HEELLPP, foamy beer..still

[acidbathtoo]

Hey Guys,

PLEASE help, I am stumped and about ready to give up on using the keggarator. ugghhh.. Ok, I have been having issues with when pouring my beer it is mostly foam. I was talking with my homebrew guru and he told me to replace the liquid line that maybe it wasn't long enough.. this HAS been replaced to longer lines (between 5-6 feet now) and I am still having this issues. The only thing that has changed since I have been having this problem is now the liquid line doesnt go straight (it curves because it is a long line now). Are there any suggestions on what to do next?

 

[LLBeanJ]

Still not long enough. Most of us use 10-12' of 3/16" ID line in order to achieve a properly balanced system.

 

[kombat]

The first pour from my kegerator is always pure foam, because the lines are warm. I always open the tap, let it pour foam until it changes to beer (2-3 seconds), close the tap, dump the foam in a nearby sink, then pour beer. If that's what you're experiencing too, then I'd say that's normal.

If yours is foamy consistently, and never turns to clear beer as the line cools (from having cold beer pass through it), then we need to do a little troubleshooting. What's the temperature of the kegerator? How many volumes of CO2 are in the beer?

 

[acidbathtoo]

Wow thanks guys for the quick help!!!...we are pumping the beer at between 5 and 8 psi. And the temp about 38 degrees

 

[Schemy]

I don't know about the 10-12' of line. I use 5' of 3/16" and have a properly balanced system.

OP, give some more info on your carbing process, what pressure are you serving at, what temp is your keggerator set?

 

[Yooper]

Wow thanks guys for the quick help!!!...we are pumping the beer at between 5 and 8 psi. And the temp about 38 degrees

Are you carbing the beer up more with a higher pressure, and then turning it down to serve? That will also knock co2 out of suspension (creating foam).

Balance your system by keeping the beer always at the same pressure, and going with a minimum of 10' lines of 3/16" beerline.

 

[iowabrew]

I also use 10' lines that are "coiled" up on top of each keg. No issues at all. Sure it's a lot of line but the coils fit nicely atop the kegs and out of the way.

 

[acidbathtoo]

Ya we are carb at a higher psi and dropping..stumped....maybe ill have to go extend the lines longer like you suggest..(everywhere i read 5-6 is fine)..about ready to try ANYTHING at this point...thanks!!!

 

[iowabrew]

so...after you boost carb at say 30PSI for 36 or so hrs, are you then purging the keg and then resetting at serving pressure, or simply dropping your reg down to 5-8PSI and going from there without purging?

My normal carb process goes like this:

Put beer in keg
Hit it with 30PSI for 36 hrs
Shut off Gas to keg and purge said keg
Turn reg to desired pressure and turn gas back on

Carb is pretty solid from the get go, then gradually settles in to perfect after a day or two.

 

[acidbathtoo]

We set the high psi...then purge and then set to lower serving psi.

Just did the suggested and let the beer pour for a few seconds to see if the lines were warm...actually filled a whole gallon container and almsot ALL foam..I would say close to 10 seconds of straight pouring

 

[Yooper]

We set the high psi...then purge and then set to lower serving psi.

Just did the suggested and let the beer pour for a few seconds to see if the lines were warm...actually filled a whole gallon container and almsot ALL foam..I would say close to 10 seconds of straight pouring

That has to do with the c02 level trying to seek equilibrium. By carbing it up at a higher pressure, then attempting to pour/serve at a lower pressure, the c02 will come out of suspension, causing foam.

You can do 30 psi for about 24-36 hours, but then purge and keep at 10 psi all the time. Get long enough serving lines to serve and keep at 10 psi, and don't do the "up and down" thing.

You could try setting it at 10 psi in the kegerator and keep it there, without any burst carbing and messing around with the regulator, and you'd have no foam issues at all.

 

[LLBeanJ]

If you're getting all foam, the beer is overcarbonated for what your system can handle. At 38° with 6' lines, you're going to be limited to about 2.0 volumes of carbonation. Any more carbonation than that and you will have issues like you're having. If I were having this issue I would do the following:

First, replace the line with 10' of 3/16 beerline so you can accommodate more than 2 vols of carb. If after that you still have foaming, allow your beer to go flat by taking it off the gas and purging the CO2 from the keg several times over the course of a couple of days, then re-carb it by using the set and forget method per a carb chart or using the method that iowabrew describes.

Alternatively, if you don't want to replace your lines again, then let the beer go flat (per above) and recarb it with a target of 2.0 vols per the chart.

 

[acidbathtoo]

Thanks for everyones help.....I guess it just settled and is good now!!!!!