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Fifth brew: Dutch Lager

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  • #76
    I have had some challenges with kegging with the same foam issue in the beginning.
    Turns out there is quite a science behind it that cannot be ignored, pressure in-balance, CO2 coming out of solution due to temperature differentials, floe rate of the beer.
    For this I would recommend relieving the pressure two to three times while keeping the keg cool.
    The beer should dispense in more liquid form once more pressure is released.
    Won't be as nicely carbonated but at least in liquid form.

    Good luck

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    • #77
      All right, so I finished the mini keg this weekend. I disassembled my party tap and everything is like it should be. All the parts are there and everything is like it must be. So all's in order. However...

      I managed to COMPLETELY empty the mini keg on natural carbonation pressure alone. I never even installed one of the CO2 cartridges in the tap handle as one should, and it never had any need for it. By last night people were going home, I had some beer left and I wanted to remove the tap so that last half a glass or so was discarded. Started spewing yeast anyway. So I decided to check how much pressure was still in there. Answer? A lot. It still sprayed a solid line of beer foam FAR.

      Now, what's interesting is that I also opened a bottled beer (carbonated as per recommendation), and poured into a glass. Even the bottle carbed beer was VERY foamy, to the point where half the glass was beer and the other half foam. Now I'm wondering - isn't it simply a very foamy beer, this one, that would explain the amount of foam I'm getting? I didn't over-carb either the mini keg or the bottles, because if I had I'd have gushers or even exploded kegs, but none of that happened. I'm guessing this is just a beer that's VERY sensitive to carbonation, and that's the result of it. Even to the last glass was foam to the top.

      However, the beer is brilliant. It's bright and hoppy and a lot better than I expected it would come. Loving it!

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      • #78
        Maybe fermentation wasn't 101% completed
        The Problem With The World Is That Everyone Is A Few Drinks Behind.!

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        • #79
          Originally posted by JIGSAW View Post
          Maybe fermentation wasn't 101% completed
          That would explain a lot. Gravity was at 1.008 for a few days before I bottled, so it's not impossible that it might have gone through another point or two in the bottle/keg.

          Beer tastes great though, so that's all that matters to me :P

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          • #80
            So the second mini keg I didn't use over the holidays. I pushed in the little plunger this morning using the handle of a teaspoon to let off some of the CO2 in the keg and I was AMAZED how much CO2 actually came out. It was an incredible amount from that little bit of headspace, so I think I honestly found the issue - overcarbonated like mad. I pushed in the little plug and just stuck a sticker over the hole so that it can keep letting off some CO2 over the next day or two, so that it's low carbonated by Saturday. Maybe it'll pour better then from the party star tap? We'll see.

            I was at Gilroys a while back and bought a bunch of beers there, and while they take the low-carbonation thing a bit too far (their beers are honestly pretty much flat), it has given me a new liking to low carbonated beers. I think it's worth giving it a shot in the lager mini keg, it should make for some good drinking.

            On the beer itself - I gave some to Langchop as well and he's been giving me lots of feedback (which is highly appreciated, by the way mate). I agree with his sentiments - my beers all have some "back end" flavour that seems to stick unless they stand for a long time (a few months, at least). I wouldn't call it an "extract twang", but it's definitely a bit of a kit taste, since it's been in all my kit brews (except the stout and the cider). This lager is only dropping that flavour at this point in time, meaning it takes a good 2/3 months for it to disappear.

            At this time it's a good drink though, so here's to hoping the mini keg is emptied this weekend so I can keg my low-ABV keer in there. Would be nice to have at the baby shower in a month's time!

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            • #81
              OK so I pressed in the little plunger yesterday morning before going to work to let off the pressure. I released the pressure slooooowly, making sure I don't stir up the keg or anything. So I got home last night, opened the fridge to make sure the beer isn't completely flat and found a beer ring against the ceiling of the fridge. Turns out the mini keg, with the half-carbonation sugar I used, produced so much CO2 that it "boiled" out of the keg, made a huge ball of foam that reached the top of the fridge and then died down to make a mess on top of the keg. It's a nightmare. I'm 100% convinced this beer wasn't finished at 1.008 when I bottled it, and went on to ferment even more in the bottles/kegs, which explains the massive overcarbonation I got. Yeah, that'll teach me to be hasty.

