Pure foam

[beergut]

I have had my kegerator for a little over a year and I love it!! I have had some major problems with the last couple of kegs. (Miller Lite) The beer is pure foam. I keep the lines and faucet very clean. (3/16" ID line x 6ft lg.) The kegerator was puchased and not made from the kit, so I am assuming the line lengths and sizes are all correct (Frigidare Beverage dispenser) I have read soo much on foam issues and have checked and rechecked everything. Everyone keeps telling me its a bad regulator. I have it set at 12 psi. How do I know if the regulator is bad? What else can cause this if the beer is kept at the proper temperature and the lines and hardware are clean? Please help.

[Hophead]

Miller lite can be tough to pour. I drink a lot of the stuff from my kegerator. There seems to be more foam issues with light beers like Miller Lite and Coors Lite than most other beers.

Temp and pressure need to be near perfect. In this case, that means 38 degree BEER temp and 14 PSI CO2. You absolutely must know the temp of the beer and the only way to do this is to pour a beer and measure the beer temp with a thermometer you can trust.

Chances are, your beer temp is too high. Even if the temp in the fridge is close to 38, your beer temp will be warmer. I have to keep my fridge at 33-34 to get the beer in the keg to 38.

Do you see any bubbles in the beer line from the keg to the tap?

How you pour Miller Lite and what you pour it into also has a big effect. Try opening the tap (faucet) for a few seconds and see how the beer stream looks coming out. Does it start out looking foamy then clear up in a second or two? If so, try letting that initial second of foam go into the drip tray before you put a clean glass under. It's impossible to pour beer on top of foam - you'll just get more foam.

[beergut]

Thanks for the advice. I will check the temperature. The fridge is at 38, so you may be on to something with the beer being too warm. The line between the keg and the faucet does not have any bubbles. I did notice that the faucet has a drip in it for quite awhile after I pour a beer. I suspect there may be an issue with one of the seals in the faucet. Not real sure at this point, but Im going to tear it all apart and check it out.

[Hophead]

If the fridge is at 38, I can pretty much guarantee the beer is warmer than that. If you're not seeing any bubbles in the beer line, then I would definitely be looking very closely at the faucet. If there's anything wrong there or even one bit of beer scale, it will cause 100% foam.

[beergut]

Hophead,
I cant thank you enough for your advice on my foam issues. I came home from work and disassembled the entire faucet and it was full of black sludge. I cleaned the entire faucet including the seals. I used the Micomatic cleaning solution. I never knew the entire faucet had to be taken apart and cleaned. I cant believe it, its a different beer and its a perfect pour!!! Just in time for the holidays. One more thing of many to be thankful for this year. I will share this info in the forum. Hopefully this will help others as well.

Thanks again.

Beergut

[Hophead]

Glad you got the foam issue resolved. Now you just need to get the temp and pressure set correctly and you'll have perfect beer (both taste and carbonation).

In addition to taking the faucet apart (I do it after every keg), you should also take the coupler apart once in a while because it needs a good scrubing too.

[sts]

Hi,
I too am having trouble with Foam. I have a resturant keg fridge with two taps in my home. I am not sure if that makes a difference. I am using only one tap now I have a "pony" keg of molson canadian in it. When I pour all I get is foam. I was wondering what psi should I be using and if there are any other tips. I have been reading the forum so I know that the lines are the right length etc.
Please Help!