Kegging Soda

[Kerensky18]

Sorry if this isn't the right forum for this

I've been reading a lot of the forums and support out there and am still stumped.

I'm trying to serve properly carbonated root beer and have not had success.

So far I switched out my 5' of 3/16" line to 25' of 3/16" line and got a secondary regulator to keep the keg at 30 PSI. My rootbeer either doesn't have enough pressure to make it through the tube (I.E slow or spurting from tube) or just shoots out as foam if I turn the CO2 up. When the foam settles back down to liquid it taste OK and has had some carbonation remaining.

Does any one have any suggestions at this point?

Thanks,
Kerensky18

 

[hunter_le five]

What temperature is the keg being kept at? Are the lines properly chilled, or are they warmer than the keg?

If you could describe your setup in detail, it would help.

 

[Kerensky18]

I use a standard refrigerator with shanks in the door. All the lines (except for a central co2 line) are inside the fridge and the door is kept shut. The fridge hovers around 40f

The root beer out line is coiled up next to the keg.

Everything is connected to 5 gallon pinlock kegs.

I'm using Perlick Brass faucets.

 

[JayDubWill]

Root beer is tough. My setup is similar to yours except I generally run at 35-40 psi. One issue for me is the faucet being warmer than the soda on the first poor causing excessive foaming. I've also noticed I get better pours if my coil is sitting horizontally versus vertically for whatever reason.

 

[bondra76]

someone suggested to me that I should keep the beer at 30 PSI all the time and then put in like 25 ft tubes. I've done that, and it's gotten better. But I've realized I get like 20 feet of cold-ish non foamy root beer and then a BUNCH of foamy very cold soda at the end.

Since that occurred, I've procured one of the Perlick 650SS taps, and it's now my full time "Soda Tap". I'm actually now thinking about cutting down my line back to about 10 feet. The 650SS is great for soda, but it is indeed expensive.

 

[BlackInk]

You can use this calculator and associated chart to figure it out even though it's for beer. You need to know you SG though and what your volumes CO2 you're supposed to be at.

http://www.mikesoltys.com/2012/09/17/determining-proper-hose-length-for-your-kegerator/

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Have you tried going colder than 40°F?

If this is all you have in your kegerator, I would try to get it to the low 30's which should be fine as long as you don't have any plain water in there and you are confident that you have pretty accurate temperature measurement.

Even at around 35°, you could drop your pressure to 25psi and keep the same carbonation level in the keg and it should hold carbonation a little better after it's poured.

If you have beer in the kegerator, too, that you prefer to keep around 40°F, then that makes things more difficult and you may just have to make a compromise on your root beer.

 

[brewandbeast]

I just kegged my first root beer just over a week ago. I set my CO2 to about 20psi and i'm keeping the the temp around 4°C It is definitely not super carbonated but the taste is still excellent. I think there is going to be some more soda experimentation in my future.

 

[JayDubWill]

I just kegged my first root beer just over a week ago. I set my CO2 to about 20psi and i'm keeping the the temp around 4°C It is definitely not super carbonated but the taste is still excellent. I think there is going to be some more soda experimentation in my future.

Give it another week, the carbonation will increase the longer it sits.

 

[BlackInk]

Give it another week, the carbonation will increase the longer it sits.

I don't know. 20psi seems low for soda. I keep mine at 37F and 30psi. I do the quick carb 45psi and shake like crazy, then back it down shake some more, and do this in 5psi increments down to 30. Then let it sit for a day and I'm good to go.

 

[Kerensky18]

Well I've got it to carb but even with an adjustable faucet from Perlic I'm still getting nothing but foam out.. About to give up on soda all together and stick to beer :S.. I've just serving at 10 psi up to 30 psi.

 

[BlackInk]

How long/ what size is the tubing your using?

 

[JayDubWill]

Well I've got it to carb but even with an adjustable faucet from Perlic I'm still getting nothing but foam out.. About to give up on soda all together and stick to beer :S.. I've just serving at 10 psi up to 30 psi.

I've never read a good review of those adjustable faucets. Try keeping it wide open with pressure set to 30psi for your 25' of line. The first pour will probably be foamy from the temperature difference between the faucet and the beer, but the second glass should be significantly better. If its rushing out too fast at 30psi drop it down to 20 and bleed the keg. Keep in mind that if you carbonate to 40psi for example, even if you set the serving pressure at 20 the CO2 will come out of suspension and raise the pressure inside the keg to above 20. Finding balance between temperature and carbonation is tricky especially when your talking CO2 volumes for soda.

 

[Yooper]

Well I've got it to carb but even with an adjustable faucet from Perlic I'm still getting nothing but foam out.. About to give up on soda all together and stick to beer :S.. I've just serving at 10 psi up to 30 psi.

