Head on a guiness.

No offense to anyone out there but im not a big fan of the taste of guiness. However, it has excellent head retention.

What is it that gives that beer the very thick malty head versus other types of ale?

nitrous, that "ball" that rattles around in the can releases nitrous when you open the can. Its pretty much the same as a beer that is on a nitrous tap

or if your bar has it on tap, you will notice that the tap looks different then the rest, that is a nitrous tap.

That's a *nitrogen* tap. It uses n2. What is commonly referred to as "Nitrous" is N2O and is actually "nitrous oxide"- that's also called laughing gas and is a great oxidizer. The n2 breaks free under moderate temps, causing free oxygen molecules to combine into 02, and help fuel fires or explosions that are in need of oxygen. It also makes people giggle uncontrollably... But anyway, that's a whole different thing. I'm not sure carbing with "nitrous" would work in beer, but it would sure be fun to try sometime...


Guinness just uses plain old nitrogen though.

Yeah, try the guinness "extra" in a bottle sometime---no, not the one with the widget in the bottle, the other one, that typically comes in bigger bottles. You'll notice that it lacks that same tight head, as well as missing the "cascade" effect. That's because it lacks the nitrogen that the widget ball provides.

I see. If i were to start kegging then is that something i would be able to accomplish. Does it alter flavor?

BrooZer said:

I see. If i were to start kegging then is that something i would be able to accomplish. Does it alter flavor?

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Yeah, you can get a special getup to use beer gas for that purpose. Some brewpubs will serve other things on it, and I have heard it is really good. As for the altered flavor the answer is yes and no . No, it really doesn't have a flavor of it's own but yes in that the perception will be altered because of how those smaller bubbles hit/stay on the tongue. You get a 'creamier' sensation from this.

Toot said:

That's a *nitrogen* tap. It uses n2. What is commonly referred to as "Nitrous" is N2O and is actually "nitrous oxide"- that's also called laughing gas and is a great oxidizer. The n2 breaks free under moderate temps, causing free oxygen molecules to combine into 02, and help fuel fires or explosions that are in need of oxygen.

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moderate temps as in ~570°F.... not normally a risk unless its in contained in an enclosed area such as a engines combustion chamber. Even then its not exposive or anything. It merely provides more oxygen to other objects that are combusting... so you can pump more gasoline into a car's engine without running rich.

Nitrogen creates smaller bubbles which make for a creamier head, and nitrogen is heavier than air so the bubbles go down (cascading effect in guiness)

does the tap also have a special attachment on it that forces the beer through much smaller holes to create the effect, or is it all a property of the nitrogen?

Yeast Infection said:

nitrous, that "ball" that rattles around in the can releases nitrous when you open the can. Its pretty much the same as a beer that is on a nitrous tap

or if your bar has it on tap, you will notice that the tap looks different then the rest, that is a nitrous tap.

Click to expand...

I just opened my first can of Guiness and experienced the nitrogen you speak of. A couple of questions if you will.

First, how does the 'ping pong ball' deliver the nitrogen? Is it a pressure differential thing? Should I wait to pour it into my glass so that the nitrogen has a chance to work?

Secondly, I was under the impression that 'beer gas', a combination of CO2 and N2, was used commercially to obtain higher pressures in the keg so that the beer can travel further to the tap. The N2 doesn't dissolve into the beer so you don't overcarb at the higher pressure. If that is true, does the N2 in my can of Guiness just escape to the atmosphere shortly after pouring?

You can also get a nice pudding-like head by upping your dispensing gas to 12 psi... ...lessons learned...

Fingers said:

First, how does the 'ping pong ball' deliver the nitrogen? Is it a pressure differential thing? Should I wait to pour it into my glass so that the nitrogen has a chance to work?

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Im not sure how it all works...i dont really know how the *nitrogen* gets released, good question.

Fingers said:

Secondly, I was under the impression that 'beer gas', a combination of CO2 and N2, was used commercially to obtain higher pressures in the keg so that the beer can travel further to the tap. The N2 doesn't dissolve into the beer so you don't overcarb at the higher pressure. If that is true, does the N2 in my can of Guiness just escape to the atmosphere shortly after pouring?

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Again...i dont know..sorry

According to what I've read they put liquid nitrogen in there before they seal it up and as the nitrogen boils into gas it forces its way into the widget deal. Then when you open the cap and the pressure is released it comes out. Not sure how much of it evaporates or how quickly though when you open it.