Why is there lots of bubbles forming in some beer and nothing in others?

[spittiz]

I realize this is not strictly related to homebrewing but beer in general, but I haven't managed to find a proper answer and I suspect there are knowledgeable people here who can answer.

Example, I had a standard pour of Heineken from tap at a local bar. It formed lots of bubbles in the glass that rise from the bottom to the top and made it look very appetizing. I have a tasty crystal clear cream ale on tap at home, but no matter what serving pressure I use, it barely produces any bubbles in the glass, it looks flat, although there is a nice white head forming when pouring with normal pressure. Why is that? Why is there lots of bubbles forming in the glass in some cases with some beer, while there is pretty much nothing with others although they feel equally carbonated?

 

[MaxStout]

Perhaps detergent film inside the glasses?

 

[Golddiggie]

Beer line length, plus ID of the line, can impact things. Not to mention temperature at PSI for carbonation/serving.

How are you carbonating the kegs of beer? Temperature it's at? How long at pressure? Are you using the two week set and forget or trying to rapid carbonate?

As MaxStout just mentioned, be sure the glasses are clean and soap residue free. Although if it happens with one keg, but not others, it might not be the glasses. Try rinsing out the glass before you pour from the keg.

 

[Gilbert Spinning Horse]

A lot of pub glasses have little irregularities added to the bottom of the glass to make the bubbles.

 

[spittiz]

Beer line length, plus ID of the line, can impact things. Not to mention temperature at PSI for carbonation/serving.

How are you carbonating the kegs of beer? Temperature it's at? How long at pressure? Are you using the two week set and forget or trying to rapid carbonate?

As MaxStout just mentioned, be sure the glasses are clean and soap residue free. Although if it happens with one keg, but not others, it might not be the glasses. Try rinsing out the glass before you pour from the keg.

Valid questions, forgot to mention that the kegs are sitting at 6 celcius, this cream ale has been on keg for 74 days at a pressure of ~1 bar. I generally pseudo force carb but I don't evaluate beer until its been on keg for minimum of 2 weeks. I use roughly 2,5m of 4mm ID tubing, but I've also experimented with dropping the keg pressure before serving to preserve the co2 level. Still not much bubbles to speak of at least with this keg.

This is the only keg I have with clear beer at the moment so I can't compare with the others. I will have to try some different glassware and rinsing them with water before pouring just to be sure.

If it turns out to be this keg in particular, any ideas what gives? I clean with PBW and sanitize with StarSan. The beer does form a nice head though that last for a while, just not much bubbles forming.

 

[Golddiggie]

Try a longer beer line length. Most people us the rule of one foot per PSI the beer is under. Granted some of the beer lines give you the restriction levels they provide, per foot, so you could go with shorter lines. I typically run 10-12 feet for the beers on CO2 (12psi at ~40F). I'm planning to change out the lines on my stout taps to longer ones. It's why I bought a 100' roll of the stuff recently. With the line offering 2.2psi per foot of restriction, I plan to use enough to handle up to 40psi (nitro/co2 mix).

The only 'negative' for the longer lines would be slower pours. Not a bad thing for beers on nitro mix.

 

[day_trippr]

The "one foot per PSI" rule is for conventional 3/16" ID PVC beer line, while in this case the line in use is 4mm ID.
fwiw, I run 6.5 feet of 4mm ID line for beers carbed/dispensed at 11 psi, so even a bit shorter than stated above, with lovely pours...

Cheers!