Whiskey and Coke on Tap

I have a few friends that prefer mixed drinks to beer so just for fun I filled a keg with Jim Beam and Coke. I used two liter bottles of coke and poured them into a corney keg along with the Beam. I did this one morning and served that night with no problems using the same set up that I had for root beer, 25 feet of line at 30 psi. It is now a few weeks later and it is pouring nothing but foam. I tried pulling the valve on the keg and lowering the psi but no good. Any suggetions? Should I be running at 30 psi?

Mike

Using CO2 at that pressure will overcarbonate your drink. When pushing long distances, what people generally use is a beer gas mix where the gas isn't readily mixed into solution like CO2 will.

I am using 25 feet of line not because I need to go that far but becuase this is the amount of line needed to balance the system at 30 psi.

I used a similar set up for root beer for years with no problem and I know many others use a system with similar specs. Is root beer carbonated at a higher volume than other sodas?

Mike

30 PSI for rootbeer is generally where mine is set at. What is the temp in your fridge and is the line contained in a cool place (not a tower, etc) where it could be warming up?

My guess is that you have simply overcarbed and/or allowed the line to get warmer than the keg.

I think your best bet would be to turn your regulator back to about 20 and start bleeding the excess CO2 out of the keg until you get to 20. Then hook the gas back up and try serving again. If you think about the carb levels between most soda and rootbeer, rootbeer almost is always higher (with the exception of Dr. Pepper IMO).

I suspect you have a gusher infection.

david_42 said:

I suspect you have a gusher infection.

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Not sure how I would get an infection, it's Coca-Cola and Jim Beam poured into a sanitized keg.

Mike

blackcows said:

Not sure how I would get an infection, it's Coca-Cola and Jim Beam poured into a sanitized keg.

Mike

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tongue in cheek...


Maybe its just a problem of the soda already being carbonated? Try leaving it at 30 psi for a day or two and see if it evens itself back out.

KhellendrosXS said:

30 PSI for rootbeer is generally where mine is set at. What is the temp in your fridge and is the line contained in a cool place (not a tower, etc) where it could be warming up?

My guess is that you have simply overcarbed and/or allowed the line to get warmer than the keg.

I think your best bet would be to turn your regulator back to about 20 and start bleeding the excess CO2 out of the keg until you get to 20. Then hook the gas back up and try serving again. If you think about the carb levels between most soda and rootbeer, rootbeer almost is always higher (with the exception of Dr. Pepper IMO).

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I am thinking it isn't the setup as it is the same setup I used for Root Beer for years with no problem. The only difference is that the keg is now in the front of the kegerator as opposed to the back but the door is rarely opened.

I agree with you that I need to turn the reg back and see what happens. The one varaible is the liquor and I am wondering if that is giving me the problem. I have it mixed to about 10% ABV so I am not only carbonating Coke but I am also carbonating Jim Beam.

Mike

Have you noticed that when you mix the whiskey with coke in your glass the carbonation changes. It suddenly doesn't seem as carbonated. I wonder if this might have something to do with it.

are you having the classic issues of immiscibility?

mordantly said:

are you having the classic issues of immiscibility?

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Interesting thought. So you are thinking that the Jim Beam may settle out and therefore cause issues.

Mike

it will float. as any alcohol does in a miuxed drink if not consumed within an evening... i don't know if it is an issue, take a keg and throw a bottle of coke in and see with all other settings the same.

Dude, youre kidding about separating right? Ethanol, which is an alcohol is polar, and since water is also polar, it is miscible in water. Does the alcohol separate out of your beer?

Edcculus said:

Dude, youre kidding about separating right? Ethanol, which is an alcohol is polar, and since water is also polar, it is miscible in water. Does the alcohol separate out of your beer?

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Not only that, the ethanol will grab onto the water. That's why its so hard to get to 100% ethanol (and everclear is around 95%).

thats a pretty good idea. it has to be able to be done becausae they sell Jim Beam and cola in cans.
IF over cabonating is the issue then couldn't you make the cola from a kit and then add the Beam to it and then force carb the hole keg ?

My guess is by add ethanol (jim Beam) your reducing the restense of the liquide. making the liquide easy to flow you need less pressure to push it. Best thing to do lower psi when starting a new cola kit and Jim Beam...start at 15 psi and work your way up in 5 psi at a time until you get it right.

Then again I havn't got a clue what I'm talking about...

Later

To the OP... did you ever have a resolution or repeat the process with success?

We've been contemplating purchasing 2 liters of tonic to fill a keg, and if possible perhaps the gin along with it...

I have filled kegs with coke before. 30 psi was fine. I haven't tried the whiskey mixed in so that could be the variable that's causing the problem.

viiiwonder said:

To the OP... did you ever have a resolution or repeat the process with success?

We've been contemplating purchasing 2 liters of tonic to fill a keg, and if possible perhaps the gin along with it...

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No....gave up on the idea but I certainly think kegged tonic would work.

Me and my roomate made some "jungle juice" one time that was a gallon of everclear and 4 gal of juice. It was served at 30psi on a party tap for like 2 months and always seemed to pour perfectly.

I could not stand the stuff but everyone else seemed to love it. There was a reason it lasted 2 months though...

I dont see why your setup would not work...

curious to know if anyone ever made this happen?

I'm curious too. All the threads i search no one seems to post back their results. I have found a few different threads with different pressures for coke. At the moment I have half a corny filled with home brew rum and coke and is mixed to around 5% alcohol. I have the pressure dialled in at 25psi and my beer line is only 4ft long which is fine for my beer. If I poor at 25psi for rum and coke it comes out quick and over fizzy then goes flat. I released the keg pressure down to about 10psi and poured a little more. Came out fizzy but stayed more carbonated than before. I have more beer line on order along with a Pluto tap so I'm going to try that next with about 20ft of line for the pour. Then maybe I'll try dial the pressure up a bit. Will let you know what happens.

Pieguts said:

I'm curious too. All the threads i search no one seems to post back their results. I have found a few different threads with different pressures for coke. At the moment I have half a corny filled with home brew rum and coke and is mixed to around 5% alcohol. I have the pressure dialled in at 25psi and my beer line is only 4ft long which is fine for my beer. If I poor at 25psi for rum and coke it comes out quick and over fizzy then goes flat. I released the keg pressure down to about 10psi and poured a little more. Came out fizzy but stayed more carbonated than before. I have more beer line on order along with a Pluto tap so I'm going to try that next with about 20ft of line for the pour. Then maybe I'll try dial the pressure up a bit. Will let you know what happens.

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Interesting project! When I was trying to get my carbonator working, my two main problems were temperature and the dispensing tap. I had to keep it pretty cold to keep the carbonation from coming out right away, and the basic tap I was using for testing was creating too much agitation and causing the carbonated water to bubble and fizz at the tap but not have much carbonation in the actual water when it came out. It does sound possible that the alcohol could be causing the co2 to come out - seems to me that beer is pretty foamy, but the actual liquid itself when poured is pretty flat compared to soda, and my memories of jim and coke are always of a glass of flat liquid... Hope you figure it out! Maybe try and experiment with a cold glass of well carbonated soda and pour in the alcohol and see how the carbonation level responds over a few minutes next to a glass you don't pour the alcohol in...