Perfect first pour of the day...head 5min later

[chuckda4th]

I have done some searching on my particular issue and am not seeing anyone have the same problem. The first pour of the day comes out cold and with perfect head. When I pour from the same tap more than a couple minutes later, it's then 80% foam. The next day this repeats - perfect first beer, foam later. All of my searching comes up with people having the reverse issue where pour 1 is foam and 2+ aren't, so I'm not sure what to do.

Thoughts?


Background on my system:

Home built 4 tap coffin top keezer with a single regulator: View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1437928330.292877.jpg

I keep the CO2 at 12 PSI and the keezer at 4deg C.

Originally I was having head issues all the time, so I did some research, ran a bunch of numbers, and invested in 10' 3/16" anti-microbial line for each tap. This at least stopped the head on the initial pours.

Have not done anything to cool the inside of the coffin. Considering the first pour of the day for each line isn't foamy anyway (when it's room temp), I'm not seeing how it would help. If anything I would think it would make all pours foamy, as that's the only difference I'm seeing between pour 1 and another pour a few minutes later - the second pour is using cooler beer lines than the first.

 

[Subdivisions]

If this is happening on all 4 taps I'd look into the possibility that your PSI gauge is reading incorrectly. Try taking a keg offline and vent it every couple hours for a day or so then hook it back up at around 6 PSI and see if your foaming problem goes away or at least gets better. I'm just guessing on the 6 PSI setting. I figure if the gauge is reading low then lowering the pressure should put you somewhere nearer what you want. You may want to take the other kegs CO2 off to prevent beer pushing back into the regulator.

I'll usually get around a 10 second pint pour with 10' of line at 12 psi to give you an idea of the speed it should be coming out

As to why this happens on the second pour that is baffling. If it were one keg then I'd check the gasket on the beer out dip tube. If CO2 can get from the headspace to the beer line then you'd get foamy pours.

 

[chuckda4th]

Thanks, I'll give that a whirl. I have a second regulator, so I'll try that too.

It is happening on all 4 lines independently of one another.

Interested in any other ideas people have as well. I just don't get why this would be happening based on everything I've read.

 

[Zepth]

I have on occasion had a great pour on my first pint, and utter failure on the second. I was using the same glass - lacing on the glass seems to have created nucleation points for future pours. Rinsing it or using a fresh glass solved my issue.

This isn't always the case, just something that happens from time to time.