Help me troubleshoot my foam

Do you know the beer temp and the volumes of CO2 for the beer?

 

I'm guessing either your temp or pressure settings are inaccurate. I would troubleshoot beer temps first. You must measure actual beer temp (not kegerator setting). To get enough liquid to measure you might have to temporarily lower pressure and bleed off the headspace. Then pour into a glass, dump it, then pour again. Measure the second pour with a calibrated thermometer.

Let us know your actual beer temp.

Oh yeah, are you using real beer lines? What brand?

 

A couple of things: You really want to get a better feel for temp (not a 2° swing). Calibrate your thermo by dunking it in a glass full of ice chips/water...it should stabilize somewhere near 32°.

Your pressure setting are on the high side if that's your actual beer temp. A 20psi setting at 36 gives you 3.4v. You'll see some Hefes advertised at this high a level but this will be tough for your kegerator, and impossible with a 10' line. I would shoot for something more realistic like 3.0v which would need 16psi. Ditto the lager, at 13psi you're 2.7v...aim a touch lower for something like 2.5v. This all depends on nailing the beer temp, so that would be first priority.

How did you bleed your pressures? Simply setting the reg at a lower setting isn't going to lower the pressure unless you bleed the headspace. Just like if you overfill a tire you have to bleed it to below your target and re-fill to desired level. But beer is trickier because it has residual carbonation. If you bleed your keg headspace to zero, the beer will "off gas" and re-pressurize the keg to something just less than the prior setting (gas always moves to equilibrium). It can take up to an hour for this to stabilize. If the keg is near full, you'll have to bleed it multiple times (with a long pause in between) to get rid of that residual CO2. For the first couple of burbs don't re-apply the CO2, rather give the beer more room to off-gas. Plan on taking a day to get this balanced.

If you end up with 38°/3.0v you will need a longer line...I use a 12 foot'er for those settings. For the lager you'll probably be okay with the 10'. I've never heard of Wellbom but it isn't a mainstream brand. The problem is it could have some wacky resistance (too low) that's out of step with what you are expecting. There are other brands probably more reliable, but suggest you concentrate on nailing the temp and stabilizing the pressures before anything else.

 

Wellbom? That's a new one. Replace that. Lesson learned.

Get a roll from a homebrew supplier based in the States. Wellbom may or may not be anything other than regular old PVC tubing being sold as food safe.

If it does not specifically say FDA Compliant, or NSF 51 or NSF 61, it's not food grade.
If it does say any of those things and it is from some Chinese warehouse, it's still likely not food grade. That shit is all over the place.

What brand kegerator and how much did you pay?

Cheers

 

This isn't the recommended approach. The goal is to make the beer taste great. Hefes are traditionally carb'ed somewhere in the 3.0 range, maybe a touch higher. Buy a bottle of Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, this is the gold standard. You want the mouthfeel of your pours to equal this.

Lowering the temp will decrease the flavors, you want those aromas/flavors to pop . . . this ain't a Coors we're talking about. So target your temp for the 38° range, not any colder.

The balancing act requires you to nail the temp and carb level (pressure). This makes the beer taste as the brewer intended. Then you never touch the pressure setting again. You eliminate foam by adjusting the length of your lines. Don't get hung up on buying a set of beer lines for life. They are made to be replaced just like the oil filter in your car. You will probably see an improvement by switching brand of beer lines and I suggest you buy something like 50'. There is no shelf life, and you will ultimately use it. Most keggers intentionally start with a line too long and snip a little at a time until the pours are perfect.

Don't be afraid to build your own lines, it's easy and most people catch on quickly.

I wouldn't bleed the beer to zero carbonation, that will just require longer to re-carb. Ideally you want to get it somewhere just below 15 psi, After the second burb you should get a feel for how much residual carbonation is left . . . yes there's a little bit of guesswork involved, just error on being slightly too low before you reapply the CO2.

Oh yeah, once you get everything balanced you can go for years without any problems.

 

If you are sure of the temp and pressure, then the next culprit would be the beer lines. I keep my Belgians at 38 degrees and 15 psi and that requires 12' lines, so no surprise on the hefe continuing to foam. The length of the beer line adds resistance to control the foam. Because you have off-brand lines we don't know the value of its resistance.

The lager foaming at 11psi/10' is a concern. Are you confident your reg gauges are accurate? Do you know brand of faucet? Is the level of foam on the second pour same as the first?
It's a big step, but I would replace the lines. You must lengthen the hefe line, so I would get something new

An easy to find brand is Bevlex 200, stay with the 3/16ID x 7/16OD size. You can find this online at many homebrew supply outlets and costs will be anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar per foot. Buy extra, you'll use it. There are other good beer lines, but this is a brand I know gives good results.

At 16psi I would start with something like a 14' line...if it pours normally then snip off a foot and check results. These lines are easy to build, just dip the end into 180°+ water and slip it over the barb. On my liquid lines I don't even use a clamp. It's a grade B PITA to take them off, but I've never had a leak.

While you're working on this you do know you can reduce headspace pressure to something like 3psi and get a normal pour. You will need to reapply the pressure to keep it from going near-flat, but consider this if you need a morale boost while waiting on new lines.

 

What kind of faucets are you using, and are you opening them all the way when you pour?

 

This is disappointing, something's wacko here . . . this acts as if your gauge is inaccurate and you're pumping more CO2 into the beer than you think (i.e. set 16 and get something higher). What is brand of reg?

A couple of questions about the pour. How long does it take to fill your glass? Not really interested in the seconds but does it come roaring out or a tiny stream. Compare it to a commercial pour. Is there any difference in first/second/third consecutive pour? Did the 14 foot'er slow the pour from 10'? You are pouring down side of glass aren't you?

My first thoughts are still a possible defective gauge. These consumer level gauges (10 bucks retail) are known to be off as much as 10% but your results would require a much higher error. Give us some feedback on the "mouthfeel" of the pour, how does the carbonation feel in your mouth. Effervescent? Prickly? Overpowering? Compare to a commercial hefe.

Suggest you switch the 14 foot line over the the lager at 11 psi (just move coupler) and report on the pour.

 

You didn't comment of mouthfeel. How does the carbonation level feel when taking the first sips? You didn't comment on multiple pours . . . does foam reduce after a second consecutive pour?

The lager foam for a few seconds is caused by the faucet and/or top of tower being warmer than the beer (warming a liquid reduces it's solubility of gas, creating foam). Not much you can do about that . . . but it sounds like it is balanced.

The hefe at 70% foram (on and off) sounds like it's overcarb'ed. It is possible to have a bad gauge. The way to troubleshoot is to use the lager secondary (the one at 11 psi that we know is balanced) on the hefe. Do your hefe burps and then apply the known good gauge with 16 psi.

But report back with mouthfeel and how multiple pours on the hefe look before you go switching gas lines.

 

. . . just don't rush things. Like before, burp the hefe, wait a while and re-burp until it becomes obvious you have significantly lowered the pressure. Then reapply gas.

 

I suspect the faucets. Just a gut.