Fast dispensing creating foamy beer...

[MexTex]

I just built my first keezer. The keezer is located in my garage and the beer line and shank go through the wall of my garage and come out under my patio area. The beer line is going through a PVC pipe that is heavily insulated and caulked. The Johnson probe has been inserted between a gel ice pack and the side of the keg via a bungee cord and the temp is set to 33 degrees with a 2 diff. The Co2 is set to about 12. The keg is a 1/2 barrel of Miller Lite. When I dispense the beer, it shoots out really fast causing a little over 3/4 foam in a pint glass. By the time the foam settles, the beer doesn't taste carbonated enough. If I turn off the Co2 and relieve some of the air in the keg, then dispense the beer, it comes out pretty darn good. Cold and carbonated. What can I do that will allow me to not have to relieve the keg to get a nice pint of beer? I appreciate any help and thanks in advance.

 

[BryceL]

How long are your beer lines? A longer line will reduce the velocity when it hits the tap.

 

[MexTex]

5 feet exactly.

 

[BryceL]

When I started keging, my kit came with 5' lines and had the same problem as you. I bought 12' of beer line and ended up cutting it down to 10'...that is the sweet spot for my setup. I almost always serve my beers around 12 psi.

 

[jaytizzle]

Longer beer line should have you set up nicely. If it's cold when you drop the pressure then it's not a temp issue. It's entirely related to pressure and resistance. Longer beer lines or more resistance (like the swizzle sticks in the dip tubes for corny kegs) should take care of you.

 

[MexTex]

Awesome... I knew you guys would be able to help me out. Thanks, I'm gonna pick up a 12 footer tomorrow and adjust from there. Thanks again.

 

[OG2620]

Do you relieve the CO2 pressure before or after pouring a foamy pint?

 

[OG2620]

FWIW, my keezer is set to 40F and 15 psi with 5 foot serving lines and I do not experience the same velocity and foam as you describe. I get a perfect pour every time My keezer is in a basement with an ambient temp of 65F.

 

[MexTex]

After. If I pour a foamy pint, I will relieve the pressure and then the next pint I pour will be fine. The beer comes out much slower and yet still leaves a nice head on the beer.

It also seems that if I let the first foamy beer subside, the carbonation is less than ideal.

 

[onthekeg]

You want to have 3/16 beer line. Its a pain to put on the taps but it will have the proper resistance and create a better pour. I use 12' of it, per tap at 12 psi.

 

[MexTex]

Would a partially frozen keg exhibit the problems I am describing? I came home one day and I found that my temp did hit 27 for a brief period. I don't really think it was very long at all, but if this could be an issue for me I will raise the temps. At that time I had the diff. set at 5, but I changed it to 2 to hopefully keep the keezer from doing this. I love my beer extremely cold, but I would rather not have to monitor the keezer all the time.

 

[onthekeg]

You could leave the differential alone and raise the cut in temp, that would allow your compressor to rest more.

 

[OG2620]

Honestly, it sounds to me that the first pour is foamy because the portion of your serving line which exits the keezer and enters the patio area is warmer than the remainder of the keg. I know that it is insulated, but that doesn't mean that it is as cool as the bulk portion of the beer sitting in the keg. Someone with a draft tower may chime in here as I believe that they have similar experiences.

Either that, or there is some serious temperature stratification in your keezer. What is the ambient temp. in your garage? When I lived in CO, my keezer displayed similar problems in the summer when the temp. in my garage hit 80-90F. I confirmed that I had a major temp. difference between the top and bottom of my keezer with a thermometer. I basically neglected properly insulating my keezer collar though, which is what I can attribute my problems to.

If your CO2 regulator is set to a specified temp., 12 psi in your case, the only reason that the pressure can increase is through a rise in temperature. You are essentially taking that variable out of the question.

 

[MexTex]

The temperature here in Houston has been 100 degrees+ and 100 percent humidity lately and the temperature in my uninsulated detached garage has got to be about the same. The beer line running through the insulated PVC pipe is only about 8" from the back of the keezer to the spout. I am in the process of building a tower cooling fan to help cool that area. The beer comes out so dang cold, even initially, but the speed at which the beer flows out of the spout is just too dang fast...I end up wasting a beer in foam overflow just to get a good beer. The foam is still cold as heck.

I am going to purchase a longer beer line tomorrow to see if that solves my problem...I will post my results.

 

[BryceL]

Just another thought. If you are coming straight out of the back of the keezer and your tap is at the same level our lower than your keg, that could explain it coming out fast. If you have a tower, the beer has to travel up and will slow it down.

 

[OG2620]

The beer is cold, even with the first pour, because the dip tube pulls from the bottom (coldest) part of the keg.

The observed increased velocity has got to be an increase in head space pressure caused by CO2 coming out of solution due to elevated temps at the top of the keezer. Especially since you pour "slow" and cold after you purge the first foamy beer.

For grins, can you measure the temp at the bottom and then at the top of the keezer with a fridge thermometer?

That said, 12 foot serving lines are a cheap solution if it solves your problem.

 

[MexTex]

I've been drinking so much beer that I forgot to thank everyone for their help with my problem. Needless to say, the longer beer line worked like a charm. The beer comes out smooth and cold. I will post a pic of my setup as soon as I finish it up...I think it turned out awesome and I hope it will give people ideas for their own setups. It's a lot different than any I've seen as of yet. Thanks again.

 

[BryceL]

Cool, good to hear that fixed the problem for you. Enjoy your brew!