Nitrogen for stout

I've been thinking about trying a stout type beer in over the next while. I've noticed in the forums that nitrogen is used instead of Co2.

If i'm going to bottle.....are there nitrogen tabs or something to use.

Thanks,

Igorstien said:

I've been thinking about trying a stout type beer in over the next while. I've noticed in the forums that nitrogen is used instead of Co2.

If i'm going to bottle.....are there nitrogen tabs or something to use.

Thanks,

Click to expand...

I'm certainly not a stout expert, but IIRC Nitrogen is used in stouts that are on tap. To get the proper dense, lastgin head on a stout, they use a restrictor plate in the faucet. To get proper flow rate requires a whole lot of pressure, so instead of jacking of the CO2 pressure, resulting in WWWAAAYYY overcarbonated beer, they mix CO2 and nitrogen, with the nitrogen providing the extra pressure to push it through the faucet.

Whether you need to use nitrogen tabs in bottles or not, well I have no idea. I've never seen them, though. I don't think you can get nitrogen in tablet form.

Well, Guinness uses some nitrogen "widget" but I don't know if you can get ahold of those. It might be some proprietary technology, but it wouldn't hurt to search around.

By the way, this might be extremely common knowlege, but the dense head comes from the smaller nitrogen bubbles, which makes the head "creamier". Since you can get this to happen with Guinness in the can and bottle, I'm not sure that extra pressure would be necessary.

This is how the widget works: Guinness Widget

Igorstien said:

If i'm going to bottle.....are there nitrogen tabs or something to use.

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You're out of luck. No such thing (unless you were able to use the widget people have mentioned). The only way to "carbonate" your beer with nitrogen is to put it in a keg and then fill from the keg. Also, its a nitrogen and CO2 mix...not pure nitrogen.

Kephren said:

This is how the widget works: Guinness Widget

Click to expand...

Thanks, Kephren. That's an interesting little read.

ah, where would we all be without the great wikipedia?

so then the guiness widget doesn't contain Nitrogen at terribly high pressures (they put it in their bottles without fear).... is there anyway to pressure load nitrogen (i know, i know, with CO2) into bottles for the homebrewer? all i can think of is some funky/special cap system but i cant for the life of me think of how it'd actually function - lol

kneemoe said:

ah, where would we all be without the great wikipedia?

so then the guiness widget doesn't contain Nitrogen at terribly high pressures (they put it in their bottles without fear).... is there anyway to pressure load nitrogen (i know, i know, with CO2) into bottles for the homebrewer? all i can think of is some funky/special cap system but i cant for the life of me think of how it'd actually function - lol

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We'd be in better shape? When you consider what Wikipedia is, and the fact that anybody can come along and edit it...for instance, at least one spot on that page now says midget instead of widget.

Remember how Wikipedia came to be. It can't be considered the final "source" for any reliable information.

LupusUmbrus said:

Thanks, Kephren. That's an interesting little read.

Click to expand...

How can the gas in a sealed can "evaporate?" Once the can is sealed, the pressure within the sealed can remains constant. That's a law of physics!

I don't know how the widget truly works, but it can't be the way it's described here.

kneemoe said:

ah, where would we all be without the great wikipedia?

so then the guiness widget doesn't contain Nitrogen at terribly high pressures (they put it in their bottles without fear).... is there anyway to pressure load nitrogen (i know, i know, with CO2) into bottles for the homebrewer? all i can think of is some funky/special cap system but i cant for the life of me think of how it'd actually function - lol

Click to expand...

The only was I can think of would be to attempt it with a counter-pressure bottle filler, but I think it would be more trouble and a lot more work that it's worth.

bikebryan said:

How can the gas in a sealed can "evaporate?" Once the can is sealed, the pressure within the sealed can remains constant. That's a law of physics!

I don't know how the widget truly works, but it can't be the way it's described here.

Click to expand...

The liquid nitro evaporates, pressurizing the bottle. They may work pretty much as described. It'd be easy enough to test out with a used widget and some liquid nitro. Just stuff the used widget in a bottle, fill it with beer, pour in a little liquid nitro, and cap quickly.

bikebryan said:

How can the gas in a sealed can "evaporate?" Once the can is sealed, the pressure within the sealed can remains constant. That's a law of physics!

I don't know how the widget truly works, but it can't be the way it's described here.

Click to expand...

Evaporaton: the physical process of a liquid transforming to a vapor/gas.

As El P stated, liquid nitrogen will evaporate inside the bottle thus pressureizing the contents.

bikebryan said:

How can the gas in a sealed can "evaporate?" Once the can is sealed, the pressure within the sealed can remains constant. That's a law of physics!

Click to expand...

not the physics I studied!

If you decide to go with the keg I can tell you about it. It works well...just like a Guinness at a pub. I bought a Guinness faucet on ebay for 50 bucks, a nitrogen bottle (the co2 bottle won't work) with the adapter for about $50. 30 psi seems to be about right for carbonating and dispensing.

Now I know you guys are all crazy, because if we used liquid nitrogen the minute it touch any thing...The Thing (whatever it happens to be)........would shatter. Hence the old Liquid nitrogen and the flower thing..........Liquid Nitrogen is -321 Degrees F. Not a chance Guiness is putting that in a bottle!!

Igorstien said:

Now I know you guys are all crazy, because if we used liquid nitrogen the minute it touch any thing...The Thing (whatever it happens to be)........would shatter. Hence the old Liquid nitrogen and the flower thing..........Liquid Nitrogen is -321 Degrees F. Not a chance Guiness is putting that in a bottle!!

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Another (more reliable) source: http://***********/mrwizard/906.html

Igorstien said:

Now I know you guys are all crazy, because if we used liquid nitrogen the minute it touch any thing...The Thing (whatever it happens to be)........would shatter. Hence the old Liquid nitrogen and the flower thing..........Liquid Nitrogen is -321 Degrees F. Not a chance Guiness is putting that in a bottle!!

Click to expand...

Dude, Think about it.

Liquid nitrogen only chills that cold through evaporation. The small amount of non compressable liquid shielded from the beer by the widget expands when it evaporates and the now expanded (compressable) gas pressurizes the container.

Hell, I've held drops of liquid nitrogen in the palm of my hand. I've worked with nitrogen freeze tunnels in the meat industry.

Igorstien said:

Now I know you guys are all crazy, because if we used liquid nitrogen the minute it touch any thing...The Thing (whatever it happens to be)........would shatter. Hence the old Liquid nitrogen and the flower thing..........Liquid Nitrogen is -321 Degrees F. Not a chance Guiness is putting that in a bottle!!

Click to expand...

One more thing, the next time you see a praxair truck driving down the highway with Nitrogen painted on the side or you're driving by an industrial park and see a big stationary tank with Nitrogen painted on it, ask yourself this:

Why isn't there frost all over it if evey thing it touches shatters?

Old thread but I think someone got their info from Terminator 2

thanks for bringing this thing back to life...

Haha, do you run a nitro setup? I think I may go the route of carbing with co2 then switching to a 100% nitro tank to push it through the stout tap at like 30psi. From what I've read this is a pretty common method. Of course I have to get all the stuff first.