poor head retention since i started kegging.

[battlesnake]

Hi everyone,
when i bottled my beers had a nice head and excellent retention. I usually throw some wheat in my pale ales. Since i started kegging the head is gone within 2 minutes.

my dispense pressure is about 10 psi and beer line is approx 4 meters 6mm.
I have made sure there is no soap residue left in the keg after i clean it.
I don't force carb, just leave it at dispensing pressure for about a week.

any thoughts?

 

[djar007]

Why don't you bottle some of your brew to compare side by side. And carb it your normal method. Have you thought about trying to bulk prime the keg?

 

[Yob]

Age.. How long are they lasting once at serving pressure? Does it get better towards the end of the keg?

 

[woodwormm]

Have you accidentally washed ur beer glass in the dishwasher or kitchen detergent? Try washing them in PBW and Starsan.

Also I find some beers just need the aadded help of a Headmaster glass. ..

 

[Donske]

Age.. How long are they lasting once at serving pressure? Does it get better towards the end of the keg?

This, I noticed the same thing when I started kegging, kegs were disappearing within a week and not getting the 2-3 weeks needed to form really good head.

 

[battlesnake]

It does get better with age, but still not like it used to. Good idea about bottling one ill give that a go next time. Cheers

 

[Spiesy]

Are your recipes the same?

You've mentioned wheat. But if you were previously brewing beers with a lot of hops, that would have also helped with head formation and retention.

 

[pk.sax]

Check your dispensing equipment for grease. The dip tube, the o-ring on that, the beer post o-ring, the tap connection/shank. Are you applying some lube on the beer out post every time you hook a keg up?

Has your mashing process changed at all? Doing/not doing any steps you used to...

 

[Doug2232]

Are you applying some lube on the beer out post every time you hook a keg up?

Am i not suppose to??

 

[Dunkelbrau]

Not every time and sparingly.

I usually use the one Ross sells at CB, and only re apply when I notice it's not smooth to go on, I usually disassemble the entire keg and clean it all, check the seals are okay and lube up , or replace and lube if needed.

 

[jyo]

What are you using to clean your kegs?

 

[dicko]

After you have left it for a week and you think it is carbed up then turn off the CO2 bottle and shake the keg for a couple of minutes without touching the pressure control on the guage, and see if the low pressure guage drops below the 10 psi (if that is the required carbonation level) Personally I would have it on 12 but there are calculators to work out the desired carbonation for a beer style.

If it drops down then your keg is not carbed enough.
If it stays on 10 psi then the keg is carbed.

If it stays on10, then the next keg you are going to fill for serving, Clean it and sanitise it in the normal manner and drain and then instead of just leaving the no rinse sanitiser residue in the keg and running the beer in on top of it, boil a kettle and rinse the keg with boiling water and let it dry and cool upside down and then fill it with your beer and gas in the normal manner.

See how that goes and report back but don't dismiss most of the other tips offered above as well.

 

[wombil]

Four metres of beer line seem excessive to me.
I have an el cheapo tap and about 900 mm of line,(5 mm I think) and I run at 70 kpa,(10 psi) and get good head and retention on all types of ale I have made.
Didn't know about all the calculations used when I put it together,just cut to fit and it turned out ok.
Just lucky?

 

[QldKev]

There are many factors, but at least you are leaving it to carb at serving pressure which is great.

I'll assume recipes, and glasses / cleaning are the same as when you had great head retention.

I like my APA etc very lively with good carbonation.
Have you tried 12psi? Personally I find 12psi suits my fizzy beers better.
What temperature is the fridge? Is it a font setup? Too warm, and into a warm tap means too much CO2 loss.
What tap setup is it? I had a Kegking flow control tap on my shed fridge. Beers would pour and look ok from the top for a minute. But looking at the beer itself under the head there was no bubbles, hence a flat beer to drink and no head retention. I swapped for a Celli (top end tap) and without changing anything else, the beers are soo much livelier with heaps of bubbles. I'll never buy another non Celli tap again.