Beer Forum

tjchris3 · #1 (**permalink**) 07-18-2008, 07:11 PM

I just finished my chest freezer. I have a dual tap tower system with no tower cooler or blower. out of the box and hooked up 5 ft of beer line, elivation is 3500ft. Blue moon keg, (lots of reasearch) i know what it should run at and i should have more line... but somehow the first night i ended up dropping the psi to about 10 which i think may have flattened the beer, i will drink it anyway though!!!!

So my question is for this keg can i put the pressure down to 12ish for better pours in the evening then back up to 16 -18 over night. its only a 5 gal keg and has a life span of only about as long as this weekend only. getting a coors light next week. Thanks

cubby_swans · #2 (**permalink**) 07-19-2008, 07:00 AM

you shouldn't be adjusting the pressure to get a better pour. If it's pouring too fast, you should get a longer beer line to slow it down. I'd buy 10 feet, and then if that's too long (pours too slow), you can trim a foot or two off. Dropping to 10 on one night wouldn't have flattened your beer, but it would flatten over time. Turning it back up over night is better than not, though.

edramshaw · #3 (**permalink**) 07-19-2008, 07:33 AM

but you could. Cubby is rightm you should have it set up right then you wont need to mess with it. However, in a pinch there should be no problem with turning the gas down to get it out an then turning it back up at night. Any carbonation lost will reabsorb over night at the higher pressure.

Scott Zuhse · #4 (**permalink**) 07-19-2008, 10:45 AM

What is the temperature of the Blue Moon? If it is 38F @ 3500' elevation @ 2.75 v/v, your PSIG should be 17 PSIG. If you desire 128 oz. min. flow speed, install five feet of 3/16" ID vinyl line.

With this product being a wheat beer and high carbonation level, you may want to slow the flow down by heeding the advice of the posts above and trim the line back until you are comfortable with the flow.

Be aware that Coors in the past has recommended to utilize hardware (shank, tailpieces, splicers) that are no smaller than 1/4" ID. This may reduce the chance of the gas breaking out of the beer.

Did you pressure leak test the system?

tjchris3 · #5 (**permalink**) 07-19-2008, 10:48 AM

Thanks guys! I knew about needing more beer line, was too late and too many beers deep last night to get any. I tryed turning down the pressure and it seemed to me that the beer tasted like crap as soon as i did it, so i put it back up and just had to take a few minutes to pour a glass. Im going today to get 10 foot of line. i might as well do it right since it wont be the only keg of blue moon i will ever have in there!

tjchris3 · #6 (**permalink**) 07-19-2008, 11:56 AM

quick question. when extending the beer line do i splice it into the line that came with the tower or take the tower apart and replace the whole line faucet to tap?

tjchris3 · #7 (**permalink**) 07-19-2008, 05:50 PM

So i bought 6' of of tubing and spliced it into the one that came with the tower and im still getting almost all foam pours. i did the pour, chug, pour, chug, pour, chug

test and the brew is about 36 - 38* and psi is about 17. i popped the top of the tower off the knoticed that the last few inches of line turn to foam within about a minute... its pouring slower now but still foam... any ideas? eveerything is brand new.

Scott Zuhse · #8 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 09:45 AM

How much beer is in the keg?

tjchris3 · #9 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 10:23 AM

i wolud say 1/3 to 1/2 full. its a 5 gal though

tjchris3 · #10 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 12:56 PM

you know what i didnt think about my co2 tank is probably 4 years old or so... filled 4 years ago, when i played paint ball. in searching i found that this might have gone bad..? what do ya think, possible?

Scott Zuhse · #11 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 09:03 PM

CO2 does not go bad unless there are contaminants in the cylinder. Leaks will cause issues. You may have over carbonated the keg and it is now resembling champagne.

Conduct a search on shaking a keg. This is not a "best practice" as you can flatten the beer.

tjchris3 · #12 (**permalink**) 07-21-2008, 03:52 PM

NO MORE BUBBLIE!!!!

I took you advice and searched shakin a keg, and went to it. i blead out all the Co2 and shook it like my ex (just kidding) let is sit for about 15 minutes and retapped it and set it to 17psi. once i stopped hearing the gas go into the keg i tried to pour a beer, a few big hiccups and it started flowing....beer.... not foam for the 1st time yet!! no head but i was just happy to have some beer to drink. I might have flattened this small keg but hopefully all goes well with the next one! i will keep everyone updated and thanks to all for you concern and ideas!!!!

Chris