Nitro stout small head no cascade

[RRL]

Hey guys,

I just picked up a Nitro stout from a local microbrew the other day.

I got a 70/30 beer gas mix set at 30psi, 10' lines and a SS stout faucet.


As soon as I got home I tapped the keg (I usually leave a lager sit over night to settle in the fridge after the car ride or all I get is foam) but figured a stout is a bit different and would be fine tapping right away


The stout was pouring perfectly with a nice creamy cascade and perfect head the moment I tapped the keg and poured. Came home the 2nd night to have a stout and I had no cascade and a sad excuse of a head on the beer and got no idea why. It still seems carbed when drinking it so its definitely not flat and lacking Co2 from the feel of it.


Any ideas whats going on? is there a chance my beer line is too long causing too much reduced pressure at the creamer plate?

The Faucet is rinsed after every use and has no "crud" blocking the plate.

TYIA

 

[LLBeanJ]

Line length shouldn't matter. Any time I get a lackluster pour off the stout faucet it is due to needing more carbonation. Perhaps the beer was a little on the warm side when you first tapped it and by the second day it had cooled a bit. Warmer beer foams more than colder beer, so I could see this being what was happening. I would just give it more time on the beer gas and it should get better.

 

[RRL]

Yea it would of 100% been warmer, it sat in my truck for about 3 hours in about 44F air temp. fridge is set really cold at about 38 (preference)


So I guess it just needs to equalize itself now! thanks ill leave it set at the 30mark, I wont be too dissapointed about lacking cascade but I do want my stout to have a healthy head.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

The first pour was from a freshly tapped keg and empty beer lines. The second pour was from full beer lines. Try pulling 2 glasses within 20 minutes of each other and see if the second glass gives you better results.

 

[RRL]

I primed my beer line before I pour a glass to drink.. usually pour out about 5-6oz that way I know the system is fully flushed and I get a "fresh clean" pour.

the 1st night when I tapped it, I poured about 3-4 pints within a few hours and all where perfect nice cascading pours. Its only the following day that I wasnt getting the nice pours.


So the only major difference between the days was, the beer would be cooled to the fridges setting and had time to "settle" as the car ride tends to shake up the beer quite a bit.

 

[LLBeanJ]

... I wont be too dissapointed about lacking cascade but I do want my stout to have a healthy head.

A little more carb and you'll have both.

 

[RRL]

I know the standard beer gas mix is 75 25 and I got 70/30 right now.

You recommend maybe upping the serving pressure to 32-35ish if I still dont get that "perfect" pour.


Thanks for all your replies!

 

[LLBeanJ]

No, if anything you may need to go a little lower than 30 PSI due to the higher concentration of CO2 in the mix. Go with about 25 PSI and you should see a better pour in a few days to a week. If that doesn't do it, bump it up by a couple PSI and wait another week. Once you get it where you want it, make a note of it for future reference.