Crazy stout handle / CO2 idea...

I love stouts... I'm currently working on a kegerator build that will give me room for 4-5 kegs. At least one of these kegs will be root beer that I intend to have carbed at 35-40 PSI serving.

I would love to have a stout handle, but not enough to to invest in a nitro system.
From what I read, I can do a stout handle with CO2 if I bump the CO2 up to 30-40 PSI.

My tank and regulators are going to be outside of the fridge, and since I will have one of the lines at 35ish PSI, I was thinking about using a distributor I have in reverse...


*To handle should be "to keg" but you get the idea*

I'll bolt it to the side, and just flip the switches when I want the thick head from the stout...

Thoughts?

Looks good, but you'll have to change the valves - Those have check valves built in.

Edit: It might just be easier to get manifolds with one extra port than you need, so you can have one extra line at each pressure to connect as needed...

SweetSounds said:

Looks good, but you'll have to change the valves - Those have check valves built in.

Click to expand...

I did not think of that... Excellent point. Thanks.

I have one other thought... Would I need to purge the keg after every 35psi pour to prevent overcarbing? That would be a dealbreaker...

Yes, you will. Not necessarily after every pour - carbonation takes time...
But it will definitely over carb the beer if you leave it on for a while...

SweetSounds said:

Yes, you will. Not necessarily after every pour - carbonation takes time...
But it will definitely over carb the beer if you leave it on for a while...

Click to expand...

I will not be leaving it on 35 PSI for any length of time, that is why I have the distributor switch... I'm wondering after I'm done pouring, and I flip it back to 7 PSI, should I purge the keg?

Wait...why are you bumping up the CO2? You can run CO2 in a stout faucet at normal pressure just by removing the restrictor.

Then you don't get the creaming/foaming, which is the point.

When you are done serving, yes, you will want to purge and refill at the proper conditionig PSI. Merely switching pressures at the manifold will not reduce the pressure in the keg.

Crazy Idea 2.0... I use a 3 way distributor, and use the 3rd barb as a purging barb.

dakotabear said:

Crazy Idea 2.0... I use a 3 way distributor, and use the 3rd barb as a purging barb.

Click to expand...

That should work

You will never be happy doing this half assed, plus you are going to go through CO2 pretty fast with all this bleeding, etc. You may be better off just using a creamer faucet. In my opinion, a stout faucet makes a bad standard faucet, even with the restrictor plate out.
If I did not have Beergas (which I do, 75% nitrogen, 25%co2) or another suitable blended gas I'd just stick with regular faucets. The nitro tap cascading head thing is nice for a guinness/murphys/boddingtons kind of thing but there are plenty of amazing stouts served in regular bottles and faucets.

Who said anything about half assed? Just trying to be creative.

CO2 is not an issue, I can have all I want for free...

How does a creamer faucet compare to the stout as far as head/creaminess?

Thanks.

dakotabear:
I did not mean to sound insulting. Creamer faucets just put a restriction on the output of the faucet when you push rather than pull, so you can add some extra head. It's not going to replicate a nitro pour. You could use Argon or argon co2 blend to push the beer if you don't have access to a nitrogen blended gas. I'm just saying, messing around and experimenting can be fun but your results will be all over the place. After doing a lot of trial and error myself I am much happier having predictable results, esp. with my home brewed beer.