Hey guys, I’m new to kegging and am working through most of my set up problems. Right now I’ve got 3 pin locks connected to picnic taps with 5 ft lines, in a dedicated beer fridge and a 20lb co2 tank.I tend to like my beers heavily carbed, around 3-3.25. I’ve got a keg full of cider and its great… My latest brew however is giving me grief. I initially set it up at 30lbs for 3 days in the fridge at 37-37f. Then bled some of the extra pressure and re set the reg to 15lbs. I’m using 5’ of line but i have 2 of those mixing tubes inserted into the pick up tube. I find it helps with the shorter line length and stops the co2 from escaping. So now when I pour a beer its great , no excessive foaming, great carb and good head. The second pour maybe 20-30 minutes later tho , is much less carbed than the first pour. Its not totally flat, but definitely lacking. Any idea’s as to what is causing this ?
Are you sure that it’s less carbed, or does it just lack head? The first pint will always have a bit more head because the beer will warm in the line causing the beer to shed gas. Probably it’s just that; the carbonation should remain the same due to the pressure and temperature of your set-up.
I usually keep my serving pressure at 10 psi, but if I’m going to be pouring more than one at a time, I turn it up a bit to keep the head consistent. It is just temporary, so it doesn’t really affect my carbonation.
My beer fridge is in the garage which stays above 80f in the summer. I notice that my beers are excessively foamy during the summer due to the warmth of the exterior faucets.
This is your answer. If your lines were chilled as well as your kegs, all of the beer would pour the same.
I’m not sure this is 100% accurate. I serve from picnic taps that are entirely inside the fridge with my kegs. The first pour is always different due to the beer that is in the lines. I don’t know if the beer in the lines loses carbonation or what exactly happens, but the best approach for me is to clear the lines (drink or dump) and then pour. After the lines are clear I will get a consistent pour.
I don’t pour a pint every day (even not for several days) so my experience may be different from yours if your taps are in regular use.
The reason that your first pour is different is that the beer in those lines are a higher temperature than the beer in your kegs. This is due to many reasons on different systems: vinyl lines insulating from the fridge/freezer air, the air around the lines actually being warmer (especially common in chest freezers but not uncommon in old fridges - cold air sinks & taps are usually higher than the keg), etc. Carbonation is temperature dependent. Carbonation will come out of solution at higher temperatures. Once you pull fresh beer (at the keg temp) into those lines, it takes time to rise in temperature, which is why the first pour can be foamy on many systems. Even a 5*F rise in temperature in the ‘line beer’ will cause foaming. Stick a thermometer in the beer that you dump - I’ll bet that it isn’t the same temp as the beer that you drink from the second pour.
Source: I have a fairly involved draft system at home. Long draw, rise in elevation, air cooled remote box, flow control faucets, barrier lines, etc, etc, etc. If there is a problem with a draft system, I bet that I’ve seen it in my own home. I’ve had a draft technician over to diagnose the multitude of issues this thing has - it’s safe to say that I’ve learned a lot in the past year.
There is a very well timed post on HBF that discusses the importance of a fan.