I am getting ready for a camping trip in the mountains, will be a change of elevation. I made my beer at 500 above sea level. It is a belgian triple. I will be taking up the mountain to about 8000 feet. Last year I tried this and I had a horrible foaming issue, no matter how little CO2 I applied to push it out. nothing but foam.
The details, I have a 3 g keg, that I put into the Transformer cooler. I ice it up and I have a tap that goes on the outside of the cooler. It stays nice and cold. The tubing is all rubber.
I have thought about lengthening the tube that goes to the tap, but how long and what diameter? would that lessen the foam? Any ideas?
At home i use full blown kegerators with 5lb tanks and multiple taps. The portable rig is just a 20oz paintball tank with mini regulator. With my home setup i do not have any foam issues.
I wouldn’t even connect the gas with a regulator. I just have one of those mini paint ball co2 cartridge holder and jus give it a shot when it stops pouring. Of course it’s going to get shook bringing it into cp
I’ve made quite a few trips to Colorado Springs (~6000 ft) and had beer served from kegs in bars there; they don’t over-foam. Sodas and beer from cans and bottles also work fine, so this is solvable… Maybe a call to a high-altitude brew pub will yield some answers. Maybe even visit one on your way to the camp…
It may just be that because you’re carbing at 500 and opening at 8000 you’re just over-carbed… The locals don’t notice, but when you buy groceries all the chips and other snacks in the grocery store are so pressureized they feel like they’re about to explode. This is because they’re sealed at “normal” pressure and at altitude the difference is bigger.
You may just need to bleed off some pressure when you get to altitude. So pull the pressure release when you get to camp. Wait. Maybe repeat until it stops foaming. I’m just talking out of my butt here, but once you get the carbonation and keg pressure set to 8000ft you should be good.
