commercial keg question co2 vs nitrogen

Yakima 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
B

Brewer#19

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
70
Reaction score
0
Location
Tonawanda, NY
Looking for help with a commercial keg question. My little brother is building a kegerator for commercial kegs and has a nitrogen set up which was obviously based on guinness. He went to order his first keg and had a hick up with the distributor, he wanted draught, they got him extra stout which is apparently co2 based and not nitrogen.

The question, what would happen were he to use the keg with his nitrogen set up and what would the effects be on the beer? I'm thinking this would not be catastrophic, but I can't say whether the effects would be negligible and therefore not discernable in the pint or if they would in fact produce a noticeable and bad pint.

I tried google but I'm not getting any real answers and I've always received good responses on this site with my homebrew questions so I'm hoping for the same here, thanks.
 
Is his gas nitrogen or beer gas? The initial carbonation is with CO2, so the Extra Stout will be okay IF it's beer gas. If it's straight nitrogen, the beer will get flatter and flatter as he dispenses it, because CO2 will come out of solution as the headspace increases.
 
I’m not sure what co2 volumes Guinness uses for an extra stout commercial keg but I’d guess that: if OP is serving on straight nitrogen then his pours will be really foamy for the first 1/3 or so of the keg; then great pours for another 1/3, then still good pours but no cascading effect for the last 1/3. If OP used beer gas, most of the pours will be really foamy; assuming op is using a stout faucet.

Though I’m still new to stout setups; just put mine together two months ago pushing with straight nitrogen.
 
Your beer will go flat with straight nitrogen. You should be running CO2 or beer gas, straight CO2 preferred since there is no reason for beer gas in a home setup.
 
If you like your stout’s w/lots of carbonation (and all foam) then push with just co2; I personally like my stouts with very low carbonation and voluptuous. I also like my wine un-sparkled… to each their own. I think the extra stout has enough co2 in it that it’s doubtful the 15gal keg will “go flat” if pushed on straight N.

If there is no reason for beer gas in a home setup, is there even a reason to brew at home?
:confused:
 
Brewer#19 said:
Looking for help with a commercial keg question. My little brother is building a kegerator for commercial kegs and has a nitrogen set up which was obviously based on guinness. He went to order his first keg and had a hick up with the distributor, he wanted draught, they got him extra stout which is apparently co2 based and not nitrogen.

The question, what would happen were he to use the keg with his nitrogen set up and what would the effects be on the beer? I'm thinking this would not be catastrophic, but I can't say whether the effects would be negligible and therefore not discernable in the pint or if they would in fact produce a noticeable and bad pint.

I tried google but I'm not getting any real answers and I've always received good responses on this site with my homebrew questions so I'm hoping for the same here, thanks.
Click to expand...

I know that this is a really old thread but I thought I'd add this link for future searchers which explains why Guiness uses a special faucet and a blend of 25% co2 and 75% nitrogen.

The original answered explain the co2 only will cause over carbonation and too much foam. I just thought that this article under the "Beer Gas, Draft Gas, DraftGaz" section explained it very well.

http://www.draft-beer-made-easy.com/draftbeergas.html
 

Similar threads

R
How do you go about serving with 100% Nitrogen?
Replies
16
Views
2K
fluketamer
F
iandanielursino
Anyone ever thought of trying to use CO2 from the same batch to bottle that batch?
Replies
13
Views
648
iandanielursino
iandanielursino
slurms
Purge keg with fermentation CO2
Replies
14
Views
1K
mac_1103
mac_1103
mrbeachroach
For Sale Kegerator $400OBO (One of a kind) for sale Nashville Tn area/ Cookeville
Replies
1
Views
611
mrbeachroach
mrbeachroach
David Kilduff
Mini-Kegging for St.Patricks day!
Replies
4
Views
212
fluketamer
F
Yakima 300

Latest posts

Back
Top