that is standard for 1/4". You may have the right length tho for 3/16".
i carb at 8psi, and push through 12' of 1/4"...3/16" has more resistance....
to the OP, how does it progress as the keg is poured...does it get better after a while? whats the temp of your bottles vs kegs?
VikeMan
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If you get significant foam, but the beer isn't fizzy, one of these is my guess...
- The beer isn't fully carbonated, either because it hasn't carb'd long enough or because it has reach equilibrium at too low a pressure.
- The beer is flowing too fast (too short a beer line), making lots of foam, but stripping CO2 out of solution in the process.
- The beer isn't fully carbonated, either because it hasn't carb'd long enough or because it has reach equilibrium at too low a pressure.
- The beer is flowing too fast (too short a beer line), making lots of foam, but stripping CO2 out of solution in the process.
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VikeMan
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OP says he has "significant head," so it would seem that by "flat" he means a lack of fizz. I can't picture how a long beer line could contribute to that problem. If anything, it should preserve CO2 in solution.
Yeah- I never was good at the math for line length, size, pressure, etc. There are a few calculators out there for that, right?
My thinking was maybe if it is TOO much pressure coming out of the faucet he loses some by the time the head goes down- as in, maybe "significant" head could be too much head?
I think we need some more info to answer his original questions though.
Gauges don't all read the same, so your 12psi might be someone else's 11psi, etc.
That said, assuming you have had the keg carbing long enough to reach equilibrium at your current pressure level:
-15ft of 3/16" line should be "enough" but from what I can tell, more is never a bad thing. I have a 20ft run in mine.
-First thing I'd try is to vent the keg pressure lower, down to say 5-8 psi. Pour off the first 2-3 oz to make sure you are starting with cold beer in the tower as a control (if applicable). Do a pour. May take like 10 seconds. If it is faster than that, vent the keg pressure further. (Doing this, plus using a cold glass, I can get practically head-free pours with all the C02 staying in solution if I want)
-IF that fixes it: I'd go to a longer bev line and see if that will let you leave the keg at 12psi all the time.
-If it doesn't fix it, and you have little head but still flat: I'd turn your registered pressure up to 15psi, let it sit a few days, and try again.
That said, assuming you have had the keg carbing long enough to reach equilibrium at your current pressure level:
-15ft of 3/16" line should be "enough" but from what I can tell, more is never a bad thing. I have a 20ft run in mine.
-First thing I'd try is to vent the keg pressure lower, down to say 5-8 psi. Pour off the first 2-3 oz to make sure you are starting with cold beer in the tower as a control (if applicable). Do a pour. May take like 10 seconds. If it is faster than that, vent the keg pressure further. (Doing this, plus using a cold glass, I can get practically head-free pours with all the C02 staying in solution if I want)
-IF that fixes it: I'd go to a longer bev line and see if that will let you leave the keg at 12psi all the time.
-If it doesn't fix it, and you have little head but still flat: I'd turn your registered pressure up to 15psi, let it sit a few days, and try again.
Too much line can be as detrimental as not enough. I found at 12psi and 40F about 8’ is right. The goal is to have just a little residual pressure at the end of the line as dropping pressure too low can cause co2 to come out of solution prematurely. Keep your temperatures cold help as well, try measuring the beer temp after pouring and see how close to 40F you are.
admittedly I also use flow control faucets to speed up or slow down the flow, but find I don’t usually have to adjust them much after having them dialed in. Kegging is an art and a science.
admittedly I also use flow control faucets to speed up or slow down the flow, but find I don’t usually have to adjust them much after having them dialed in. Kegging is an art and a science.
Thanks. I don’t shake. I set pressure and leave for at least a week to 10 days. 12 is the highest psi I can and have a reasonable head. At 13 I get a cup of foam. Beer just never has the effervescent bite of commercial brews. All of my beer line is coiled on top of the keg. Temp is ~37f.
It's not fully carbed because at chart/equilibrium pressure it takes somewhere between 2 and 3 weeks to get all the way there. At 2 weeks it's something like 90% there. At a week to 10 days, maybe it's 70%. However, I have a feeling your gauge is off and your real pressure is a few PSI higher. There is no way 15ft of 3/16 ID line would give you too much foam if you're really at 12psi.
Another possibility, although it's a long shot, is that you have a CO2 leak into the liquid out line. This can happen two different ways. One is a pinhole leak in the upper end of the diptube. The other is if your keg has universal poppits. The spring can screw under the diptube oring and make a tiny CO2 leak. Either of these have the symptom of obvious CO2 bubbles coming right out of the keg while dispensing.
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Tripod - The Real Tripod
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I've been kegging for about 15 batches now and I've had great success using the following force-carbonation method the past several batches. Once fermentation is complete:
Day 1 - Cold crash beer before racking to keg - I put my fermentation vessel in the kegerator overnight @ about 34*
Day 2 - Rack beer to keg. Set regulator at 40-45# (mine max's out somewhere between 40-45). Put a 'beverage' disconnect on your gas line and connect it to beverage/out-side of keg. Don't forget to purge any oxygen. Return keg to kegerator at 34* overnight.
Day 3 - After about 18-24 hours on the gas, disconnect the gas line from the keg and turn off co2. Purge the keg (you don't want to try to serve at 40+ psi) and sample the fruits of your labor. I've found that I get perfect carbonation in about 18-24 hours. (...and don't forget to put the gas disconnect back on your gas line)
Day 1 - Cold crash beer before racking to keg - I put my fermentation vessel in the kegerator overnight @ about 34*
Day 2 - Rack beer to keg. Set regulator at 40-45# (mine max's out somewhere between 40-45). Put a 'beverage' disconnect on your gas line and connect it to beverage/out-side of keg. Don't forget to purge any oxygen. Return keg to kegerator at 34* overnight.
Day 3 - After about 18-24 hours on the gas, disconnect the gas line from the keg and turn off co2. Purge the keg (you don't want to try to serve at 40+ psi) and sample the fruits of your labor. I've found that I get perfect carbonation in about 18-24 hours. (...and don't forget to put the gas disconnect back on your gas line)
