Foam when I pour! Argh!

[Chickenhawk911]

Okay, first post but longtime lurker. So go easy on me ;)

I have had a freezer converted kegerator for several years now, and it has never failed me. I treat it right, clean it and care for it and it treats me to quality brew. Put my first keg in after moving cross-country and it is nothing but foam. This is not a home brew, this is Leinie's Creamy Dark! It will pour for a couple of seconds, spit at me then pour more foam. There is most definitely air or CO2 in the line. What am I doing wrong? Never had this problem, and the CO2 is at about 12-13, temp about 34.

Let me know if you need more information too and I will do my best to provide it. Since we moved to the sticks I don't have my city homebrew store to go to for help so I am relying on you all to pull me through! Thanks in advance!

[Mill Rat]

Given that it has always worked before, and you sound like this is far from the first keg you've tapped on this system, I'd suspect the keg. If you have another at hand try that one. If your problems go away, it's the Leinie's keg, not your tap box.

[B_rad1969]

Reduce your serving pressure. Or you can try a longer beer line.

[beerking]

Reduce your serving pressure. Or you can try a longer beer line.

Strangely enough, the symptoms described could be either from too much, OR too little pressure. About the only way to check everything for sure is to do the calculations. Google "balancing draught systems," or something like it, and you will find several sites that describe how to balance your system.

[steveh]

Is the beer being served at 34° too? Can you taste it?

Not being a butt here, but... maybe everything is just too cold? Leinie's isn't a high-craft brew, but it's no Natty Light either.

S.

[deafcone]

TRY REDUCNG pressure to 5 pounds. see if that works.

DC

[MrNate]

What I've come to realize about draft systems is that your goal is to keep the co2 in solution until the beer hits the glass.

From a practical standpoint, this means keeping the head pressure set correctly for the volumes of co2 contained in the beer. An agitated keg needs time under pressure to settle (re-dissolve co2). A warm keg needs time under pressure to re-absorb the c02 that came out of solution as the beer warmed.

If the keg was just moved into your kegorator, it probably needs to sit in there for some period of time on the gas to recondition. The regulator pressure needs to be set correctly for the volumes of co2 it was originally carbed with and the temperature of the kegorator, OR just bleed it off and recarb it to your liking.

This will take care of the bubbles in the line.

Problem number 2 comes when the beer actually comes out of the tap. If you had a keg of Coors Light in there (for illustrative purposes only, just relax) you would find that you probably have to keep the regulator cranked way up for the correct level of carbonation. The trouble with that is when the beer runs through the faucet and into the glass, it's coming out with such force that it's agitated and releasing co2 like crazy. Hence, a big foamy glass of foam.

That's where the many feet of 3/16" beer line comes in. The longer the line, the more resistance the beer encounters, such that by the time it gets to the faucet the 15 PSI of head pressure is reduced to 1-2 PSI. In theory, anyway. I eventually scrapped all the calculations and just went with 10' of 3/16" per faucet, which seems to work out pretty well for me.

Now all that being said, you can see why Beerking said it could be a question of too little pressure or too much pressure. Too little, and you've got co2 coming out of solution in your lines, giving you foam. Too much, and you've overshot your line resistance and are now attempting to pour an overcarbed beer way too fast.

Turning the pressure down can be an OK temporary solution for a party if you're drawing pint after pint with very little time in between pulls, or an adequate long-term solution if you bleed off the pressure and let it re-condition to a low volume of co2.

[beerking]

You can also get bubbles forming in the beer line if you have kinks or obstructions in the line. Basically, the beer gets put under higher pressure right in front of any obstruction (or kink), then is under low pressure right after the obstruction. The result is CO2 coming out of solution after the obstruction, and foam flowing all the rest of the way to the tap.

[B_rad1969]

You can also get bubbles forming in the beer line if you have kinks or obstructions in the line. Basically, the beer gets put under higher pressure right in front of any obstruction (or kink), then is under low pressure right after the obstruction. The result is CO2 coming out of solution after the obstruction, and foam flowing all the rest of the way to the tap.

Kind of how the AC works. Liquid is forced through a small opening and then it expands and turns into a gas and cools as a result. Is the beer coming out colder than your kegerator? :D

[tapguy]

I hope this can help. I had the some problem. I bought my Danby kegarator a few years ago. The tap worked fine for the first keg or two then the foam started to get out of control. I tried lowering the pressure, still more head then beer. Then I took everything apart and cleaned the tap and lines. I found what I believe is referred to as the shank to be filled with rotten beer and knda gross. This is the main shaft that goes in and out as you open and close the handle. This was better but, I was still getting more head then beer. This went on for some time. It didn't matter if I changed the keg to a different brand, changed the pressure or the temperature. I finally got totally fed up and once again disassembled the faucet "tap" when my keg went dry.

Looking at the main body of the tap and trying to understand how it functioned I found the problem.

Look at the main body of the tap and you will see a very small hole on the bottom side of the cylindrical area that sticks out. NOW WHAT YOU DON'T SEE is another hole that is inside directly above the hole the beer comes out of. Chances are that hole is clogged with rotten beer. Use either a paperclip or toothpick to clear this opening. What this does is; it lets air flow from the front hole through the under cut in the shank and into the hole that beer dispenses through. This allows the pressure to fill the glass without making it great enough to create foam.

I probably spent what amounted to days looking for this solution on the internet and never found it. Everybody wants you to buy their stuff to solve this problem.

Hope this helps. I haven't had a problem with to much head in my beer glass since.

[MrNate]

Hey, yeah! That's a damn good point there. Thanks and welcome, tapguy!

[psychodad]

Those vent holes allow the last bit of beer from being trapped in the faucet. Keeping them clean reduces dispensing issues because it prevents bacteria growth in the faucet. The beer staying in the faucet will also warm up to room temperature causing foam when the colder beer hits it.

Another place that crap can form in your faucet is in the hole in the shaft that the lever operates in. And it is also a good idea to disassemble the keg coupler every few cleanings as this accumulation will grow in the coupler as well. Once bacteria starts to grow in any of these places, you have to disassemble to clean them as it takes hold very well and just encourages more growth.

[Mill Rat]

Forward-seal faucets (sold under the Perlick name, plus whoever bought out Ventmatic) aviod the problems with crud in the fauset by keeping those spots filled with beer and sanitary. They're about $35 bucks a pop, but well worth it, IMO.