Expert: Spencer W Thomas - 3/26/2007

Question
I am having trouble with foam coming out of my kegerator.  The psi first line is at 10.  If I lower it the beer barely comes out, but there is still foam.  Could this be a regulator problem?  I have a new regulator, but everything else in my set-up is the same.

Answer
I'm not sure from your question, but I think you're saying that you had a kegerator setup that was working fine for you, and that you replaced the regulator and now you're getting foam?  Or is it that you just set up your kegerator and it's foaming?

In my experience, the usual cause of foaming is that the tap line is too short or too large for the back-pressure to balance the CO2 pressure.  But you say you've turned the pressure way down and you're still getting foam, so that doesn't sound like the answer.

Another cause of foaming is not opening the tap fully when you dispense.  If you just "crack" the tap open, you'll get mostly foam, because the beer is "spurting" through the little opening.

Other possibilities include overcarbonated beer -- but that should correct itself after a while, as you empty the keg -- and warm beer in the line (or a warm tap, if you've got a metal tap) for the first mug.  On the second possibility, if you pull several glasses in a row, is the last one less foamy than the first?  If so, then temperature is your problem.

My keg setup for dispensing uses a cobra tap with a very short hose (like 2 inches), with the keg sitting in a bucket of ice, and about 10-12 lbs on my regulator (which probably is 5-6 lbs on the beer).  With that setup, I get a decent flow with very little foam.

I guess I've raised more questions than answers.  Hopefully one of the questions will lead you to an answer.