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ddemaagd · 07-01-2008, 06:16 PM

I just kegged my first beer about a 1 1/2 weeks ago. It was a stout my brother and I brewed from a kit. We brewed, it went great, sat in the primary for a 1 1/2 weeks and the secondary for about a month.

I bought a co2 tank, all the gas/beer lines, picnic tap, and a used cornie. I replaced all the o-rings on the cornie and cleaned it out really well with pbw and sanitized with iodine, and then with one-step after that upon my brothers suggestion. I took off the in and the out pieces and the dip tubes.

The stout tasted great when we pulled bit after kegging.

We tried to do the ole add some co2 and shake method. Turned the psi up to about 35, then shook and let it set for a few hours, and then did it again. THe psi was left on 35 overnight after the second shaking.

We tried the beer just for kicks the next day and it tasted horribly. We thought it was overcarbed so i took a sanitized spoon and gave it a few gentle stirs to try to induce a bit of foaming and get rid of the extra co2. I set it to about 10 psi and waited a few more days. The keg is sitting in a cool basement, w/o refridgeration.

It still tastes bad.

Any ideas??

the co2 tank is used, and came full, was used for airbrush painting or something before i bought it.

THANKS!!!!!!!!

**TheJadedDog** · 07-01-2008, 06:24 PM

Can you describe the taste at all?

ddemaagd · 07-01-2008, 07:08 PM

I don't really know exactly since i don't have it on me. My bro says "biter tasting with lots of tiny bubbles." not really sure what that means. Def. an "off" taste tho...

**Cape Brewing** · 07-01-2008, 07:25 PM

It sounds like a simple over-carb. I have a porter on tap right now that was the same thing. It has a very bitter, "sharp" after-taste. I dropped the pressure on the keg down to 10-12 PSI and shook it a little bit and let it settle out.

I don't think simply stirring the keg will get much of the carb out of it.

Any beers that I poured from it after that were still a bit overcarbed so I would pour one, just give it a good stir with a fork to flatten it out and they were perfect.

It was the first time I ever had a beer taste THAT different from simple carbonation but like I was saying, once I flattened it out, all of the flavors you want to come through, did and I'm really really happy with my porter.

The other thing is CO2 isn't really for stout. I use a CO2 nitrogen mix so you get the "cascade" like a Guinness... I honestly think that makes a big difference as well.

Pour a beer, give it a really good stir with fork (watch out it doesn't foam over the glass) and then let us know.

**TheJadedDog** · 07-01-2008, 07:54 PM

Yeah a sharp taste with lots of little bubbles tells me you are just over-carbed. You'll want to bleed off all the CO2, let it sit for a day, bleed some more, repeat until carbonation is correct, reset to desired pressure.

As for CO2 in a stout, while it is true that stout faucets need nitrogen to work properly and create the cascade effect and get that creaminess, CO2 doesn't hurt stouts and shouldn't make it taste bad in and of itself, it just won't be quite the same as a commerical stout. If you plan on making lots of stouts you might want to invest in a nitrogen system and stout faucet, personally that purchase is a long way off for me and I make stout a few times a year.

ddemaagd · 07-01-2008, 11:47 PM

awesome. I'll give it a try and let you know. Thanks!

**Cape Brewing** · 07-02-2008, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheJadedDog

Yeah a sharp taste with lots of little bubbles tells me you are just over-carbed. You'll want to bleed off all the CO2, let it sit for a day, bleed some more, repeat until carbonation is correct, reset to desired pressure.

As for CO2 in a stout, while it is true that stout faucets need nitrogen to work properly and create the cascade effect and get that creaminess, CO2 doesn't hurt stouts and shouldn't make it taste bad in and of itself, it just won't be quite the same as a commerical stout. If you plan on making lots of stouts you might want to invest in a nitrogen system and stout faucet, personally that purchase is a long way off for me and I make stout a few times a year.

I've had a bunch of stouts on my old taps with CO2 and then with the CO2 mix and I think there's definitely a taste difference. The nitrogen mix, I think, gives it a much much smoother taste and adds a lot of body to the beer without having that sharp bite of normal CO2 (the problem we think is on this thread).

I could be way off in left field and who knows, maybe I just made different beers but I think there is a taste difference you get from the two gases.

**TheJadedDog** · 07-02-2008, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cape Brewing

I've had a bunch of stouts on my old taps with CO2 and then with the CO2 mix and I think there's definitely a taste difference. The nitrogen mix, I think, gives it a much much smoother taste and adds a lot of body to the beer without having that sharp bite of normal CO2 (the problem we think is on this thread).

I could be way off in left field and who knows, maybe I just made different beers but I think there is a taste difference you get from the two gases.

I'm not saying there isn't a taste difference, I just don't think it's enough of a difference to cause an off-taste if the beer is properly carbed.

**Cape Brewing** · 07-02-2008, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheJadedDog

I'm not saying there isn't a taste difference, I just don't think it's enough of a difference to cause an off-taste if the beer is properly carbed.

Gotcha... yeah, absolutely.