Too much foam

[JensenBrew]

I just built a keezer. Right now I'm just doing commercial kegs as my home brewing is on hold with a couple of little kids. I started with a Goose Island Harvest and a Blue Moon for the wife. 10 ft of beer line and PSI around 10. No issues just a little extra foam on the first pour. Last week I picked up an Ayinger Oktoberfest. Got it tapped and tons of foam. So I reduced the PSI down to about 6 and waited a day. Still too much foam. It does dissipate after a bit but its frustrating. Any ideas?

 

[justhops]

How long did you let the keg sit before you tapped it? Kegs need to sit for a while to let everything stabilize.

 

[JensenBrew]

Got the keg Thursday night and it was foamy which I figured was normal. Yesterday I had to re-tap due to leaving out the beer line check valve in the coupler. It was still foamy last night so I reduced the PSI and today it might be a hair better but still 2/3 foam.

 

[JensenBrew]

I didn't let it sit long before I tapped it the first time. That was probably a mistake. But it should have stabilized by now right? Or should I un-tap again and let sit over night?

 

[JuanMoore]

It doesn't need the coupler removed for it to settle. Is it just the first couple of pours of a drinking session that are really foamy, or every pour? What temp are you keeping things at? I'm pretty sure Ayinger Oktoberfest has a higher carbonation level, which would require a higher serving pressure, not lower. You can cheat line resistance issues by lowering the pressure and then bleeding the headspace of the keg before every pour, but lowering the pressure without venting the keg every pour will cause foam, not cure it. You need the serving pressure to match the carbonation level, otherwise CO2 will come out of solution as it sits, causing pockets of gas in the beer line, and a really foamy first pour or two of every drinking session.

 

[justhops]

When I was younger, the bar I worked at wouldn't let us tap a keg until it sat for 72 hours. This was to let it settle from transportation and to let the beer stabilize at the serving temperature. Since it sounds like you have enough beer line (wouldn't hurt to know the diameter of the line), JuanMoore is correct with serving temps and pressure being the remaining key suspects.

 

[JensenBrew]

Thanks everyone. The thought crossed my mind about increasing the pressure rather than decreasing it but I'm new to all of this. I just upped the pressure to around 13 psi and I think we're in business. I'll leave it there for now and see how the other two kegs handle it.

 

[zachattack]

In the future, you can try calling/e-mailing the brewery and ask them what the carb level is in the keg, then use a chart or calculator to set your regulator to match it. That's what I do for commercial kegs.