STILL NO HEAD

[AngryAndy]

its thin, I'll double check at home but i'm sure its 3/16, 3ft from centre of keg to tower tap, about 3C, i've got it set right now to about 14 or 15psi....that i know for sure.

the math on the calculation website suggests about 6, 7psi for that length, temp and diameter

 

[brewbama]

Have you recently switched dishwasher detergent or rinse aid? Do you wash your beer glasses with other dishes in the dishwasher?

While I wholeheartedly agree with the Hochkurz mash schedule, if the above are issues it may not be the solution. Detergents and rinse aids reduce/eliminate water spots. They also kill beer foam. Likewise, if washing with greasy plates and bowls the resulting film can kill beer foam.

Hochkurz: β rest between 144-148 °F, and α rest at 162-163 °F with prolonged mashout (>= 10 min) at 172 °F.

As recommended, you may consider performing 2 β rests, with β1 at 144 °F and β2 at 147-148 °F.

Your β rests should target extract and attenuation, your α rest is the body rest. The prolonged mashout aids in foam appearance and foam stability.

The first rest (maltose rest) should be held at or around 63C (145F) and it’s length is used to control the fermentability of the wort. A good starting point for its duration is 30 min. Longer for more fermentable wort and shorter for less fermentable wort. If even higher fermentability is desired an intermediate rest at 65C (150F) can be added. Due to its large volume the mash temperature should not drop much during that rest but you may wrap the pot into blankets to stabilize the mash temp even more.

The dextrinization rest at 70-72C (158-162F) needs to be held until the mash is iodine negative but may be extended to 45-60 min. Many authors contribute head retention and mouthfeel benefits to extending this rest.

Finally the mash may be raised to mash out temp and subsequently lautered.

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/Infusion_Mashing

 

[Smellyglove]

its thin, I'll double check at home but i'm sure its 3/16, 3ft from centre of keg to tower tap, about 3C, i've got it set right now to about 14 or 15psi....that i know for sure.

the math on the calculation website suggests about 6, 7psi for that length, temp and diameter

You're overcarbed if we use the reference of 5g/l co2 (about 2.5 vols), and your hose is about half the length of what it should be at that carbonation.

 

[AngryAndy]

brewbama i only wash with hot water and starsan. literally. never use dawn or whatever else.

 

[AngryAndy]

smelly, should i just try setting it to the correct pressure, for instance 6psi NOT 15!!!!! and see what happens.? Or double the line length. (obviously measure and all that). Like you said earlier, the unbalance (over carb'ing) could be making the foam explode at the top and disapear.

 

[brewbama]

brewbama i only wash with hot water and starsan. literally. never use dawn or whatever else.

https://www.kegworks.com/blog/beer-clean-glass/

 

[brew703]

I only use Oxy on all my beer glasses. Squeeky clean. But I'm one who doesn't really worry about beer head. As long as it taste good, that's all I'm after.

 

[Smellyglove]

smelly, should i just try setting it to the correct pressure, for instance 6psi NOT 15!!!!! and see what happens.? Or double the line length. (obviously measure and all that). Like you said earlier, the unbalance (over carb'ing) could be making the foam explode at the top and disapear.

Don't double the line length, The length is fine, 150cm. It'd rather tamper with the temperature, I myself find that 3C is at least 1C to cold for serving. Then you need to adjust the pressure accordingly.

For instance, from my sheet I have hanging here: 4C = 0.8 bar. Take that as a ballpark and adjust. That should work with 150cm line.

 

[brew703]

3/16" beer line isn't thin. Regular vinyl tubing is thin and not meant for beer. Not sure if that's what you are using or not. You did mention "thin" in one of your posts so it got me thinking.
If you are using a kegerator, I've seen some of the beer lines they come with. Most are thinner than the 3/16" beer line you can get at your LHBS or online site.

 

[AngryAndy]

smelly, don't hate me but 0.8 bar? i dont' understand this

 

[CGVT]

I just checked this thread to see if someone made the obligatory "That's what she said" post.

You all disappoint me.

*sigh*

 

[Smellyglove]

smelly, don't hate me but 0.8 bar? i dont' understand this

Sorry I'm a proud european/metric guy

https://www.google.com/search?q=0.8bar+in+psi&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-ab

 

[AngryAndy]

so weird, the calculator i'm using says that 5ft of line should be 7 or 8psi. but you're saying that 5ft (150cm) is fine with .8bar or 11ishpsi

 

[AngryAndy]

in any case. I am going to lower the psi and burp my keg a couple times. Good?

