Foamy - Houblon Chouffe

Welcome to draft beer at BA.

OK. Don't F with what ain't broke. You knew that. Draft beer is the same as eveything else in this manner. What happened?

You increased pressure, which does two things.

1, the amount of dissolved CO2 in the beer will increase eventually (or decrease less, depending on how the beer was packaged but we can assume it increased).

2, the extra pressure increases the rate of flow from the faucet. beer, unlike water and other beverages, will foam if shaken, stirred or otherwise handled roughly. if you blast beer into a glass at a fast rate, it will foam. the length of the choker is critical to balance the applied pressure (PSIG) with the resistance needed to keep the flow under control.

the fix is simple. turn off the gas. vent the keg. wait about a half hour. do it again. maybe a third time too. then set your regulator to 12 psi and turn on the gas. wait at least a few hours for the gas to equilibrate in the keg.

you can also increase the length of the choker to compensate for the additional pressure with additional resistance, but you aren't going to to that.

Houblon is great, enjoy!
your welcome.

 

I had a keg of La Chouffe last year. To get to pour right I had to change out beer line to 8ft and set PSI to 16lbs. If you have shorter lines you will end up foaming on your pour.

 

Houblon Chouffe is highly carbonated, when you reduced it to 12psi the CO2 in the beer off-gassed to raise your headspace pressure back up to 15'ish. Only if you vented and re-vented over several days would you establish an equilibrium of 12psi.

Recommend you learn the ins and outs of a keg carbonation cart, here's a decent one:
http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php
I'm pretty sure HC is carbed in the 3.0v range* (maybe higher?) . . . if you mess with this you'll not be drinking what the brewer intended. If you're sure the beer temp is 38 (not a guesstimate) then you'll want about 16psi to keep the beer as it was intended to be drunk.


To pour as pictured above at this pressure you must increase the length of your beer lines. For my Belgians I run 16 psi - 39f -12 foot lines and get good pours. This is longer than what zero uses because our beer lines are from different manufacturers, that's my guess but it's seems consistently inconsistent with what others post.

Here's where I disagree with @billandsuz; I think you will lengthen your lines to solve your problem. Since you sprung for this incredible beer I predict you'll spring for the upgrade to give a good pour. Beer line is fairly cheap . . . go ahead and buy 25' and you'll have enough for two Belgian kegs on tap (or realistically some spare line). Make me proud here and post that you've ordered more line and intend to drink this wonderful beer as intended by the Gnomes of the Achouffe Valley!

For more on the subject, here's some relevant threads:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/foaming.193492/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/help-with-balancing-my-system.248243/#post-3183725

*If you really want to nail the carb level, give 'em a call (+32 61 28 81 47). Their English is good and they would welcome contact with a US consumer.

 

I'm of the opinion that for the newbie we should focus on establishing a proper typical balance. Very few people are as invested in proper draft beer as most of us around here. Just getting cold beer with a half inch head is a major accplishment.

Largo is absolutely correct though. If you dive in to specialty draft beer then your commitment is a fair amount greater than typical. I just like to think walk before run.

Hell, we have a hard time communicating how important it is to maintain accurate temperture. Start going on about vols and choker resistance most newbs glaze over.

Cheers

 

I absolutely agree with Bill on this point. It's not as though we don't understand advanced draught balancing, it's just that:

1.) Show a newbie a carb chart and most automatically think the task is too hard

2.) Accurate temp (as Bill said) is of more importance

3.) Most brewers don't publicize their Vols/CO²

and last, but not least...

4.) Gauges tend to get pretty beat up by keg box owners and as a result are often stuck or read incorrectly.

When I bring someone the step by step method of balancing their system, it is to get them to the minimum threshold of which Bill speaks...Pouring cold beer with ½-¾" collar of foam. Once this is accomplished, most home keg box owners are happy to "set it and forget it".

Now long draw systems, beer pumps, fobs and blender boxes? That's when it becomes fun!