<p>Foam comes from over pumping. For most of my keg beers I (with a CO2 tank) use about 11-15psi). For a hand pump this is more difficult. You will have to resist the urge to over pump. If you are a little more engineer-minded you can look at <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Guests-from-Overpumping-the-Keg" rel="nofollow">THIS</a> article to gauge more consistently your tap pressures. Make sure you let the keg settle after moving as well. Just like shaking a soda can, a lot of jarring will make the CO2 come out of solution. </p>

<p>A trick I use on my homebrew system (I use 5 gallon kegs) is gently placing the keg on its side and slowly rolling it about 3 feet forward and then 3 feet back. Then, I place it back in the fridge and repeat 3 times throughout the day. This helps the CO2 re-dissolve into the beer. However, if you are pulling the keg out of a trunk, throwing it in a trash can and packing it with ice...this solution isn't viable. In which case you want to let it settle and resist the urge to over pump.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-22T15:37:58.247Z
2014-01-22T19:30:08.067Z
2014-01-22T19:30:08.067Z
BryceH
<p>When using a keg setup at home, either with a hand pump or a pressurized system, I keep getting a lot of foam after changing and/or pumping up the air pressure (In a hand system).</p>

<p>This appears to me to be wasting beer, so how can I avoid this overfoaming of the pour?</p>

<pouring><preparation-for-drinking>
How to avoid keg foam?
JohnP
# How to avoid keg foam?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-01-22)

When using a keg setup at home, either with a hand pump or a pressurized system, I keep getting a lot of foam after changing and/or pumping up the air pressure (In a hand system).

This appears to me to be wasting beer, so how can I avoid this overfoaming of the pour?

**Tags:** pouring, preparation-for-drinking


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-01-22. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Foam comes from over pumping. For most of my keg beers I (with a CO2 tank) use about 11-15psi). For a hand pump this is more difficult. You will have to resist the urge to over pump. If you are a little more engineer-minded you can look at [THIS](http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Guests-from-Overpumping-the-Keg) article to gauge more consistently your tap pressures. Make sure you let the keg settle after moving as well. Just like shaking a soda can, a lot of jarring will make the CO2 come out of solution.

A trick I use on my homebrew system (I use 5 gallon kegs) is gently placing the keg on its side and slowly rolling it about 3 feet forward and then 3 feet back. Then, I place it back in the fridge and repeat 3 times throughout the day. This helps the CO2 re-dissolve into the beer. However, if you are pulling the keg out of a trunk, throwing it in a trash can and packing it with ice...this solution isn't viable. In which case you want to let it settle and resist the urge to over pump.


---

