Flat Beer - please help me troubleshoot (again)

[Gslice]

First let me say thanks in advance, as this is my 3rd new post, and everybody here has been so helpful in answering my first 2 posts. I am a big fan of Micromatic's service and the forums.

Anyways, in short, After much foamy troubles, I started getting completely flat beer out of my kegerator. Here are the details:

1. Used Danby Chill 'n Tap - holds 1/4 or 1/6 Bbls
2. Temperature set to ~36F. (I have a glass bulb thermometer in a cup of water inside the freezer, as well as a wall-mounted air thermometer. Currently, the bulb one reads ~39F, and the air one reads 44F)
3. Pressure @ regulator set to 11PSI.
4. 1/4 Bbl of Sam Adam's Boston Lager


Here is a little background on my story:
1. I tapped the keg 2 weekends ago, and it was pouring pretty smoothly and tasted amazingly fresh. It came out only slightly foamy and at a relatively high flow rate.
2. I fiddled with the temperature and pressure settings. I didn't have a thermometer, so I blindly cranked the knob to near maximum chill.
3. Foamy beer started coming out like a machine gun and the settled beer (which took minutes to calm down) had a really funny taste to it. It seemed very strong, like a dopple-bock and was darker and more bitter than I remembered.
4. After a few days of drinking this high-octane stuff, foam/beer stopped coming out altogether. I'd just hear the hiss of CO2 escaping.
5. I went to re-tap the keg and finally noticed that it had frozen solid! From this, I presumed I had only been drinking the ethanol and solids off the top of the keg, while the majority of water had been frozen down below.
6. I defrosted the keg and retapped it. I got thermometers and used them to keep the temperature in the desired range. The pressure was also set correctly.
7. I finally started getting non-foamy beer out of the keg, but now, it's just flat, low-alcohol and tasteless beer. It comes out looking like apple juice and fills up a glass at a pretty quick rate. Fiddling with the pressure only changes the flow rate, and not the appearance of the beer.

I have a hunch that I drank all the alcohol and good flavor out of the beer when the keg was frozen, and now all thats left is beerwater. Does this seem like a reasonable assumption?

I am about to buy a couple more kegs for a party tonight, and want everything to go smoothly as possible.

Based on my input, does anybody have any suggestions?

Thanks - I totally appreciate it!

[edramshaw]

Well you are one of a select few that was able to enjoy a glass of Sam Adams "Eis Lager"! LOL, It sounds as if you are right on with your assumption regarding the stronger version of the beer. Some breweries do this on purpose and the result is quite good. (I do this every year with Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale). Your pressure still seems a bit low, if you have about 5 feet of 3/16 beer line runnng to the tap I would pump it up a few pounds. If you want to recarbonate the flat Sam then pull the keg out and shake it until you hear the gas stop entering the solution. Allow to settle and you should be back up to approximate carbonation levels. The beer will still be watery but will have bubbles in it. Your other beers should pour fine, just make sure you keep that fridge from freezing and you will be all set.

[Gslice]

Edramshaw:

Hehe, the "Eis Lager" was actually pretty good, but I think I ruined the rest of the keg.

I tried your suggestion of shaking the keg, and it definitely added foam to the beer. It now tastes a lot better, and I am deeply indebted to you (again).

Thanks a lot!

[ernestbud]

whenever you freeze a keg during the thaw process you need to turn the keg upside down and back several times during the thaw process to remix your keg and remember the beer comes from the bottom of the keg not the top