Bad Regulator Permanently OverCarb'd Beer?

Discussion in 'Home Bar' started by ravensjeff, Sep 27, 2013.

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  1. ravensjeff

    ravensjeff Initiate (0) Sep 27, 2013 Maryland

    I have a new (8 months old) BevAir BM-23 kegerator. All was fine until I got about 1/2 way thru the end of the 5th 1/2 keg. The CO2 tank was getting low, but still good enough to pour steady beer. Foam started increasing. Regulator was found to be creeping up towards 20 psi. After several attempts at getting pressure back down to 12 psi, foaming was back under control. 7 pitchers later, all was still good, pressure was checked and still at 12 psi. Time to go crash with a good buzz.

    Woke up the next morning and the keg pressure was at least 50 psi. Could not properly adjust pressure- regulator looked like a cheap one and appeared to be the issue. Unhooked everything. Days later, received a nicer replacement regulator. Also re-filled CO2 tank. Hooked everything back up, released keg pressure, then set regulator pressure real easy at 12 psi, beer temp (water in a glass with a calibrated thermometer) was at 36-37 degrees. Time for a cold one. Wrong. Massive foam. Wild beer. Unhooked CO2 for a week, burping keg, re-hooked back up, and still massive foam. I was a little surprised at how much pressure was building up in keg without CO2 hooked up.

    Is this keg (1/2 keg of Stella) permanently over-carbonated? Prior to the issues starting up, the Stella was pouring a perfect beer. Temp always stayed constant. New regulator, and newly filled Co2 tank.
     
  2. DougC123

    DougC123 Savant (1,186) Aug 21, 2012 Connecticut

    When you were burping the keg did you shake it also? I understand that might be a stretch with a half. Usually you can get the over carb corrected with shakes and burps. Have you checked the beer line to see what it looks like - pockets of CO2 or solid beer? What is the temperature of your second beer, immediately poured into the same glass that you poured the first beer into (room temp glass, pour one, chug or pour out, pour second and take the temp with a calibrated thermometer in beer, not foam). Sounds to me like a balance problem and you may be a little too cold to support then12 psi.
     
  3. IceAce

    IceAce Pooh-Bah (2,274) Jan 8, 2004 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Regulators begin to creep when they go bad and you were the recipient of just that. If all of your kegs poured fine prior to the creeping regulator, your keg fell victim to 'carbonation saturation' and your system balance should be just fine. The problem you have encountered is a result of having 50PSI on your beer until, "Days later, received a nicer replacement regulator." Had you released the pressure prior to ordering the new regulator, this operation would be a little easier.

    To bring the CO² in the keg back down, dial your regulator back to 0-2PSI and pull the pressure relief valve on your tavern head to release the CO² pressure. [You can also just turn the one way valve 90° if your reg has one] Give the keg a good shake (or unhook it & roll it around) and release the pressure again.

    If you perform this task hourly (or every two hours), you will notice the volume of CO² escaping will lessen and when you get to the point where virtually no gas escapes, you're good to go and may dial your pressure back up. Personally, I'd start at 10PSI and then bump the reg pressure up in 1/4 turn increments (every four hours or so) until you are satisfied with the quality of the pour.

    You can speed the process up by allowing the keg to reach room temp during this operation, but then you will also be looking at a 24 hour cooling off process as well. [You won't hurt the beer by allowing it to warm up...Stella Artois is pasteurized and shipped here to the US in unrefrigerated containers]
     
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  4. PortLargo

    PortLargo Pooh-Bah (1,831) Oct 19, 2012 Florida
    Pooh-Bah

    No. It's against the Law to permanently over-carb your beer (Gas Laws). Beer (mostly water) and CO2 are soluble. That means the molecules of CO2 will absorb into your beer when under pressure and will escape when there is a path to a lesser pressure area. These molecules are always seeking equilibrium.

    Iceace's recommendations will allow you to recover your 1/2 keg. Not sure how long this will take, but you could take the beer down to 0psi (flat) if you continued. If you had perfect pours before, expect the same after all the tweaking is completed.
     
  5. ravensjeff

    ravensjeff Initiate (0) Sep 27, 2013 Maryland

    I finally started getting great pours again. Back to enjoying cold drafts again!!

    I did remove the bad regulator/CO2 to the keg immediately after seeing the over-pressurization. A day afterwards, went on a brewery tour in Baltimore (Heavy Seas) and the owner (Hugh Sisson) gave me the advice about how to remove over carbonation. I did it for almost 7 days and was still getting foam. After I posted here, the next day I poured 1 full pitcher of foam, followed by a perfectly poured pitcher. I'm now back to pouring perfect pints.

    Digital temp check of 1st and 2nd pints were both 37.3 degrees. CO2 pressure is at 10/11 psi. Sorry about not reposting sooner; my thread was relocated and I just found it.
     
    IceAce and PortLargo like this.
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