Will a keezer in a hot-as-hell garage foam?

[B2Barleywine]

Hi all,

I've been doing the chest freezer picnic tap thing for years, and I'm now looking to upgrade to a keezer with proper tap handles. My only concern is that it'll be in a garage that routinely hits 110f+ in the summer. Will this kind of heat cause foamy pours and excessive condensation on my tap handles?

Any advice is welcome! Thanks.

 

[LittleRiver]

You'll undoubtedly get some foam from the first few ounces of the pour. You can dispose of that initial amount (down your throat) then fill the glass, or give the foam in the glass a few seconds to calm down then continue filling it.

You will get condensation on your faucets, but unless they are mounted to unfinished wood it should not cause any significant issues.

 

[mongoose33]

Let me extend @LittleRiver 's excellent post.

Yeah, you're going to have some foam initially until the faucet cools enough. One possibility is to simply accept that. Heck, I get a little bit of a foamy start on my keezer, and it's in a 65-degree basement. So you'll get it too.

One possibility--depends on what you're using for tap handles--is to make a cover for the faucets, such that you isolate them from 110+ temps, at least as much as you can. You could make a little cover out of foamboard that would cover the faucets and allow them to cool that space at least to some extent. Below is a pic of my keezer; I use the small black faucet handles and these are the types you'd need to use.

Even if you did that, and it's not a bad experiment to try, you're still going to get initial foam. But you might reduce it significantly.

Now, how much a pain this would be I don't know. If you're only ever drawing one beer at a time, then maybe a pain. And it depends on how you'd manage it too.

I'm thinking out loud here, but you could even build a box that would recirculate air from inside the keezer into that box, much like how people cool towers on kegerators or using coffins.

 

[teesherv]

My garage hits 100+ in the summer. With my keezer, I found longer than needed shanks and a small fan mounted to the inside collar helped with foaming a lot. The longer shanks kept the taps cooler and the fan circulated the cooler air evenly.
The first pour will still have some slight foaming, but not enough to worry about.

 

[GoeHaarden]

My garage hits 100+ in the summer. With my keezer, I found longer than needed shanks and a small fan mounted to the inside collar helped with foaming a lot. The longer shanks kept the taps cooler and the fan circulated the cooler air evenly.

Same situation with 100F+ in garage. Same kind of setup with fan and longer shanks. Never had a foaming issue. Controller set to 37-39, 10ft lines 12.5psi. My keezer is a standup freezer so I'm not sure if that makes a difference...

 

[B2Barleywine]

Thanks for all the great tips. How long a shank are you guys using?

 

[LittleRiver]

Mine are short, 2" I think. I have a fan located on the bottom of the keezer below them, that blows upward.

I went with short shanks with 90deg adapters to keep my lines out of the way when loading/unloading kegs. So far I've been real happy with that decision.

 

[TBC]

My keezer is in our sunroom and it will get over 100+ easy. I have 4” shanks, 10’ beverage hose and a computer fan mounted on the collar blowing down and have no issues.