Too much head on beer

[Smiddy]

I’ve just started home brewing again but now I’m putting it in kegs. I’ve done my first brew and every time I pour a beer it is more head than beer. The gas pouring pressure is at 10. What have I done wrong.
Any advice appreciated.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

perfectly normal, first glass is always foamy. a couple of reasons but in most cases the tap is warm and the beer is cold creating foam, next glass if poured soon will be normal, try that first

 

[J A]

Ten lbs seems like a lot of pressure unless you have a really long hose. I carb to around 6 PSI depending on temperature and and beer style and serve at that pressure with a short hose and 8 lbs with longer hoses.

 

[Hawkbox]

I use 12-14 psi on mine but my hoses are 10 feet long. I'd try lowering the pressure and pouring a second pint. Even just pour till the foam stops, drink or dump that and try a second pour. If it pours nicely you probably are just getting a warm tap like Ozarks said.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

you can also get a different type of hose. I tried Accuflex Bev-Seal and no foam at all

 

[J A]

What was your carbonation pressure and temp?
I've overcarbed beers and it's hard to get them to settle down. To check carb level, I purge all the pressure from the keg and set the regulator so that it's just enough pressure to push out the beer - usually a pound or two, depending on hose length. After the initial bit of foam, the beer pouring slowly into your glass should have a nice carb level and almost no foam at all. That method will work on any hose length or even a tap directly on the keg. It'll allow you to see whether you're dealing with an over-carb situation or just serving pressure/hose, etc.

 

[ChicoBrewer]

I've had my kegerator for a couple of years now. I struggled for a while too. I run 10lb at 38 degrees (about as low as the fridge will go). I did several things that added up.to success.

• Buy 10 ft of hose. This slows down the flow so you can run the pressure high enough to keep your beer properly carbed. Use the calculator on this site. I like 2.4 volumes for my ales so I run 10 lb.
• I bought a little fan that blows cold air up the tower. Fixes the first pour.
• Bought a SS Perlick faucet. I don't think it makes less foam but it sure looks sweet they make one with a flow control that's supposed to do the same thing as longer hose but that one is pretty pricey.

But I'm guessing that JA nailed it and your beer is over carbed. How did you carbonate it?

 

[Hawkbox]

Oh one other thing to think about if every pour is foaming, your keg might have a small air leak. I've had a few kegs where I had to put keg lube on the o-rings to get it to quit foaming all the time.

 

[Smiddy]

I’ve poured now about 7 glasses of beer and they are not getting any less head. I transferred the beer from the fermentor into the keg then set the gas on 28 -30 for three days prior to trying it. My keg is in the fridge and the beer hose is just over 1 mtr long

 

[Hawkbox]

3 days at 30PSI? Yeah you probably over carbed it. I generally do 35PSI for no more than 24 hours.

 

[Blackmuse]

I’ve poured now about 7 glasses of beer and they are not getting any less head. I transferred the beer from the fermentor into the keg then set the gas on 28 -30 for three days prior to trying it. My keg is in the fridge and the beer hose is just over 1 mtr long

It is over carbonated! If you can't release pressure then you'll have foamy beer until you turn your regulator down to 8-12 psi and it equalizes....

However, if you have a pull tab on your keg lid then release pressure and turn your regulator down to 8-12 psi. It will equalize much quicker this way.

Two further tips:
1. 10'-15' of hose
2. Perlick or Intertap flow control faucets

 

[Smiddy]

Thanks guys for all your reply’s. I’ll give your tips ago tonight and let you all know how I go. Thanks

 

[J A]

28 -30 for three days

yep...definitely way over carbed. Purge the pressure completely and let it sit. Then purge again. If it just won't equalize, let it warm up to room temp and purge it. Be careful of foaming out of the pressure release. If you can get some of the CO2 out of suspension, you can chill it and hold at a proper level and it'll get right.