Foamy beer

I know there is a ton of information on this topic over the Internet. Too much for me to make use of it. I started kegging about a month ago and since then I get about 3/4 cup of foam every time I pour. I have read a ton on this and tried adjusting the temp and pressure.

Some information

Kegerator: old whirlpool fridge (took plastic off inside of door and insulated it more and put on plywood)

On tap: sweet stout, Belgium wit, cream ale

Lines: 15’ 1/4" poly tubing (icemaker stuff, plan on running them upstairs when I can afford a tower and taps, probably next month)

Taps: picnic taps. Set right up against outside of fridge so no line is exposed.

Temp: was at 40. Lowered it to 36 last week.

PSI: tried 8-15 at both Temps allowing a couple days between changes

Glasses: several different types of glass beer glasses. Tried them chilled, frozen and room temp.

Think that covers it all. Any ideas?

Seems like a really long line. Mine are about 6

Is that 15 feet

If it is really 15 feet of line that is much more than you need but shouldn’t be causing foaming. In fact with lines that long you should be able to run the regulator at a higher pressure with less foaming.

If the 15’ of beer line was at room temp would it foam up?

Yeah, I’m assuming his lines would be inside the fridge though.

Probably they are but the part about running them to another room makes me wonder

sounds like a restriction somewhere in the system to me. pull dip tubes and posts clean and inspect for blockages

Assuming your lines are cold (looks like they are for now), how did you actually carb these kegs ?  Shake method ?  Using a pressure/temp chart (best way) ? Is the 8-15 psi pressures you tried serving or carbing at ? If you lowered the temp to 36F and left the pressure set as is, you would gain more carbonation. Give us some more info and we’ll help you figure it out.

Not sure how the polytubing compares to Bev line and you mention 1/4"? Most Bev line is 3/16" and at your temps I use 10’ of line but as Hoosier suggested, more info on process might help as well.

Thanks for all of the answers. Here is a little more info

Used the carb chart for carbing (kinda, I only have one reg and with the different beer styles being as different volumes I am shooting for 2.4 volumes since that is close to all the types I have). I did the shake method once and the beer seemed too green so now I let em sit.

I have 15 feet of line because that is what I will need to get it where I am going to put the tower. Right now the line is coiled up and tied together. All of the line is in the fridge. For cooling to the tower I am going to try the salt water pump and insulate the lines all the way there.

Using 1/4" instead of 3/16 because the formula I found to calculate length originally showed that I would need a really high pressure to get the beer to the tower once installed. I found another last night that calculated way different. Does anyone have a good formula for this? (15 feet of line, 7 foot rise)

I tried the different pressures at both Temps. Bleeding off pressure when I decrease it.

Hopefully this info is a little more helpful

Thanks again.

Another question that is a little off topic. I had my yeast in the fridge while trying to adjust temp. One morning is was 28 degrees F in the fridge. Did I kill my yeast? It is all the dried package stuff if that matters.

nope it’s fine. didn’t even faze it.

Oh. And I tore apart the entire keg before filling it. So should be clean. And the beer comes out of tap as a liquid. Looks like…well, beer. But cup is always full of foam and I have to wait a while for it to turn back to liquid.

sometimes you will transfer some trub to the keg and little chunks of hop material will get lodged in the popet. you wouldn’t think a tiny bit of hop could cause a problem but it can cause exactly what you are talking about. if you dump the pressure on the keg, pull the out post and dip tube and clear them out really well. sanitize everything and reattach the dip tube and post and see if you get a better pour. it might work for a second and then start foaming again. it might just start working again. it might not work at all.

I once had a keg that got a lot of dry hops in it because the bag came untied or ripped or something. I finally had to pull the dip tube and attach a little metal strainer with a piece of nylon bag to get the keg to pour.

Alright I’m having this issue too now. go to pour a glass and I get 3/4 of head and have to let it settle down. I checked the CO2 reg and it was reading about 15%. So I cranked it back down to 10%. Is there anything else I need to check and see what could be cause this. Fridge temp is sitting between 46 and 52. The hose length is 6ft from the reg to the splitter. then another 4ft of hose to the Keg. Coming from Keg to the Tap is also 4ft. If you need any other info let me know.

You may need to adjust two of the three variables. Beer line too short, temp too high, pressure too high. I’d start with pressure and line length if you are happy with the temp.

How long will it take for results to show?

Line length? If yes, rule of thumb is 1 foot per 2 psi.

Currently it is 4ft from keg to tap and 4 ft from splitter to keg