Foaming Beer - Blast of Air

[needmoretime4]

Hello all,

I am new to the kegerator, but i have gone thru one keg and i am on my second. I cleaned the lines, put everything back in it's place and i left the keg in the cooler for a week before i tapped it. Now the 1st hour of the party, beer was flowing ice cold and not a problem, then all of a sudden, we start getting a blast of air, and then a 2/3 foam, 1/3 beer mixture. I close the tap, and open it again 5 seconds later, bam, another blast of air. i checked all the lines, i made sure the o-rings are in place and the connections are tight. Now i keep my beer cold, so do you think it is starting to freeze? i have 2 buddies who keeps theirs at 30 degrees and haven't had a problem, and mine sits about 30 to 32 degress right now!

Any suggestions?

[Scott Zuhse]

What brand of beer do you have and what is your pressure? Is this [u]beer</u> temperature you are recording?

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[needmoretime4]

quote:Originally posted by Scott Zuhse

What brand of beer do you have and what is your pressure? Is this [u]beer</u> temperature you are recording?

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

Right now i have 1/2 Barrel Miller Lite. The pressure is sitting at 8 to 9 pounds. The Beer temp out of the keg is at 30 to 31 degrees. I didn't get a chance last night to see if it is still having the issue but i have a feeling it is.

[TAPMAN]

You need more pressure. The blasts of air and foam are air pockets in the line . Bump pressure up to 12, wait a few minutes and then try. Once you purge the lines of the air pockets, you should be OK.

[Scott Zuhse]

At 30 degrees your beer is probably over-carbonated. The colder the liquid the easier it is to absorb excess gas. You will not experience dispensing issues until the layer of saturated beer drops down to the bottom of the keg. With the next keg adjust your temperature to about 38 degrees, apply 14 PSIG and use five feet of 3/16" ID. Be certain that the temperature is that of the beer.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[needmoretime4]

ok, i did find that the beer was now coming out colder then the 30 degrees, about 28. i raised the temp and it is now sitting at 35. The more pressure i put on it the faster the foam comes out. I lowered the pressure back to 10 and still foam, but also now the beer is flat. Since the Keg is also almost empty, i will just get a new one and keep the temp up. The one thing i didn't like when i got the keg was, it looks like the keg was thrown down a flight of stairs. the tops and bottoms are bent to hell, there is a dent in the side, and after the first hour of pouring after the keg sat for 5 days, it was perfectly fine, and then Boom, the foam started coming.

[Scott Zuhse]

Again, you have over carbonated (turned it into mousse) the beer. The condition of the keg has nothing to do with the performance as long as the keg is mechanically sound.

At 35 F @ sea level use 12 PSIG for the new keg of Lite.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[needmoretime4]

Ok, i will up my temp and PSI, but i have a question as now my buddy, who buys from the same place, has the same beer, now has the same problem! This is his Third keg and the first time he has had this issue. We bought the kegs from this place probably a week apart. Does anyone have a diagram or an understanding of the internals of a key?

[Scott Zuhse]

If you do not concern yourself as to the system set up in regards to temperature and pressure, you do not need to worry about the internal mechanisms of the keg.

If you eventually set your system up correctly and you still have issues, then you may suspect the keg's valve at the neck or the internal tube. Although keg issues are rare, system set up or also referred to as "system balance" issues are a lot more common.

Beer has gas in solution! You have to gain perfect equilibrium such that this gas does not want to leave solution nor absorb any excess gas from your pressure source. Thus, temperature / pressure.



Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[needmoretime4]

i understand that and i do concern myself with the setup, that is why i am changing mine. However it is ironic that my buddy has the same kegerator, his is set up at 12 psi, the beer was coming out at 38 degrees and this is now his 3rd Keg (with the first two being perfectly fine) that he has the same exact issue i have, and we got our Keg's from the same place but a week or two apart. I am just trying to pinpoint the issue for him now, as his keg is almost full, where mine is almost empty.

[Scott Zuhse]

If you do suspect the keg the first area to look for problems would be the top valve in the keg well. There is a raised coated ring on the inner diameter of the valve surrounding the steel ball. Take a paper towel and wipe out any liquid on top of this area. Using a flashlight, inspect this ring for any tear, cut, crack or gouge. If so, the pressure will be routed directly into the beer stream as it leaves the keg.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute