Wild Beer and Other Questions

[goatghost]

I've had a kegerator for over a year and, I must say, dispensing beer properly appears to be an exacting science...LOL

I got a keg of Killian's Red a week ago and it's been all foam ever since. I've always had foam and/or flatness issues. In fact, I don't think I've ever had a perfect pour.

Right before installing this latest Killian's keg, I cleaned out my lines/faucet. I have roughly 5' of 3/8" beer line. I have an external digital thermostat keeping things inside at 38F. I have a blower chilling the inside of the tower. I'm in Las Vegas...roughly 2,000 feet above sea level. I've tried setting CO2 psi to 16, 15, 12, and 13. I don't know if I need to go high on the pressure or low. Nothing seems to work.

I installed a stout faucet with my last keg (Guinness), but I've removed the restrictor disc for use with the Killian's. I read a stout faucet can be used with "regular" beers, as long as the restrictor disc is removed. I'm considering going back to a standard faucet, if that will help. I had the same foam/flatness issues with the standard faucet I used to have.

The tap does spit briefly for the initial pour.

I guess my questions are:

1. What do I start with when troubleshooting foam issues?

2. How do I measure "pour" temperature when all I have is foam? Is it okay to wait for the foam to liquify? Do I just stick a thermometer in the foam?

3. Would using a standard faucet help as far as the foaming is concerned?

4. My flow rate has always seemed to be high (hard to tell the rate when all that comes out is foam). Should I get a longer beer line? If I go with 8 feet, will this be a problem? I've heard longer line slows the rate of flow. Hell, I'll go with 12 feet, if necessary.

5. Are there ramifications of constantly messing with the pressure? If I set the pressure too low (12psi) or too high (16psi), will that affect the gas diffusion in the beer in the keg? If so, can it be corrected?

6. I've read about releasing some pressure within the keg, if necessary. How does one know if this is necessary? If I do this, is there any way to "repressurize" the keg? I've always thought that, when the gauge reads 12psi, it's 12psi system-wide. If that's not the case, if I release some pressure from the keg, will the keg be ruined? Won't releasing some pressure introduce air into the keg?

7. I've read about people cleaning beer lines mid-keg. Doesn't decoupling introduce a slight bit of air into the keg? Couldn't this promote bacteria growth inside the keg?

8. Does it make a difference if the beer line hangs over the side of the keg and is not coiled on top of it?

Sorry for the long post. I've been searching previous posts, but I'm not entirely sure where to start.

Thanks!

P.S. - Just to clarify...I'm using CO2 and not mixed gas for the Killian's...LOL

[psychodad]

I think I'd go with the standard faucet.

As far as pressures go... That is quite a can of worms. For carbonation issues, it takes some time after an adjustment to see any change. The beer absorbs the co2. It it is flat, it will take a while to carb. If it is over-carbed, it will take it some time to flatten.

This is why I think it is best to start with the temperatures and pressures suggested by the brewery and making small adjustments as needed from there. And of course, make sure all those other details are worked out. Properly cleaned glasses, no kinked lines, proper line type and length, clean lines, correct pur procedures, etc.

[doug ellis]

When you cleaned your faucet, did you take it apart. There are a lot of little thingies there hiding that you may not can get to just by flushing.














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[shane34652]

If your Beer line is 3/8 ID I believe that is your problem. You're not getting enough restriction. Replace it with 5' of 3/16 ID line and that should help. If it is already 3/36 ID then increase the length to 8' or 9'.

[BrewGuru]

If your beer line is really 3/8", that is probably the majority of your problem, the 3/8" line that short does not provide enough restriction to slow down the flow enough by the time it reaches the faucet. Replace the line with a 6 foot piece of 3/16" food grade beer line such as the stuff MM sells here.

Regarding pressure, CO2 pressure is used to accomplish two things, to maintain the equilibrium of the carbonation level of the beer and to push the beer to the faucet. Pressure is set to the proper maintenance level for the beer you are serving and not adjust. Pressure is NEVER used to adjust flow speed or to attempt to control foam.

You should change back to your standard faucet for serving beers that are not nitrogenated, stout faucets typically do not have desireable flow characteristics for standard carbonated beers.

Coupling, De-Coupling, or venting the keg will not allow bacteria or air into the keg and you can comfortably couple and de-couple repeatedly. You should not normally need to vent a keg unless you overcarbonated your beer and are trying to drive off some extra CO2 - this is not a common occurrence and venting is generally a waste of gas.

The routing of your beer line does not matter, you can have it hanging down, coiled, or otherwise as long as it is not kinked or restricted in any way.

[lunkhead]

Aside from the possible faucet, beer line issues I would also bring up the temperature. You've stated "I have an external digital thermostat keeping things inside at 38F." Does this mean inside the box temp or beer temp? you want the beer to be 38, not inside the box. The co2 vol of killians is 2.75 so at 38 degree "beer" temp would require 14 psi with 5' to 6' of 3/16" ID line. At 2000ft you'll want 1 to 2 psi more for push pressure. If the beer is any warmer than this you'll have foam and need to increase pressure. I've been drinking alot of killians lately and at a 36 deg beer temp with 5'10" of 3/16 ID line at 700ft elevation I use 13.5 psi, it works good. It takes 3 to 4 days to get a half barrel down to 36 also.

[goatghost]

Thanks, everyone, for all your suggestions.

I set the beer temperature down to 36F, last week. I'm going to buy the standard faucet next week. The beer line is indeed 3/16".

I had installed a tower cooling fan (a 3.5" computer fan mounted in a small project box with a 1/2" hose snaked up to the top of the tower), and things seem cool in the tower (the faucet feels cold when I wrap my hand around it). I suppose I would need a small thermometer to hang in there, just to be sure.

When I pour, I have checked the tower hose for bubbles, but have seen no bubbles coming up, leading me to believe the issue has to do with the faucet or the temperature/pressure ratio.

[cubby_swans]

as far as measuring liquid beer temp. Pour the first glass, dump it, and pour another immediately. Hopefully you'll get a slightly better pour and you can actually get the temp measurement. Just stick the thermomter in the glass while you're pouring it so it doesn't warm up to quick.