Whats the differences between my two kegs?

[underwaterwelder]

I just had bud light and long trail ale on tap. If I recall correctly, they are 2.6 and 2.55 v/v respectively. Which realistically in my opinion is the same considering my regulator is not that exact. my beer temps have been seemingly consistent around 39 degrees which means i set my regulator just shy of 13 psi.

Now my homemade glycol system seems too pour the first beer slightly colder. However it seems like first pour on the long trail ale ends up with some foam. maybe 30% of a pint glass. but then pours well after that, and for a while after that. even if i pause for some time between beers. I mean consistent good looking pours. just the right amount of head. not a lot of foam. good temp, taste. head. everything. however the bud light seems to pour more foamy much more often. first one is half foam. and the second glass pours well as long as its pulled pretty soon after the first. but much quicker it turns back to a foamy pour.

why is the bud light harder to get a good pour out of? is that something that anyone else has had issues with?

as far as i can tell the rest of my system is equal. both beers draw from the same fridge through the same homemade glycol line, with the same coolant run, taps are exactly next to each other and have the same homemade glycol shank cooling set up. the same results appeared if i bumped up the pressure slightly to make it closer balanced to the bud light, or slightly less to balance the long trail ale (they are drawing off the same PSI regulator with two separate outputs)

is there something about bud light that is harder to balance or get a good pour out of? any ideas on things i should look for or look into??

[KillianBoy]

underwaterwelder,
Double check the v/v of both, my read is 2.5 for Long Trail and 2.7 for A/B products. so if your numbers are right you are probably having CO2 breakout in the Light. .2 difference might be a bit much, you should look into a new regulator you can adjust for different beers. No matter what 13 would be the best PSI, if you go 14 (which is right for 39 degree Bud Light), you'll probably overcarb the Long Trail. You could try and up to 14-15 and see where that gets you, you'll be adding "push" to Long Trail and dead perfect for the Light.
KB

[spdbump]

Bud Light is a lighter beer, it is more sensive to temp issues. At 39* you are right on the border of the dreaded temp breakout zone of 40*. Darker beers will hold at a higher temp and not foam as much above 40*. Try and get your beer temp lower closer to the 36-38* range and the problem should go away. As far as the first pour you are always going to get foam, cold beer room temp faucet = FOAM A second regulator for each brand would also help so that you can controll the pressure to each brand.

[psychodad]

is there something about bud light that is harder to balance or get a good pour out of? any ideas on things i should look for or look into??

Not really. Two kegs of two different styles of beer intended to be served at two levels of carbonation, served at the same temperature and psi will eventually achieve the same level of carbonation, but both should be able to pour well. Not that that so what you are going to want to do... But the level of carbonation you are wanting from these two beers IMHO is close enough that it should be doable.

As a quick test, if you haven't already... I'd swap couplers assuming both kegs use the same coupler. If this moves your problem to the other keg, you can then go by process of elimination to determine if it is the coupler, line or faucet. BTW, I'd also look at the faucet on the problem keg and make sure the vent holes are clear.

[underwaterwelder]

Thanks for the thoughts. i guess i should have read the carbonation forum a little deeper. once i saw the original post of 2.6 i went with that for bud light. and i must have misremembered the long trail.

I didn't know the lighter beers have issuues at higher temps like that. maybe ill try lowering everything down a bit

i am thinking either a better regulator or a second tank and regulator will be my christmas present to myself... been planning that for a while now

thanks for the help!