I have been working on a kegerator and I can only get it down to about 55-60. The problem is for another thread, but my question is, is this temp fine for serving beer. I wanted to get it about 10 degrees lower but it's not happening. I was wondering if that temp is fine or is it going to significantly change the taste. This is my first keg.
Serving temp for beer
- Thread starter humpadilo
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I don't like my beer that warm, but some serve their beer in the 50s on purpose. You may have quite a bit of foaming with serving that warm, so you may need ultra-long serving lines at 60 degrees due to the higher pressure needed to carbonate the beer.
Carbonation is pressure and temperature dependent, so you may need 23 or 24 psi on the regulator to carb up the beer. To serve at that pressure, you may need 20-25' 3/16" serving lines to avoid too much foaming.
No. You really need "beverage tubing", 3/16" ID.
This ^^^^^^. Beverage tubing is food-grade 3/16" inside diameter thick wall vinyl tubing.
It's not expensive. Start with 10' length and you can adjust (cut) to a shorter length if needed.
humpadilo
Well-Known Member
Cellar (12-14C/54-57F): Bitter, Premium Bitter, Brown Ale, India Pale Ale, English Pale Ale, English Strong Ale, Old Ale, Saison, Unblended Lambic, Flemish Sour Ale, Bière de Garde, Baltic Porter, Abbey Dubbel, Belgian Strong Ale, Weizen Bock, Bock, Foreign Stout, Zwickel/Keller/Landbier, Scottish Ale, Scotch Ale, American Strong Ale, Mild, English-style Cider
I have a bock in the keg and that is just the range it is setting at. So if this says 54-57, do I still need a longer tube?
I have a bock in the keg and that is just the range it is setting at. So if this says 54-57, do I still need a longer tube?
I'm afraid that it's not as simple as we'd like it to be. Temperature, serving pressure and carbonation level are all inter-related.
Line length influences the amount of foaming you'll get at a given temp and pressure. Basically, longer line (between 8-10ft vs. 5ft) lets you serve at a slightly higher pressure (thus maintaining a higher level of carbonation at a given temp) without as much foam. Since you're running in the mid-50's, you'll need a higher pressure to maintain carbonation (the Henry's Law constant is temperature dependent). The higher pressure will result in more foam. Longer lines help reduce that.
I run my keezer at around 40*F and 10psi. So far, I've gotten away with using the 5ft lines that came with the 3-faucet setup without major foaming problems, but will likely try longer lines at some point with a pressure bump to 11-12psi and see how that does.
One thing to keep in mind is that if the beer is being carbed and served at 55-60 degrees, the psi will be more like 23 psi or so, and the lines will have to be even longer to balance the system without foaming so that's why I suggested 20-25' lines.
10-12' lines may work well for 12 psi at 40 degrees, but are too short for 23 psi and warm temperatures.
I used to have soda in the basement (45-50 degrees) for my son. I needed 25-30' feet of line to pour the soda at 30 psi.
10-12' lines may work well for 12 psi at 40 degrees, but are too short for 23 psi and warm temperatures.
I used to have soda in the basement (45-50 degrees) for my son. I needed 25-30' feet of line to pour the soda at 30 psi.
