So I turned my frig into a two tap kegirator. My first two kegs are Dogfish Head 60 minute and Sierra Nevada Nooner. Both 1/6 barrels. The DFH pours better than the IPA. However, I still believe it pours a bit to quick and here is to much foam. The Sierra Nevada Nooner pours entirely to fast and I even think there is some air in the line but everything seems to be hooked up correctly. It shoots out and is nothing but foam. My regulator is set at 10 psi. Do I need to pour a draw and see what the temp of the beer is? Would their be a corresponding PSI to temperature? One other piece of information that may or may not be relevant. I put the kegs in the frig on Friday as I had to leave until today. So, they have siting in the frig for a couple of days. I'm new to the kegirator business so any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
I recently went down this road and finally fixed my foam issues. Your questions are correct in that you need to know what your beer temp is. Temp and PSI are both variables that change in relation to each other. Case in point, my fridge temp dropped when I put the tower cooler in, beer went from pouring perfect to half glass of foam on every pour... because the temp of my beer changed but my PSI was the same. You also need to know what your beer is precarbonated at. This number will be something like 2.62 ect... This number and your Temp tell you what your PSI should be. After you have that set if you are still getting foam its an equipment issue. How long are your beer lines? I put 10' long lines in mine. This slows the flow rate out of the faucet.
So my beer temp is 37 degrees. Again I have two kegs in there. The IPA is now pouring just fine. It's 1/6 barrel of Dogfish Head. The pilsner is a Sierra Nevada Nooner. It's nothing but foam and there is absolutely a lot of air in the line. I'm almost certain air in the beer line is the problem because the IPA pours fine. How can this happen and how does one fix that problem? Also, I do need to check the precarbination. Is there a website that is handy for this information?
Call Sierra Nevada and ask them. At 37 degrees your Dogfish should have a precarb of 2.42 if your PSI is 10. I would call them and check on that. You might be under carbonated if they are at 2.62 in which case you should be at 12 PSI.
try switching couplers. put the sierra coupler on the dogfish and vice versa. you may have a bad coupler that is not seating properly. it could also be a bad keg valve. and it could also just be a bad keg of beer. that does happen. the air in the line, that should be CO2 gas. is it breaking out of solution? or does it bubble up in one big spurt? if you see foam in your line, the foam will eventually become a full size bubble. that can also be a problem. usually temp related or pressure related or both. I have to say though with 10 psi of applied pressure and one keg pouring fine, and 37 degrees, it sounds line a mechanical problem. Cheers.
SN is 2.5-2.6 for all styles as of a few years ago, good enough as a starting point. Dogfish 60 is 2.7 which would suggest it is looking for more pressure than the SN. 37 degrees and 10 psi would say you are serving a beer that is 2.4 volumes of CO2 which isn't the case. Do you have a dual regulator so you can adjust pressures for each beer? How are you measuring the beer temp? I'd do what Bill says but also understand why I'm asking you the questions I am - to get to the point you understand the ins and outs of balancing.
Thank you for these questions. I can assure you I DO NOT know the ends and outs of balancing. I'm here to learn. Ask any question you want. I checked the beer temp with a digital food thermometer I purchased. It stated it was good for everything from foods to sauces and would tolerate temps from around -40 t0 400(something) degrees. So, I thought it would be reliable enough. I do not have a dual regulator, but I'm not opposed to buying one if that will help. But the SN just has a ton of CO2 in the line and that won't stop no matter how long I pour. It's a CO2 problem I know it.
I want to know what exactly you mean here. Help a dense guy out. I can say I have a 5 foot beer line and you can see bubbles all the way in the line from the keg to the tap.
Take the couplers (the things attached to the keg) off the kegs and put them on the opposite kegs. Do not remove any lines or anything and see if the problem moves to the other side. For temperature you need to make sure the thermometer is calibrated, and take the temperature of the second pour. Using a room temperature glass, pull a beer. Immediately dump it into another glass and pour a second beer in the original glass. Take the temperature of that beer (not foam). You need to do this on both kegs. Likely not a CO2 problem, the only type of CO2 problem is a leak. I think you are looking at keg seal, coupler or balance.
A noble goal. Here's a starting point: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/foaming.193492/ http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/help-with-balancing-my-system.248243/ Honestly, it can be a little daunting. But like learning all the positions for sex, no one complains once they have mastered the techniques.
Just for an update. I switched the couplers, and the problem remained the same. What would your suggestion be now? Since the problem was with both couplers on the pilsner keg, but both couplers worked on the IPA keg, it's got to be the keg right? There's a lot of bubbles in that beer line. When I open the door and watch the line as I pour the IPA keg, it looks like nothing is moving yet it pours really good. When I do the same for the Pilsner keg, well you can see the bubbles running straight up the line and can her the beer moving. It's obvious there's a big problem. Get another keg and see what happens?
I'd say keg seal. If you take the coupler off the black seal should be smooth and free of nicks and gouges. Swap the keg.
