Still new, but decided to ditch bottling and try kegging

[sixstring]

ok, so I poured two pints, one after the other today and both had a good 1.5" of foam (that to me is too much).
The tap was ice cold on the second pour too.
So after taking care of those two, i poured another and this time I closed the FC up almost all the way, so it barely dribbled out. Took about 30 seconds to pour the pint, and the head was perfect on it.
So does this sound like it's carbonation or the pressure on the C02 is too high? Or something else?

 

[sixstring]

If this is exactly what you did, then the beer is not likely to be over carbonated. At 30 psi and room temp (let's say 68°F/20°C just to get specific) the carbonation level will be 2.5 - 2.6 volumes, but would take a week or more at that pressure to reach equilibrium. If the beer temp is higher, the equilibrium carbonation level would be lower. Just for reference, I burst carb at 30 psi and 37°F/2.8°C for 36 hours, and then vent and set to ~12 psi, and I don't experience over carbonation.

So where did you vent from? The keg or the regulator? As I did it from the regulator.

 

[doug293cz]

So where did you vent from? The keg or the regulator? As I did it from the regulator.

I vented the headspace in the keg, as my regulator does not have a venting valve. If you have a check valve between your regulator and keg, then venting the regulator will not reduce the pressure in the headspace. However, if the keg is fairly full, there will not be enough CO2 in the headspace to significantly over carbonate the beer.

Brew on

 

[mac_1103]

Took about 30 seconds to pour the pint, and the head was perfect on it.

What's perfect? And how long did it take to pour the first two?

 

[sixstring]

What's perfect? And how long did it take to pour the first two?

Perfect is for me is about 1cm at most. I don't know what the time was on the first two. My final timing may of been off too, as it was just a guesstimate. I'll time it all this go round.

 

[sixstring]

I have a feeling that my issue is over carbonation (which wouldn't surprise me, since this was my first keg attempt). When I keg the next batch, I'm just going to switch the c02 on and leave it at 12psi the whole time, no burst carbing, nothing. And see how that pours after a week at 12psi and my FC tap fully open.

 

[sixstring]

Changed my tower to a dual tap (both Nukataps. One is the FC tap, the other is no FC).
Finally got my gas lines updated to EVA barrier tubes too.

Got my anvil FV in there at the moment cold crashing a red ale, so i can keg it in the morning. If the cold crash is worth it I'll have to buy another fridge

 

[Willy]

Changed my tower to a dual tap (both Nukataps. One is the FC tap, the other is no FC).
Finally got my gas lines updated to EVA barrier tubes too.

Got my anvil FV in there at the moment cold crashing a red ale, so i can keg it in the morning. If the cold crash is worth it I'll have to buy another fridge

The cold crash - which is really not a crash but a slow chill, reduce temp 3-5°F per day until you reach serving temperature... will assist in retaining the head while enjoying the beer. Without the controlled temp reduction, you can pour, get a nice head that disappears completely after a few sips.

I did this regularly until I had to pause because I made so much pilsner and needed to keep it chilled. So the next few batches of English Brown and a Porter had no cold crash, just a quick chill to serving temp. And yep, the head retention was terrible.

Finally... Yesterday I was able to cold crash a batch and I am looking forward to seeing how much better the retention is.

 

[doug293cz]

The cold crash - which is really not a crash but a slow chill, reduce temp 3-5°F per day until you reach serving temperature... will assist in retaining the head while enjoying the beer. Without the controlled temp reduction, you can pour, get a nice head that disappears completely after a few sips.

I did this regularly until I had to pause because I made so much pilsner and needed to keep it chilled. So the next few batches of English Brown and a Porter had no cold crash, just a quick chill to serving temp. And yep, the head retention was terrible.

Finally... Yesterday I was able to cold crash a batch and I am looking forward to seeing how much better the retention is.

You can't draw legitimate conclusions on different process effects by comparing outcomes on different recipes. Any difference in the outcomes could be a result of process or recipe, but it's not possible to determine which.

Were any of the previous slow crashed brews with good head retention the same recipe(s), including ingredient sources, as fast crash brews with poor retention, with the ONLY process difference the speed of cold crashing?

Brew on

 

[Willy]

You can't draw legitimate conclusions on different process effects by comparing outcomes on different recipes. Any difference in the outcomes could be a result of process or recipe, but it's not possible to determine which.

Were any of the previous slow crashed brews with good head retention the same recipe(s), including ingredient sources, as fast crash brews with poor retention, with the ONLY process difference the speed of cold crashing?

Brew on

Last year I focused on perfecting 3 styles - Irish Stout, Czech Pilsner, and an English Brown. So yes ... Same recipes, repeated over 5 times.

Always do a cold crash - unless I need the inkbirded freezer for cooling the CF 10 or storing cornies. Not that often for a conflict.

Yes... Lots of other variables like carb levels, head space, batch ph, etc etc.

The weak foam retention( no crash) happened during the last cycle with a busy freezer to all 3 styles... Did them 4 times (same recipe, each style) before with a glorious head that left a hash mark on the glass with each sip.

You correct though. Too many variables. That said, I cold crash and am now a believer in its efficacy.

 

[sixstring]

Thought i'd give another little pic update. Got both kegs in now with a bigger C02 tank (5lb instead of 2.5lb). Not sure I can fit a 10lb tank in there. Going to do some measuring to see and when i go exchange a tank again, I'll bring my measure with me so i can see what the 10lb dimensions are.

And before anyone says "that Red Ale is a little low in ABV, I know It was a mistake I made when I added extra water to the FV. I thought I'd bring it up to 6 gallons instead of 5

However, I'm rather chuffed about the whole process and happy that my EVA barrier tubing all works without leaks. Had a few but I solved that with some teflon tape. Next up is to get myself a new kettle and induction cooktop and some more kegs for storing extra brew.

 

[sixstring]

Ok, I can safely say that my first keg was over carbonated. (that was the oktoberfest in the pic above). The red ale I've let carbonate over time at 12psi and it's connected to my normal Nukatap (no FC) and it pours perfectly with the tap wide open.
So that's my lesson learned. Now I know the line is fine (5.5' 8mm/4mm EVA), I can't blame anything but my lack of experience