Commercial lager carbonation levels in homebrew

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Hey everyone,
I am trying to figure out how to get carbonation levels like a store bought lager for my Pilsner I made.

I am at the point where if I increase my co2 pressure (10 psi) I just get a thicker head. I only get small bubbling in the beer itself.

I have a kegerator and haven’t messed with the lines.
Do you guys think if I went and got 10-15 ft of line it would keep the co2 in the beer and not aerate at the spout?
Just wondering if anyone has gotten any success.

thanks,
-Will
 
Hey everyone,
I am trying to figure out how to get carbonation levels like a store bought lager for my Pilsner I made.

I am at the point where if I increase my co2 pressure (10 psi) I just get a thicker head. I only get small bubbling in the beer itself.

I have a kegerator and haven’t messed with the lines.
Do you guys think if I went and got 10-15 ft of line it would keep the co2 in the beer and not aerate at the spout?
Just wondering if anyone has gotten any success.

thanks,
-Will
That's the theory increased Co2 pressure need a more line resistance to = a controlled pour.
I use 4mm internal Diameter lines at 4.5 meters I find arounf 12psi is my cut off or I risk foamy pours.
A flow control tap can help too I believe i don't have any but people usually hook them up to mini keg systems to control the pour.
 
That's the theory increased Co2 pressure need a more line resistance to = a controlled pour.
I use 4mm internal Diameter lines at 4.5 meters I find arounf 12psi is my cut off or I risk foamy pours.
A flow control tap can help too I believe i don't have any but people usually hook them up to mini keg systems to control the pour.
Yes I think a flow control tap is what you need. You can run shorter lines yet get good pours with a little practice. Longer lines would work but for what you are looking for, could get pretty long.
 
Carbonation is CO2 in suspension. The way to increase carbonation is to hold the keg at a higher pressure until the CO2 is absorbed. Just increasing serving pressure won't do it. Use the keg carbonation calculator and shoot for a carb level of 2.5 volumes allow about a week for the increased pressure to make the beer more bubbly. When you serve, if you get too much head, decrease serving pressure or get longer hoses. The flow control can help with that, too.
 
What @J A wrote is 100% accurate.

I have a hefeweitzen that needs to be fairly fizzy. I carbonate at 24 PSI (36F) but serve at maybe 6 PSI. Eventually I will get longer hoses/flow control/whatever, but for now if I dared try to serve at 24 PSI the result is 100% foam. I just shut off the CO2 supply, pop the pressure release until the hiss is where I want it, and serve. Wastes CO2 but it is not terribly expensive.
 
I just shut off the CO2 supply, pop the pressure release until the hiss is where I want it, and serve.
This exactly what we all have to do when we're using a short pic-nic for kegs at parties or one of those keg-top taps. As you can imagine, a tap placed directly on the outlet will pour nothing but foam if the keg is holding much pressure at all. As long as the beer is properly carbed and chilled, you can drop to just a pound or two of pressure and it'll pour a perfect glass. You can open the tap partway to get a little head on the glass at the end of the pour.
 

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