Do I have beer gas or co2?

[jcojr72]

I bought a used kegging setup off of craigslist. This included a partially filled 20lb gas tank which is labeled CO2. In order to test the system out, I put a small amount of homebrew IPA in the keg and hooked up the CO2. The beer pours with a creamy type head, almost looks like a Boddington head on an IPA. Do you think the tank has a beer gas mix in it? Is there a way to tell for sure? If so I suppose I will get it refilled with pure CO2.

Thanks.

 

[PlowboyBrew]

I use C02 but I don't brew many stouts that you usually associate with the dense head and creamy mouthfeel (ie Irish Stout) that the CO2 & Nitro blend gives you. Your call bro.
Cheers!

 

[rustynuts]

If your co2 cyl has a male thread connector it is probably just co2...all beer gas cylinders I have delt with have always had female thread like a propane tank.
Happy Brewing

 

[Sedge]

Having had nitro and beer gas fed IPA and other styles besides dry stout, I'm jealous. If it's beer gas you're in for some fun. Nothing beats that creamy texture and head that sits nicely on top all the way down the glass. Although the aroma of your beer will be a little less 'in your face' because there won't be gas molecules bursting out of solution and carrying the smells.

I say take it to a Roberts Oxygen or wherever you get your tank fills. They'll identify it.

 

[DirtyMcCurdy]

The creamy head generally comes from the stout faucet you pour from, not the gas itself. The nitrogen forces the beer through the plate in the stout faucet @ 20-40psi and beats most of the CO2 out of it making tiny bubbles, thus creating the creamy head. If you've got a creamy head and you don't have a stout faucet, you're probably just lucky.

But yeah, CO2 cylinders have male fittings that go into female regulators, and the exact opposite is true of Nitrogen cylinders.