Scott:
You must really tear your hair out answering foam questions all day, every day. A suggestion: collect all the best info into an in-depth Foam FAQ. Then you can refer most of the questions to the FAQ, at least until the poster knows the basics.
I've been looking at Ultraflow's pressure/temperature CO2 solubility table, trying to find an equiulibrium point that fits my needs.
Quick recap: Using jockey box with 120' of tubing, tapping Moosehead (pasteurized), and leaving the keg tapped for several days at a time.
Now I see that, while you need a lot of pressure (you recommend 30-35 psi) to push beer through that much tubing, long-term exposure to that much CO2 overcarbonates the beer.
However, I see from the P/T chart, that a 2.5-volume beer achieves CO2 solubility at 30psi/72dF. So, at this pressure/temp, the beer should stay at the desired carbonation level. This raises a few questions that I hope you will answer:
1. Would it really be a good idea to let the beer temp in the keg (using liquid measurements for accuracy) get as warm as 72dF for a few days? It is pasteurized, so it shouldn't spoil, but are there other factors to consider?
2. With 120' of stainless tubing (surrounded by icewater) in the jockey box, would beer entering the coil at 72dF/30 psi cool down to an optimum drinking temp? Seems like it would, but you probably know for sure.
3. Will the CO2 break out dramatically in the coil as the beer rapidly cools, causing foam at the tap? Or is the flow rate fast enough at 30 psi to prevent this?
4. Do you have the specific CO2 volume for Moosehead lager? I've contacted them but they are slow to respond. Moosehead seems highly carbonated, so if was 2.9, the correct keg beer temp at 30 psi would be 62dF, not 72.
Thanks again for your help.
Wayne
|