Although I have been brewing successfully for over 4 years I have only recently started kegging my beer. This is the second time that I carb at 30 psi then, after 2 or 3 days, I reduce the pressure to 10 - 12 psi to dispense but I still have a problem with too much head in the glass. With the glass full to the top with it's head, there is only about 2 inches of beer in the glass. The beer settles down nicely and retains a beautiful creamy head but it seems that it takes way too long to fill a glass. What should I do to properly pour a 3/4 full glass with a nice head the first time? I've tried lowering the psi to 8 lbs and increasing it to 20 psi with the same results. I must be doing something wrong....
A little help from you please
- Thread starter Ranman481
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It sounds like your beer is over-carbed. You will need to bleed it. Shut off the Co2 and open the poppet a couple times a day over the next couple days. Then, turn your Co2 on to your desired PSI and be patient. I gave up on burst carbing a long time ago. I found that even if I got the beer carbed, it was still green and didn't start tasting right until 2-3 weeks in the keg. Set it and forget it is the best method IMO.
hunter_le five
Sheriff Underscore
When you reduce the pressure from 30psi to 10-12psi, are you releasing the pressure via the PRV (pressure relief valve), or are you just adjusting the regulator? If all you do is dial back the regulator, then you still have 30psi in the keg until the beer had had time to equalize, and you are going to get foam.
Either way, there is a chance you are overcarbonating your beer with that carbonation method. The safest way is the set-and-forget method. Just leave the beer at serving pressure for 2 weeks or so (generally ~10-12psi, but depends on style and temp, consult the force carbonation chart). Cranking the gas up to 30psi for any extended period of time on the other hand puts you at risk for foamy beer.
+1 to TimmyWit's advice for degassing and correcting an over-carbed keg.
Either way, there is a chance you are overcarbonating your beer with that carbonation method. The safest way is the set-and-forget method. Just leave the beer at serving pressure for 2 weeks or so (generally ~10-12psi, but depends on style and temp, consult the force carbonation chart). Cranking the gas up to 30psi for any extended period of time on the other hand puts you at risk for foamy beer.
+1 to TimmyWit's advice for degassing and correcting an over-carbed keg.
how long is your beer line? Most will tell you to start with 10 foot and then trim it back till you get the pour you like and also make sure you have the temp of your beer to say 34 or so. All of these things contribute to being over carbed but as the others have said set it and forget it takes the possibility of over carbing out
Thanks to you all for the feedback. My tube is 6 feet long. I admit I was looking for the quick route to serving the beer at a family party and didn't have the 2 weeks to wait. I gently shook the keg, released the extra pressure and dialed the serving pressure to @ 10 psi and it poured much better. It comes out of the tap at a slow pour but at least it fills the glass and leaves a respectable head on top.
Now I know...
Now I know...
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