Using an SS Brewtech Brite Tank - Under Carbonation Issues

[_dirty_]

Darryl,

what range do you have on your flow meter?

Looking at one of these https://www.dakotainstruments.com/carbon-dioxide-flow-meter-acrylic-brass-fittings

 

[Darryl J Gore]

Darryl,

what range do you have on your flow meter?

Looking at one of these https://www.dakotainstruments.com/carbon-dioxide-flow-meter-acrylic-brass-fittings

I have a cheap Chinese one, it is 1-25 litres per minute (too much), I need to get a smaller one, ideally your flow rate should be around 1-2 litres per minute or 2.5 scfh, so any in that smaller range (up to 5 scfh). Also get one with the dial/valve. The ones linked are perfect!

 

[Darryl J Gore]

In a commercial Brite tank they have a way to apply head pressure directly to the top through the clean in place valve.
For the SSBrewtech Brites we don't, and the only way is to have the CO2 go straight to the head by turning up the pressure this unfortunately scrubs aroma and volitile hop oils from the beer. Something that the blast carbonating does, as well as foaming the beer etc, thus the need for flow control.
I'm actually looking at maybe adding a ball lock gas post to my lids so I can put pressure straight to the head, before then carbing through the stone. It's 8mm thick steel so seeing how feasible it is and how much it costs before I go ahead.

Anyway, the way to best avoid losing all the aromas and flavours from the late additions and dry hopping is to just do the slow reduced flow from the bottom, which will eventually fill the headspace and reach equilibrium when the ball in the flowmeter drops. It's not as quick as the filling the head pressure method, but better for the beer.
It's got to be better than a day at 30 psi whichever way you do it. The important thing is flow control, the slower the better. Finer bubbles, means finer head, and lacing.

I'm still getting my head around it all myself. I serve from my Brites, which are in a humid ambient environment, using glycol (another steep learning curve there) which has just lead to more challenges. I've done a lot of reading/ research, and I have sussed it out now, so more than happy to pass on my knowledge. Don't be afraid to ask me anything, no matter how trivial you may think it is, odds are it's happened to me or I've read about it.

I hope we can get your system where you want it to be.

 

[_dirty_]

The following is a response from a different thread. It talks about kegs, but also applies in your situation.

"""Try using 25-30 ft. of beer line to connect beergun. The really long line will make filling a little slower, but will greatly increase the quality of the bottled beer. Just coil it up and zip tie it.

The keys to this are:

DO NOT PURGE KEG - leave it at whatever your serving/carbonation pressure is.

DO NOT LOWER THE PRESSURE - if you carbonate at 12 - 15 psi, leave it there to fill bottles. The long line will slow down the beer enough to reduce foam.

I've found that doing this gives me nicely carbonated bottled beer with minimal foam. You will still have some foam, but not nearly as much. The amount of foam is about the same as what you would get at the top of a pint glass. I know this because I did a "test pour" by filling a pint glass from the beer gun."""

So I tried this the other night, had my line, bottles and beer gun all at the same temp as the beer (35F) and left the pressure of the tank at 12psi. I couldn't explain the amount of foam I received, it was to the point that I ditched the gun and actually put the beer lin into the bottle and slowly filled the bottle with that, still foam but not as nearly bad as the gun. Any ideas what could be my issue?

 

[Darryl J Gore]

Is everything on the gun tightened, sounds like the gun could be the problem, and somehow it is creating the foaming issue. I don't use one so have no idea.
How are you connecting to the Brite? From the sample port or the T/C bottom outlet?
I use the 1/4" MFL T/C with a John guest fitting.

Darryl

 

[Darryl J Gore]

 

[Darryl J Gore]

Have not heard back as to how you are going. Here are my thoughts/ observations.

Make sure everything is sealed and tightened. I was having trouble with one of my Brite tanks shooting a blast of foam about 3 seconds into the pour.

The problem could of been one of 2 things ( I fixed both at the same time). The butterfly valve hex nuts were not tight, so air could have been coming in through there, or the head pressure in the Brite, is greater than the beer pressure, so when pouring, it wanted to take over. Once the beer in the line was used, the new beer exiting the Brite tank shot out causing the foam.

I tightened the hex nuts, and got head pressure and beer pressure equal (flowmeter) and problem solved.

There is nothing more frustrating than a system not operating as it should. After all the time and money spent on this hobby, it's a pain to then not have it pour properly.

Darryl

 

[_dirty_]

reviving this thread

When bottling using a beer gun or counter pressure filler, I notice that the beer line has a lot of bubbles rather than solid beer. Not much foam is present in the bottle. Filled bottles roughly 4hrs ago, cracked a bottle and it’s flat.

Never tested the beer prior, which I should have however, is the carbonation separating from the beer in the transfer process as I mentioned above?

 

[CodeSection]

reviving this thread

When bottling using a beer gun or counter pressure filler, I notice that the beer line has a lot of bubbles rather than solid beer. Not much foam is present in the bottle. Filled bottles roughly 4hrs ago, cracked a bottle and it’s flat.

Never tested the beer prior, which I should have however, is the carbonation separating from the beer in the transfer process as I mentioned above?

I just bought a SSB 20 Gallon Brite Tank so I'm interested in this thread. Am I understanding correctly that you followed the advice given in various posts and may have increased your psi and are you are still having flat beer after making those changes?

....As for sampling, a 5-7 foot line with picnic tap is probably sufficient, but unless it is kept cold as well, you will get more foaming on the initial pour due to warm lines, making it seem more carbonated than it actually is.

....I was told by a local brewer that drawing samples off of a brite is very deceiving—usually the actual carbonation is lower than what it seems like when it pours....

A friend suggested I use a sample valve and sample valve pigtail to take samples with to get a feel for what the carbonation is. Here is what I bought from SSB...
https://www.ssbrewtech.com/collections/accessories/products/sample-valve-1-5-tc-knob and https://www.ssbrewtech.com/collections/accessories/products/pig-tail.

They work great and may help in giving a better gauge of actual carbonation over tubing and a cobra or picnic tap.