1st Keg no bubbles, 2nd all bubbles

[Nicholas Spanos]

Finished my first batch, 14 days in the kegs.  So excited...Put the 1st keg in the BrewFlow, pours just beer, no bubbles.  Check the lines, everything looks right.  Still no bubbles.

Decide to try the 2nd keg.  I disconnect the 1st, A ton of air starts coming out. So the carbonation is going in...Put in the 2nd keg in.  Pull the lever, all bubbles, no beer.

 

HELP!
 

It's almost 1am, so I'm giving up and letting it sit overnight.  Maybe that's the trick?

[Rob Courtney]

Hi Nic

2 hours ago, Nicholas Spanos said:

Finished my first batch, 14 days in the kegs.  So excited...Put the 1st keg in the BrewFlow, pours just beer, no bubbles.  Check the lines, everything looks right.  Still no bubbles.

Decide to try the 2nd keg.  I disconnect the 1st, A ton of air starts coming out. So the carbonation is going in...Put in the 2nd keg in.  Pull the lever, all bubbles, no beer.

 

HELP!
 

It's almost 1am, so I'm giving up and letting it sit overnight.  Maybe that's the trick?

Hi Nic, welcome to the forum. A few questions

What brew did you make?

Did you cool down the kegs first when you started pouring?

Are you certain you put a primer in the first keg? (I know it sounds stupid but it does happen)

Have you put a keg spear in the second keg?

I have found with kegs in the Flo that if it was pouring rich foam, it hasn't reached a cool enough temp. If it has though, I would switch the unit off and pour some pints that way, which would allow the foam to calm down with each pint . General rule of thumb with Brewflow though is to either cool the keg down in the fridge first or leave the keg in an operating flo for at least 12 hours, this cools it down and the keg isn't being moved which may shake it up a bit.

Edited June 6, 2020 by Rob Courtney

[Nicholas Spanos]

Thanks for the reply.  This was my first time, so I tried to follow the instructions exactly.  I'm realizing that I put the primer in the brew with the original ingredients.  I didn't realize that went in last, because the video said "put everything in the brew kit in, except the hops"

I'm guessing that's my problem.  I've re attached the 2nd keg and now I get beer with a tiny amount of bubbles.  

[Paul84]

Hey Nicholas, 

Welcome on board. Rob has some good steps to follow. 

Now i have been an unfortunate one who has forgotten to add a primer before , being that you have added it early i am hoping it will still work , but add some sugar to the kegs now ( if they are indeed flat flat) . Probably best to do them in the bathroom or somewhere you can clean just incase 😂. And if it was me I would get a pin or something and make sure you get rid of the pressure on the black side of the keg first then undo the keg collar. 

Just grab some white sugar from the cupboard , or caster sugar if you have it and add some in , rule of thumb is about 10gr per litre , but would just add maybe 40gr , since you may have had a few losses ( plus i would rather have some bubbles then popping a keg) . Then put it all back together , downside is you will have to wait a another few days to get the yeast to go for the sugar , so might have to brew another beer 😉 . Now i assume this will still work as i had a keg for about 3 months with no primer in , added primer and it went well 🙂 ..

As Rob said what Brew did you do ? 

Also with Kegs be very mindful screwing up the collars the extra foam can be caused by microtears in the liner when doing up the black keg connector, i have done that more times then i could remember. I am very minful doing it up to just hold the plastic collar of the liner and not the liner itself. And also when doing up the keg at the end put pressure on the 2 valves when twisting the metal collar on so the bag doesnt twist in the keg ( also a cause of the tears) . 

Now these things are painful but dont let them be a set back mate , i have been making some cracking beers in the last year and they have just been getting better and better with time and experience. The lads on here have great ideas and brewed more then CUB 😂

[Nicholas Spanos]

Hey, it was the American Ale that came with the machines.  Thanks for the tips.  I think I might call it a loss.  When I disconnected the one keg and put it on the side I didn't realize it was leaking and I lost most of it.  I'm down to about 3/4 of the 2nd keg.  I might experiment with that. 

I've already done my 2nd batch, Tea Party Ale, and bottled it.  I've got 9 days left before I can try it.  Pretty sure I did that correctly with the carbonating drops. 

I have my 3rd batch going, Spoke Amber Ale, which is about halfway done.

I figure since each one is a 3 week process, I'd just keep making them.  So I don't feel too bad if I take the loss on the first one and now I've learned my lesson.  

[Paul84]

Thats the ticket, the mistakes arent the problem its the not learning from them 😄 . I made a few with my first few beers i made , but now have the confidence to play with some of the ingredients/temps on beers to make them my own. 

I really enjoyed the Spoke I hope you do too 🤘

[Captain 3 Droids]

1 hour ago, Nicholas Spanos said:

Hey, it was the American Ale that came with the machines.  Thanks for the tips.  I think I might call it a loss.  When I disconnected the one keg and put it on the side I didn't realize it was leaking and I lost most of it.  I'm down to about 3/4 of the 2nd keg.  I might experiment with that. 

I've already done my 2nd batch, Tea Party Ale, and bottled it.  I've got 9 days left before I can try it.  Pretty sure I did that correctly with the carbonating drops. 

I have my 3rd batch going, Spoke Amber Ale, which is about halfway done.

I figure since each one is a 3 week process, I'd just keep making them.  So I don't feel too bad if I take the loss on the first one and now I've learned my lesson.  

Hi Nicholas, Mark here and another welcome to you. It’s all a learning curve and this forum is good for pre or post questioning. Mistakes happen and we have all done them. 
As you put the primer in at the beginning of fermentation the yeast will have “eaten” it as it’s a sugar. Suggest with the last keg you add the 40g of sugar as suggested by Paul, wait 2 weeks and give it go.

Ps. Being in America is no problems with keeping in contact, some times the difference in the time zone can delay replies but it still works.

Cheers Mark.

[Rob Courtney]

15 hours ago, Nicholas Spanos said:

Thanks for the reply.  This was my first time, so I tried to follow the instructions exactly.  I'm realizing that I put the primer in the brew with the original ingredients.  I didn't realize that went in last, because the video said "put everything in the brew kit in, except the hops"

I'm guessing that's my problem.  I've re attached the 2nd keg and now I get beer with a tiny amount of bubbles.  

Bugger, I can understand the disappointment as you'd have been counting down the minutes until you could drink it. I can see others have given advice and it is good advice, so I won't duplicate it.

I know you are counting down the days to try the next brew but keep in mind, they are carbonated at 2 weeks but do drink better with a bit longer secondary. This is all personal bias though, you may think a beer drinks at its best at say 5 weeks secondary and I will be adamant it is 8 weeks...the only way to know for sure is to set aside bottles to try at 2, 3, 4, 5 etc weeks just to gauge its improvement and drinkability.

It is a process and an arduous journey but it is a journey that you get to drink beer on.