[peterescott]

so, i've got people coming over tomorrow and have my first two kegs hooked up to my brand new kegorater...  i followed some instructions on force carbonating them but when i pour a glass i get too much foam and then the carbonation leaves the beer in about five minutes.... can i fix this?

what i've got
a beverage air kegorater
7' thick walled dispensing lines
and the co2 is set at 10 lbs

and i feel like i don't know what i am doing 

[euge]

Try disconnecting the co2. Vent the keg slightly. Pour a beer. See what happens. Might be as simple as 10psi is too much. The beer line is 7'? Maybe shorten that to 5'.

[Mark G]

What method did you use to carbonate? The set it and forget it, or the crank the co2 and shake it?

[peterescott]

euge

that definitely helped the foam issue... but when i hooked it back up to the co2 i still have the foam issue.  

my lhbs are the ones that had me use the 7' line and i had read and heard the same from others.  the lines are all inside and the tower is cooled

i greatly appreciate the help!!!  the party tomorrow is for my getting out of the army    

[peterescott]

crank and shake...  unfortunately....  kegged it tuesday night

[peterescott]

so i burped the kegs and set the pressure at about 7 psi.  and still get mostly foam and have air in the beer line... does this mean that my kegs are over carbonated?

[tumarkin]

Probably. You can continue to burp it, let it settle, and burp again later. Do this a few times if necessary & you should get to a better carbonation level. If it's still over-carbed by party time, one option would be to use pitchers to serve. Fill the pitcher(s), let the beer settle, and serve. Nobody will complain.

Setting the pressure to achieve the right carbonation level is a preferable way to go. There are readily available charts that will guide you to the correct pressure (at a particular temp) needed to achieve a specific number of atmosphere volumes (varies by beer style). Googling beer carbonation chart will get you chart & directions on a number of sites. Takes a bit more time, but is much more predictable and consistent. That said, the crank & shake method works too, just takes a bit more pracitce & experience. You gotta love being able to fill the corny, carb it and serve in a few hours. Still, I always go for the patient method unless pressed for time getting ready for an event. 

[peterescott]

thanks tumarkan, the pitcher advice is excellent.

my blow-off valves are propped open and i will try again in about an hour...  i'm new at it and underestimated the time i needed before the party.  the brew calls for 10 psi at my temp of 40. 

the plus side of this adventure..........  all the little glasses scattered through the kitchen and living room that need to be drunk!

[richardt]

Agree with closing off the CO2 line and venting periodically between now and party time--just release for a second or two at a time--otherwise the foam inside the corny will want to come out the relief valve.  On the day of your party, open and set your CO2 pressure to a low number (like 2 or 3 psi)--just enough to push the beer out when you serve it.  A cold, well-carbed beer will foam a lot when it is poured into a warm glass (beer holds less CO2 as it warms--hence the effervescence and foam).  What kind of beer are you serving at 40 F?

[peterescott]

i've got a hybrid clone of bell's two hearted and dogfish head ipa and a generic pumpkin ale...  i did turn the temp down to about 37-38 as registered at different parts of the kegorater.

[tschmidlin]

Just don't cut the line any shorter.  If anything a longer line might help with the foaming problem.

But like others have said, your best bet is to flatten the beer some before the party.

[beerocd]

If you poured two pints back to back is the second one better?

[peterescott]

thanks gents...  i've been letting the pressure bleed off and i'm pulling good pints now (bout 1/2 inch of head) with the co2 set at 10 psi... and pretty drunk from all the test pulls!