I have been having trouble with my keg system. My beer when I pour it has way too much head. I carbonate at whatever level I am supposed to depending on style. But no matter what pressure I dispense at, the glass is always 3/4 foam. Even if I tilt the glass and all that. This problem even happens if I fill my keg at a local brewery when I am in between batches of my own beer. So I'm guessing they pressurized it to a proper pressure. Any ideas of what may be happening?
Too Much Head
- Thread starter lxwitt
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How long are your bev lines? What temp is the beer at? What pressure are you serving at?
It sounds like you probably need longer lines. I use 10 ft lines and get great pours every time.
Your lines are too short. This is probably the most common cause of foamy pours. Make sure you use 3/16" ID beer lines only (never use 1/4" ID), and use this calculator (don't use other calculators, as most of them get it wrong) to determine the proper line length. Or, you can just use the rule of thumb of 1 ft of 3/16" line for every PSI. The only problem you can have with lines that are longer than needed is slightly slower pours.
Also, make sure the temperature is uniform in your kegerator/keezer, and that the beer lines are also cold (can be an issue with towers.)
Also, 8 PSI @ 50°F is only about 1.75 volumes of CO2. This is a pretty low level of carbonation, unless you're serving a stout.
Brew on
Also, make sure the temperature is uniform in your kegerator/keezer, and that the beer lines are also cold (can be an issue with towers.)
Also, 8 PSI @ 50°F is only about 1.75 volumes of CO2. This is a pretty low level of carbonation, unless you're serving a stout.
Brew on
Longer lines eh? I never would have thought that was the problem. My cooling system on my fridge is broken. The good news is a woodstove is the only heat source so my room temperature is pretty chilly. Thanks for the tip. I'll get longer lines tomorrow!
Generally, you want lines that are equal to the carb pressure. For example if you carb at 18 psi (likely for 50 degrees), you want 18 feet of line. "Serving" pressure isn't really going to work as if you carb at 8 psi, the beer will be terribly undercarbed.
Here's a table to tell you what pressure you need for the temperature: http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php
At 50 degrees, you'll need 18 psi to carb your beer properly. By reducing the pressure to serve, the c02 will "break out" of solution, causing foaming. With short beer lines, it's even worse.
The fix if you are going to keep your beer at 50 degrees is to go with 18-20' of beer line. I know it seems like a lot, but there is a reason for it. It has to do with restriction, and the easiest analogy is a garden hose and pinching it. If you have a garden hose and a nice long run, it flows slowly but well. But if you pinch it, or shorten it, it'll shoot out like a fire hose.
The warmer the beer, the worse this is, as c02 is more likely to stay in solution in cold temperatures. If you were serving at 35 degrees, you could get by with 8 psi, and probably 6' lines. Warmer beer will foam more. So it's important to have the longer lines.
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