Longer lines- like 30' of 3/16" beer line will fix it.

 

[ericbw]

You have to keep the pressure high to keep it carbonated. That means that you need to have long lines to reduce the speed that the soda exits the faucet. The longer the line is, the more it loses strength through the line. Ultimately, you want it to flow at about 1 pint per 6 seconds from the faucet (someone correct me if that's wrong).

I set mine at 30psi with 20 feet of line, and it is at about 40 degrees.

If you're drinking it regularly, the soda in the line will stay carbed and cold. You should get close to the same thing at the beginning of a pour as you do at the end. The faucet will cool down fast - maybe you pour a few ounces to throw away if you aren't drinking it every day. Then it's cold, etc.

Remember, too, that root beer should be more foamy than other sodas.

Also, pull the tap all the way open - if I hold mine part way open, it makes all foam. I sometimes do this to top off a beer with foam if there isn't enough head. But usually you want it to flow freely.

 

[bondra76]

I went with the 30PSI and 20 foot of line. Not too happy with it honestly.

A few things I have done -

1) Buy a Perlick flow control faucet. Without the Perlick, 30PSI and 20 feet kinda works. The Perlick flow control though has been the single biggest improvement I have made on my soda setup. Without this, I could not take steps #2 and #3

2) I have dialed my PSI back to 20PSI. I believe you have to do whatever is right for your system and it depends on height/temp/altitude and so many other variables.

3) I am going to trim my line back from 20 feet back down to 10 (and I'm considering every shorter to be honest). Without #1 this would NOT be possible and your soda would flow too quickly. The big negative for me on the 20 foot line is the 1/4-1/2 pint I throw away of flat soda that was stagnant in the lines. I want to reduce my losses and I only drink soda every few days.

 

[ericbw]

I went with the 30PSI and 20 foot of line. Not too happy with it honestly.

A few things I have done -

1) Buy a Perlick flow control faucet. Without the Perlick, 30PSI and 20 feet kinda works. The Perlick flow control though has been the single biggest improvement I have made on my soda setup. Without this, I could not take steps #2 and #3

2) I have dialed my PSI back to 20PSI. I believe you have to do whatever is right for your system and it depends on height/temp/altitude and so many other variables.

3) I am going to trim my line back from 20 feet back down to 10 (and I'm considering every shorter to be honest). Without #1 this would NOT be possible and your soda would flow too quickly. The big negative for me on the 20 foot line is the 1/4-1/2 pint I throw away of flat soda that was stagnant in the lines. I want to reduce my losses and I only drink soda every few days.

I don't quite understand how the flow control works. If you have 30psi coming out of the keg, a long line will reduce it so that you have a slow flow at the faucet. As with beer, you might have it at 12psi and 10 feet of hose. Your soda and beer should both flow from the faucet at the same rate.

Letting it reach the faucet at a high pressure, and then reducing the size of the hole it comes out seems like it would lead to more foam as the pressurized liquid meets the unpressurized world.

But everyone's system seems to be different and not always match with logic or math formulas!

 

[passedpawn]

I used 40' of 3/16 beer line. Set kegs to ~35psi. Still, it took a long time to carb. After a week, I would shake the crap out of it (rolling back and forth) for a few minutes. Next day, perfect.

 

[ericbw]

Oh yeah, I meant to mention that soda seems to take longer to carb than beer even. Two weeks or more.

 

[passedpawn]

Another thing about root beer: it seems to leave a VERY long-lasting aroma in the tubing and kegs. I've reused the keg for beer, but I trashed the tubing.

 

[JayDubWill]

If you carb your water before adding syrup or flavorings it will only take about 4 days instead of a week or two. Just add the syrup slowly or you'll get a volcanic eruption.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Not going to lie, the best way I found to make soda is to just carbonate the **** out of water @ 30PSI and hold it there and then buy SodaStream flavor syrup things at Target or BB&Beyond or something...they also sell a $3 white pump cap you can put on the top of the containers..put 3 pumps into a pint glass and fill it with carbonated water from the keg..it works very well. Each one of the flavors makes quite a few drinks.

Nice because i can have 10+ flavors on tap at all time for when people come over who dont drink need something, or for those that prefer liquor i have the Tonic water syrup for mixed drinks

Plus no keg cleaning, just fill it back up with water. I learned buying used corny kegs that i dont want to clean soda syrup out of stupid kegs ever again.

 

[kaffeenjunkie]

Another thing about root beer: it seems to leave a VERY long-lasting aroma in the tubing and kegs. I've reused the keg for beer, but I trashed the tubing.

I put root beer line on my coke dispenser at the restaurant. The installer for Coke told me that I will never be able to use that head for anything else.