Overly frothy beer

[a1149913]

Hey guys, so i've recently put together a keg set up but am having some issues that i'm not exactly sure how to fix. I started with a pluto gun that i kept inside the fridge but it always seemed to create monstrous amounts of foam resulting in super flat cider. I tried running more beer line (4m of 5/16") which didn't help at all, so I figured it was just a cheap gun causing the problems.

So i decided to upgrade and got myself a perlick 545 tap so that i could control the flow. I'm still running around 4m of hose and still getting lots of foam (beer this time). Even with the perlick turns right down to just a trickle, its still majority of foam, if i open it right up the beer comes out much quicker than it probably should but with slightly less foam. However because it comes out so fast and there is already lots of foam in the glass it continues to foam. I was running around 15-16psi, i've turned it down to 10psi but still having similar issues.

Thoughts?

 

[431neb]

Before you freak out about all sorts of equipment malfunctions (like me). Consider this post ..

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/10667-guide-to-keg-forced-carbonation/page-13#entry1152770


and the rest of that thread.

 

[a1149913]

It seems too good to be true! I'll give it a go and see how we go

Thanks

 

[H0U5ECAT]

Have you released the extra pressure from the keg after rolling back the pressure on the reg?
Try this:
Take off the pressure completely and bleed out all the gas from your keg.
Let it settle for about an hour.
Try another pour without the gas connected.
This should help reduce the amount of foam coming out. As it sounds to me like you have an overcharged keg

 

[a1149913]

Ok so i don't think its over carbonated. It looks like the beer line has bubble in it, which increase over time. I've also noticed and once the beer line is bubble free (after purging) the beer seems to froth on and off at the actual tap, like something is agitating it as it comes out of the tap.

 

[mr_wibble]

I think you have an overly-carbonated keg. And what Hou5ecat says is a good procedure.
You are pulling the tap fully-on right? A half-open tap froths a beer quite a lot.

Air bubbles do form in your beer lines as the gas comes out of suspension.
I have read that this indicates your lines are not pressurised properly, but over time I even get it on overcharged kegs, so I don't regard this as accurate.

Is your beer-output line sealed properly on the keg? Maybe it's sucking air - although I think this is a long-shot.

 

[pcmfisher]

Gas bubbles in your beer line mean your keg is either overcarbonated and/or you are serving at too low a pressure.

 

[431neb]

Ok so i don't think its over carbonated. It looks like the beer line has bubble in it, which increase over time. I've also noticed and once the beer line is bubble free (after purging) the beer seems to froth on and off at the actual tap, like something is agitating it as it comes out of the tap.

Still sounds bizarrely familiar JT. I can recall pointing at bubbles forming in my beer lines, just after the quick disconnect and shouting, "SEE! SEE! It's leaking!"

pcmfisher is right. I expected the degassing process to be quicker failing to realise that simply lowering the pressure at the reg, giving the keg a burp, shake and burp won't always be a single time silver bullet.

I hope I don't seem overly pushy, I just hope to save you the frustration that I experienced. Beer should be fun!

 

[H0U5ECAT]

Also, try dropping your serving pressure to about 5psi or less.
Again, still sounds like an over charged unit.
Could also be your tap.
I used a keg king tap on my old kegerator and always had issues pulling beer.
I needed to drop the serving pressure to accommodate the foam being poured.
Now, the andale taps I have.... Saweeeet.

 

[pcmfisher]

As far as the gas bubbles in your beer line in overcarbonated beer go, if you drop the serving pressure down it will make them worse.