              Also means I got a bunch of bottles left that's all over-carbonated. Also means that I SEVERELY overcarbed the smaller 330ml bottles, and that mass-produced NRB bottles are stronger than we thought

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              • #82
                Originally posted by Toxxyc View Post
                OK so I pressed in the little plunger yesterday morning before going to work to let off the pressure. I released the pressure slooooowly, making sure I don't stir up the keg or anything. So I got home last night, opened the fridge to make sure the beer isn't completely flat and found a beer ring against the ceiling of the fridge. Turns out the mini keg, with the half-carbonation sugar I used, produced so much CO2 that it "boiled" out of the keg, made a huge ball of foam that reached the top of the fridge and then died down to make a mess on top of the keg. It's a nightmare. I'm 100% convinced this beer wasn't finished at 1.008 when I bottled it, and went on to ferment even more in the bottles/kegs, which explains the massive overcarbonation I got. Yeah, that'll teach me to be hasty.

                Also means I got a bunch of bottles left that's all over-carbonated. Also means that I SEVERELY overcarbed the smaller 330ml bottles, and that mass-produced NRB bottles are stronger than we thought
                What did I tell you on day1 after you joined the forum
                The Problem With The World Is That Everyone Is A Few Drinks Behind.!

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                • #83
                  Originally posted by JIGSAW View Post
                  What did I tell you on day1 after you joined the forum
                  I'm of the opinion that every single newbie will not listen to this advice. It's because it's not something you learn from people telling you that, it's something you learn from experience and personal actions. I'm just glad I haven't had a keg or bottle bomb yet.

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                  • #84
                    I would be curious as to what your SG is now. 1,008 is about as low as I would ever expect to go. Did you use carb drops in the bottles or batch dose. (You probably mentioned this somewhere already)
                    Cheers,
                    Lang
                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                    "Dudddde...Hold my beer!".... ; "I wonder what will happen if I ...."

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                    • #85
                      Originally posted by Langchop View Post
                      I would be curious as to what your SG is now. 1,008 is about as low as I would ever expect to go. Did you use carb drops in the bottles or batch dose. (You probably mentioned this somewhere already)
                      I used carbonation drops, so I added exactly the same amount of sugar to every bottle as all my other brews before. Therefore I can only assume one of two things:

                      1. The beer wasn't done at 1.008 and maybe went down to 1.007 or 1.006 in the bottle.
                      2. The beer is of such a type that it simply can't cope with the levels of carbonation, which means it foams like mad when pouring or even opening a bottle/keg.

                      I gave you two of these brews, didn't I? How did you perceive their carbonation levels?

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                      • #86
                        OG 1.036 17 Sept
                        FG 1.008 27 Sept
                        FG 1.008 4 Oct

                        Carbonation levels of bottles are the same as your other beers and the keg carbonation is correct @ 4gr/l but still overcarbed, foams and gushes only means one thing imo your beer was infected. How did you prep your gelatin?
                        Harhm
                        Senior Member
                        Last edited by Harhm; 11 January 2019, 16:24.
                        2017 SANHC-Finals-German Pilsner.2019 Academy of Taste-1st Lager +1st Overall-German Leichtbier.2019 Free State Fermenters-1st Place-Australian Sparkling Ale.2019 SANHC-Final Round-German Leichtbier.2020 SANHC-Top 5-EishBock.2021 SANHC-Low Alcohol Cat: 2nd-2%Lager, Over All Cat: 2nd-Schwarzbier.2022 Free State Fermenters-1st-American light Lager.2022 Fools and Fans National Competition-Top 5-Dunkles Bock

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                        • #87
                          Originally posted by Toxxyc View Post
                          I gave you two of these brews, didn't I? How did you perceive their carbonation levels?
                          I had two of those in bottles, of which one was just the other night. They were both fizzy, but certainly not over carbed. I would guess equivalent of what I associate with about " 3 volumes" of fizziness. Makes the infection possibility more plausible?
                          Cheers,
                          Lang
                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                          "Dudddde...Hold my beer!".... ; "I wonder what will happen if I ...."

                          Comment


                          • #88
                            helpful chart for carbonation

                            https://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table/

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                            • #89
                              Originally posted by Harhm View Post
                              OG 1.036 17 Sept
                              FG 1.008 27 Sept
                              FG 1.008 4 Oct

                              Carbonation levels of bottles are the same as your other beers and the keg carbonation is correct @ 4gr/l but still overcarbed, foams and gushes only means one thing imo your beer was infected. How did you prep your gelatin?
                              I prepped the Gelatin as per instructions - boiled water, added gelatin, heated in microwave to temperature, pitched.

                              However, I found the reason of the high carbonation - it definitely wasn't done fermenting. I opened one last night and for funzies just took a hydrometer reading - it went down to 1.002 in the bottle. This is interesting to me since I did let the fermenter heat up a bit after the fermentation was done, the brew stood on the gelatin for a while and I took the hydrometer readings a few days apart. It was stable.

                              Anyway, this brew was OK, but that was also just that for me. I'm not impressed with it, and probably won't make it again.

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