Too much head

[Duster]

I have an oatmeal stout on my kegerator with a beer gas mixture of nitro 75% CO2 25% at 25PSI, one tank and regulator, 45 degrees F.

When I first hooked it up, no head... a few days later it was perfect.... now its way too much after a couple weeks....

I have to let is sit around for about 5 min until I can drink it.

Any ideas ? Thanks !

 

[1977Brewer]

No

Such

Thing.

 

[ruger988]

Thats what she said.


Wait.... nevermind

 

[Sammy86]

Purge the keg and lower the PSI should be an easy fix...

Some will tell you to get longer beer lines...might be something to look into.

Cheers!

 

[DocScott]

What Sammy said. 25psi is too high at normal serving temps with 'normal' serving lines.

There is a chart that shows what pressure you should use based on beer temp and serving line length. Look that up (sorry no link, I'm on my phone app) and reset your system. You'll need to purge the keg several times to bleed out the extra gas you've dissolved into your beer.

 

[Weezy]

Add this one to the list of innuendo thread titles:
'Where can I find a good rack?' (can't find it anymore. Lost to the archives)
‘What the hell did I do to deserve this head?‘

 

[Gavin C]

25psi. There's your problem. Too high resulting in over carbonation.

 

[beergolf]

25psi. There's your problem. Too high resulting in over carbonation.

Not true for a nitro tap. Yes it is way to high for CO2 but a nitro tap can be set at even higher. I set mine at 35 psi.

To the OP. Are you using a stout faucet? Did you carb the beer before hooking it up to the beergas?

I findthat the brew barely needs any carbonation before putting it on beergas. I hook mine up to CO2 at 5 lbs for a few days to a week and then hook it up to the beergas.

 

[Gavin C]

Not true for a nitro tap. Yes it is way to high for CO2 but a nitro tap can be set at even higher. I set mine at 35 psi.

To the OP. Are you using a stout faucet? Did you carb the beer before hooking it up to the beergas?

I findthat the brew barely needs any carbonation before putting it on beergas. I hook mine up to CO2 at 5 lbs for a few days to a week and then hook it up to the beergas.

Regardless of the gas being used. The OP stated the beer went from inadequate carbonation to optimal carbonation to too much carbonation (head). This would indicate the equilibrium pressure at 25psi is excessive and should be dialed back. That and not the gas type is the key piece of evidence here. 25psi on your system with your lines and your storage temps will be very different from another setup with these three variables.

 

[beergolf]

With a 75-25 beergas mix, that is the equivelent of CO2 at 6.25 lbs.

A stout faucet needs the higher pressure to work properly. I only have about 5 foot of line and run my pressure at 35 psi @ 42 degrees. The restrictor plate compensates for beer line length, so with a notro set up beer line length does not really matter. He may actually have to increase the pressure for the restrictor plate to work properly.

The only other solution is that he kegged befoe he reached FG and that added some extra carbonation. The solution is to purge the extra carbonation and then try it again.

 

[Duster]

Not true for a nitro tap. Yes it is way to high for CO2 but a nitro tap can be set at even higher. I set mine at 35 psi.

To the OP. Are you using a stout faucet? Did you carb the beer before hooking it up to the beergas?

I findthat the brew barely needs any carbonation before putting it on beergas. I hook mine up to CO2 at 5 lbs for a few days to a week and then hook it up to the beergas.

Yes I do have a stout tap and no CO2 to start...

It started with NO head for a few days then built up to a perfect head, now 'heading' into only head... if you know what I mean...

I guess I should drink it faster.... or ?

 

[Duster]

With a 75-25 beergas mix, that is the equivelent of CO2 at 6.25 lbs.

A stout faucet needs the higher pressure to work properly. I only have about 5 foot of line and run my pressure at 35 psi @ 42 degrees. The restrictor plate compensates for beer line length, so with a notro set up beer line length does not really matter. He may actually have to increase the pressure for the restrictor plate to work properly.

The only other solution is that he kegged befoe he reached FG and that added some extra carbonation. The solution is to purge the extra carbonation and then try it again.

FG was within range so Ill try to purge the carbonation.... Thanks!

 

[beergolf]

Yes I do have a stout tap and no CO2 to start...

It started with NO head for a few days then built up to a perfect head, now 'heading' into only head... if you know what I mean...

I guess I should drink it faster.... or ?

OK. This leads me back to the fact that it may not have totally done and you got a few more points of attenuation once in the keg, causing the overcarb problem.

There is no way that beer gas at 25 psi would overcarb a beer. Especially in just a few days.

Try disconnecting the gas and releasing the pressure every time you walk by for a few days until it is basically flat. Then try it again. That should do the trick.

Once you get the hang of your nitro set up, you will love it. I rotate a stout and an Irish Red on mine.