Blue Moon / Foam and Flat Fun

[Jacob B]

Hey all.

Read through most of the forums and newbie questions but didn't see the answer.

I've recently completed a freezer to dual tap kegerator conversion. I've got a 5 Gal Blue Moon in there now. Running at about 16 PSI and 36 degree temp in the freezer.

At first I had a 5 foot 3/16 line going to my tower and was running at a low PSI (about 10). I had a lot of foam, so I cleaned and tuned and couldn't beat the foam monster. So after reading a bit I ordered some new line and now am running a 10 foot line and its a night an day difference for the foam.

I got a few good poors in my little 32oz mugs and then it seemed the beer was flat. The head is now fairly small as well.

I ran at a lower PSI for a few days. With the size of that little keg, did it flatten out faster than the week I've heard it takes most kegs to flatten out?

In general how long should I see bubbles in the beer?

Any suggestions or just gotta try with the new keg and see where I end up?

Thanks,
JB

[Scott Zuhse]

Blue Moon can be a temperamental product to dispense due to being a wheat beer. Under normal conditions, 38F @ 1' to 1000' elevation, 16 PSIG (pounds per Square Inch Gauge) should suffice.

Apparently you did not run across any posts that indicated the length of 3/16" line will not assist you in maintaining carbonation or reducing foam. It will allow you to control the foam resulting in a more successful pour. This does not take care of the carbonation level of the beer.

Hence, through your experimenting (many folks attempt this with disastrous results), you probably dispensed so much foam that the carbonation level of the beer has be lowered - flat beer.

If the keg has acclimated to the kegerator and the system is clean and free of any build up whatsoever, the only issue that could cause problems would be pressure leaks, sharp edges from the hardware or possibly a bad keg seal.

If you have do have 36 F beer you should utilize 15 PSIG and if the temperature is constant from the keg to the faucet, you should not see bubbles at any time. The smaller the keg, the faster the beer can change.

[Jacob B]

Thank you for your reply.

The forumns I read through seemed to indicate that extending the tubing would reduce the output pressure at the faucet and help control foaming through controlled pouring. That's why I went to the longer tubing, to handle it with that approach. I thought based on what I was experiencing that the longer tubing had addressed the foaming problem, but not I'm not so sure based on your response.

I've pretty much bought every part that MicroMatic sells not from tubing, washers, nuts, cleaning kits, gas lines, etc replacing each part that I thought may be defective, as outlined in the many forum postings I read through. I've spent almost enough now to have bought a new dual tap kegerator, sad.

I used my MicroMatic cleaning kit last week and cleaned out the lines, faucets, couplers, taps, the whole works. I've all new parts from the keg tap to the faucet so I'm pretty sure that's all good.

So my followup question is then, is this keg toast and the beer to be perpetually flat or can I save it somehow? I guess I'm saying is that with time and proper CO2 pressure, will the keg right itself?

Thanks Scott.

JB

[camustang]

Side question to the one above...

I have the Sanyo/Summit BC-1206-2 Kegerator. I have a 5g keg of Samuel Adams, and a 5g keg of Blue Moon.

I have only one regulator for both kegs. Am I better off trying to pump the Samuel Adams at the higher PSI, or should I take the plunge and just get a second regulator for my "non-Blue Moon" beer(s)?

[timg]

So my followup question is then, is this keg toast and the beer to be perpetually flat or can I save it somehow? I guess I'm saying is that with time and proper CO2 pressure, will the keg right itself?

JB[/QUOTE]

I believe you can turn your pressure up to 20# and agitate to force carbonate the beer.

Side question to the one above...


I have only one regulator for both kegs. Am I better off trying to pump the Samuel Adams at the higher PSI, or should I take the plunge and just get a second regulator for my "non-Blue Moon" beer(s)?

I would take the plunge and go with the dual gauge regulator, especially having a wheat beer on tap.

[Scott Zuhse]

Force carbonating can be tricky since no formula exists that will result in bringing back the original carbonation level. The risk would be over carbonation. Best bet would be to finish the rest of the keg and dial in the system for the next keg.

Ideally, a secondary regulator for each product type will allow you to balance the system more effectively.

[Jacob B]

Thank you for the advice. Ordered a new regulator as my #2 beer is a 40 degree, 10 psi beer. Guess I'll have to split the difference and go 38 degrees for the two. So many complications with beer . . . all solved by drinking about 50 oz

[klb311]

I just hooked up a keg of blue moon and was having some foam issues as well (too much). I have a 6 ft run of hose that is labled 3/16'' (inner diameter). When y'all (yes im a southern boy) say a 3/16'' tube, are you talking about the inner diameter or outer? Thanks.

[Scott Zuhse]

Inside diameter. What is your temperature of the Blue Moon in your keg?

[klb311]

I don't know exactly right now I have the Johnson Controls thermostat device and it is set at 38deg, but I am going to buy a thermometer today and put it in a glass of water inside the fridge. I have bud light tapped as well and am getting a bit of foam at the start of my pour as well. With both beers, I can pour a glass of mostly foam, dump it out, go right back to the faucet and get a near perfect pour. Should I look into getting a cooling tower? I have a celli cobra 3-tap system with 2 of them running right now. I bought the towers from my friend who said he never needed a cooling tower b/c the metal was so thick on those cellis. Thanks in advance for all the help.

[klb311]

I am still having foam issues with the blue moon. I am running a chest freezer conversion at 38deg liquid and a 10 foot 3/16in ID beer line. I also tried a 5ft 3/16in ID beer line with the same results. I have tried all the psi's b/n 6-16 and still get about half a glass or more worth of foam on my first pour. Again, if I dump that half foam glass out and go right back to pour, then it's fine. Thoughts?

[Scott Zuhse]

Based on the numerous phone calls recently and the posts, it is possible that someone at the brewery missed the boat on a batch or two and allowed some Blue Moon escape with a little high carbonation than usual.

Unfortunately, since we do not know what the carbonation is, you may need to slowly increase the PSIG until the beer clears and then possibly add additional 3/16" to slow down the flow.

[Kpt42]

I don't have a solution but I had the same problem. I had a 1/2 barrel of blue moon around the middle of April. It would never pour right. I had to fill a glass, let the half glass of head settle and fill it again.

I tried different temps from 32-38 and different gas from 9-14 PSI. Nothing helped.

Perlick has all stainless, ventmatic forward seal faucet and 6 or 7 feet of beer line (I don't remember but I think it is 7). I've had 20 or 30 other kegs through it with no issues....