 

[AngryAndy]

Well i'm logging off smellyglove, i've gotta head home. I will be checking tonight. I you still have the energy to explain the in the simplest language dumbed down version I would appreciate it. AT this point, I"m thinking the beer is over carb'd and the pressure is much too high. I think the temperature is probably off too. I'll be looking at all of this tonight and double checking this forum.

Thanks for everyone spending the afternoon with me. Especially Smellyglove.

 

[Smellyglove]

so weird, the calculator i'm using says that 5ft of line should be 7 or 8psi. but you're saying that 5ft (150cm) is fine with .8bar or 11ishpsi

I don't use a calculator. I started with them and went on from there because they didn't give me the result I wanted. It works for me at least. So that's my reference.

You need to either tag me, or press reply to my post, if not I have to look for replies in the thread..

I'm not saying this is the cause of your no-foam, but it's good to eliminate factors which can contribute to it.

you need to set the keg warm to get co2 out of the beer, then vent the keg, or else it will take a while with a cold keg.

 

[Yooper]

in any case. I am going to lower the psi and burp my keg a couple times. Good?

I have to disagree with a few things. First of all, you don't set your psi based on the length of your lines; you make your lines the length needed to balance your system based on the temperature and the psi on your regulator.

For example, I use this carbonation chart:

My fridge is 40 degrees, and I like 2.5 volumes of c02 in my beers (for most American styles and lagers, anyway). So I need to set my regulator at 12 psi.

Five foot long beer lines would be WAY too short to serve that. So I have 12' lines in my kegerator, to balance that amount of carbonation.

It doesn't help that your tower is warmer, and allowing the beer to foam there. But while smelly has good results with 5' lines, most people do not. Most people who want properly carbonated beer find that 1 foot of line per 1 psi on the regulator is often the sweet spot for a proper carb level, without foaming or too much restrictions.

If you turn down your psi to compensate for your short lines, your beer will be undercarbed. There really isn't any downside to long lines- it just takes a few seconds longer to pour a beer- but short lines mean headaches often, especially if you want to serve a highly carbed beer like a weizen or other beers.

Pick the level of carb you want (most people like 2.4-2.6 for most standard ales), and set your regulator based on the temperature of your kegerator and that carb level. Then fix your issues, like the improper serving lines (they should be pretty thick walled beer lines), and the short length.

I really don't think it's the tower warming- if it was, the first pour would be foamy but the rest would be better since the tower would cool from the pours. Your issue seems to be the reverse- the beer in the lines comes out fine for the first pour, but further pours are allowing the c02 to break out of solutions.

 

[Smellyglove]

I have to disagree with a few things. First of all, you don't set your psi based on the length of your lines; you make your lines the length needed to balance your system based on the temperature and the psi on your regulator.

For example, I use this carbonation chart:
View attachment 574966
My fridge is 40 degrees, and I like 2.5 volumes of c02 in my beers (for most American styles and lagers, anyway). So I need to set my regulator at 12 psi.

Five foot long beer lines would be WAY too short to serve that. So I have 12' lines in my kegerator, to balance that amount of carbonation.

It doesn't help that your tower is warmer, and allowing the beer to foam there. But while smelly has good results with 5' lines, most people do not. Most people who want properly carbonated beer find that 1 foot of line per 1 psi on the regulator is often the sweet spot for a proper carb level, without foaming or too much restrictions.

If you turn down your psi to compensate for your short lines, your beer will be undercarbed. There really isn't any downside to long lines- it just takes a few seconds longer to pour a beer- but short lines mean headaches often, especially if you want to serve a highly carbed beer like a weizen or other beers.

Pick the level of carb you want (most people like 2.4-2.6 for most standard ales), and set your regulator based on the temperature of your kegerator and that carb level. Then fix your issues, like the improper serving lines (they should be pretty thick walled beer lines), and the short length.

I really don't think it's the tower warming- if it was, the first pour would be foamy but the rest would be better since the tower would cool from the pours. Your issue seems to be the reverse- the beer in the lines comes out fine for the first pour, but further pours are allowing the c02 to break out of solutions.

Is this with a 3/16" line? 12ft is over 3.5 meters.

Edit: I just googled my hose, and it's 3/16" OD. it's 0.11811 ID.