Too much foam from Keg

Tue Jun 27, 2006 1:35 pm

I tried force carbonating an amber ale with the keg warm. I had never tried this before and I don't know if that is part of the problem, I usually carbonate cold. Anyway, I force carbonated at 25psi for two days and then used the beergun to fill 10 bottles out of my keg. That worked fine but the beer was not fully carbonated. I put the keg into my kegerator and force carbonated for 5 days at 25 psi. When I fill a glass from the keg I get about 80% foam in the glass. I am dispensing at 1 psi. The bottles were lightly carbonated and tasted great. The beer out of the keg tastes different, but not infected. Is it possible that I just over carbonated? With less beer in the keg, would that cause it to carbonate more like a low fill on a bottle? The foam is very thick and small bubbles, not like the big soda like bubbles I have seen on an infected brew. The amber ale does have two pounds of wheat malt in it and the foam looks like it should on a wheat beer, just way too much of it.

Also, is it okay to force carbonate before chilling the keg?

Thanks for the feedback,
Brian
"People who drink light 'beer' don't like the taste of beer; they just like to pee a lot. -- Capital Brewery, Middleton, WI"
User avatar
bender
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2006 1:24 pm
Location: Dearborn Heights, MI

Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:43 pm

You can force carbonate ate warm temperatures. What you must understand is that less PSI is necessary at lower temperatures. ou dont say what the temp is when you put it in the fridge but it sounds like it is way over carbonated. at 40 degrees F I keep it at about 12 PSI. To remove some PSI from the keg crank down the regulator and release a bit from the keg. Rinse and repeat.
User avatar
SunkenBier
 
Posts: 476
Joined: Sun Apr 09, 2006 4:09 pm
Location: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:23 pm

you carbonated more than you needed... 25 is WAY high if you are leaving the gas on .. it is a bit high for a hef.. 12 psi max.
bub
Lunch Meet "Limpian" Gold Medalist (x2) 2006
Winner of <b>NO PANTS</b> award 2006 and 2007
Make your own beer website... starting at $10 per YEAR.
www.bubweb.com & www.momenttoponder.com
User avatar
bub
Global Moderator
 
Posts: 3396
Joined: Sat Dec 31, 2005 2:06 pm
Location: Greater Nashvegas

Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:42 pm

5 days at 25 psi and the 40F of your kegorator is certainly going to overcarbonate. Now you need to disconnect the gas and pull the pressure relief to vent the pressure. Let it sit for a few hours and pull it again. Repeat until you get it under control.

You might want to get a CO2 chart and just let your beer sit at the proper pressure for the 7 days instead of chasing it around like this time.

25psi at 65F for 5 days should give you 2.5 volumes.
12psi at 40F for 5 days should give you 2.5 volumes.
User avatar
DannyW
 
Posts: 1950
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 6:37 pm
Location: Nokomis, Florida, USA

Wed Jun 28, 2006 1:03 pm

Thanks for the feedback. I have never put that much pressure in the keg before, not sure what I was thinking. I will get the CO2 chart though.
"People who drink light 'beer' don't like the taste of beer; they just like to pee a lot. -- Capital Brewery, Middleton, WI"
User avatar
bender
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2006 1:24 pm
Location: Dearborn Heights, MI

Return to Kegging, Bottling and Dispensing

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users

A BIT ABOUT US

The Brewing Network is a multimedia resource for brewers and beer lovers. Since 2005, we have been the leader in craft beer entertainment and information with live beer radio, podcasts, video, events and more.