Keg question

[J.J.]

I've had my tap system for a couple of months and have it running pretty good. Thing is, I've only used 1/4 kegs up to this point. I decided to get a 1/2 for the holiday gatherings and such. When I put the 1/2 on, the quality of head is not up to par. Question is: Anybody know if I need to increase the PSI to account for the larger volume keg? I had good success with the 1/4's at around 9.5 PSI.

[tbimm]

If you have a local pub that you frequent with a large selction of tap beers ask the guy who runs the place. Most pubs with large selection will be running 1/4 and 1/2 kegs depending on consumption. I think there is a psi difference but not sure how to do it.

[J.J.]

Thanks tbimm, I was planning to ask the beer guy this weekend but figured I'd check here first.

[Rovers]

It's all about line length/diameter and your PSI setting. The easy way to go is to just go trial and error. There are a bunch of things that can affect head formation and retention.... diamonds at Christmas.... oh, wait.... we're talking beer.

 

9.5 is a little high for dispensing, but is it the same brand/style of beer? Is the carbonation level of the beer from the 1/2 keg the same as with the 1/4's? At 9.5 you may actually be increasing the carbonation a little bit. If this new keg has lower carbonation, and you prefer it to be a bit higher, turn the pressure up to 15 or so for a few days. Then reduce it again for dispensing. That will increase the carbonation, and will help in a better head formation. Most pubs will use a steady line dispensing pressure. They arent set up to keep a keg carbed for any length of time, like you can do at home. They move the beer before it goes flat.

 

I have a 4 tap ceramic tower setup at home. For more info on this, try perusing this forum: Homebrew.com. They have an entire forum set up for stuff like this, with plenty of people who know thier chit.

Edited December 7, 2005 by Rovers