Nitro tap - worth it or not?

[motobrewer]

I recently added one. It's...ok. I'm still figuring it out. I can't get it to pour without half a glass of foam. I'm using beer gas, 60/40, at 15 psi. It might be something in the recipe. Beer tastes great, once I spoon off all the foam.

 

[Silentdrinker]

I recently added one. It's...ok. I'm still figuring it out. I can't get it to pour without half a glass of foam. I'm using beer gas, 60/40, at 15 psi. It might be something in the recipe. Beer tastes great, once I spoon off all the foam.

Are you carbonating it too high before putting it on nitro?

 

[motobrewer]

maybe. I don't think so though. But it's possible.

 

[Silentdrinker]

maybe. I don't think so though. But it's possible.

What vol co2 are you carbonating it to?

 

[day_trippr]

I'd be surprised if a stout faucet would work well at 15 psi.
Most folks seem to run around 30 psi or higher.
I'm running at 35 psi because I have a long line on that faucet (same 12 footer as on the other five)...

Cheers!

 

[ChemistBrewer]

I have one. Yes for me its worth it. Plus friends and family think it super cool that you have it at home. It can be expensive but I like it and my wife really likes nitro beers. I bought a perlick nitro tap and its badass, probably spent more than I should have. Also as others have said the tanks can get expensive as you usally have to go to Airgas/Nat welders to get them. Most homebrew shops dont carry them. I ended up buying a 30lber so ill have beer gas for a while haha. Also dont forgett you will need a regulator devoted and fitted for nitrogen. Carbonate low like beergolf said otherwise your beer will be waaay too over carbed.

 

[motobrewer]

What vol co2 are you carbonating it to?

About 1.

I'd be surprised if a stout faucet would work well at 15 psi.
Most folks seem to run around 30 psi or higher.
I'm running at 35 psi because I have a long line on that faucet (same 12 footer as on the other five)...

Cheers!

I have 60/40 mix on a 12 foot line. I'm not sure what you mean by "work well" but beer flows out of it. It pours perfect for the first 1/3 then suddenly WHAM! Entire glass turns to pure foam.

 

[masonsjax]

That sounds like the beer is overcarbed. The beer in the line probably loses a little carb, once that's poured and you hit the kegged beer, it's too much carb and foams up. 60/40 is a pretty high ratio of CO2, and maybe even at 15 psi it's too much? I keep my 75/25 mix around 25 psi and it's perfect.

 

[ABVIBUSRM]

If you are a stout junkie like me then yes it is worth it ..also fun to run IPA's and porters too..just make sure you can get nitro gas mix before buying

 

[motobrewer]

That sounds like the beer is overcarbed. The beer in the line probably loses a little carb, once that's poured and you hit the kegged beer, it's too much carb and foams up. 60/40 is a pretty high ratio of CO2, and maybe even at 15 psi it's too much? I keep my 75/25 mix around 25 psi and it's perfect.

Yeah I wanted 75/25 but all we seem to have around here is 60/40. I can try purging I guess but 40% co2 at 15psi is 6psi equivalent. That's not a lot of carb.

 

[masonsjax]

Yeah, I dunno man, I know people run that blend without problems. A certain pressure is needed to overcome the pressure plate and break the CO2 out of solution, so there must be a happy medium there somewhere.

 

[BBBF]

I'm enjoying a braggot on nitro. I have only had mine for a couple months, but I am enoying it.

 

[Silentdrinker]

Yeah I wanted 75/25 but all we seem to have around here is 60/40. I can try purging I guess but 40% co2 at 15psi is 6psi equivalent. That's not a lot of carb.

Is that 6psi co2 equivalent? How cold is your kegerator?

 

[motobrewer]

yes. 41. ish.

 

[Silentdrinker]

yes. 41. ish.

Well, I dont know what to say... Everything appears to be set up correct from what you're saying. Unless you're info isn't accurate or you're pouring it from three feet away... Idk. Good luck with it.

 

[LLBeanJ]

yes. 41. ish.

This definitely sounds like an overcarbonation problem to me. When I first set mine up I had the same issue, but was able to abate it by decreasing the carb.

My guess is that the beer was more carbonated than you think it was when you moved from straight CO2 to the blended gas. It doesn't take much overcarb to blow the whole pour.

What I would do is this...

Take it off the nitro and manually decarb the brew by venting the pressure. Do this several times for a couple of days and then put it back on the nitro and see how it pours. If still too much foam, repeat the process. You should be able to get it to pour without foam before too long. If you go too far in decarbing, such that you have all beer and no foam, just let it be and let the carb build back up slowly over several days and then raise it 1 or 2 PSI every few days and wait some more. The key is to go back up in pressure slowly until you find the sweet spot for your system. If it eventually goes back to all foam, then you know your nitro serving pressure is too high. Start over.

 

[motobrewer]

yeah. i've been doing this. thanks.

 

[Silentdrinker]

This definitely sounds like an overcarbonation problem to me.

I agree due to the outcome, but his replies don't indicate it. At 1vol pre carb and 41f at 6 psi he's at about 1.8 co2 vol. So...

 

[LLBeanJ]

I agree, but when real world results don't jibe with the theoretical, you have no choice but to act on the real world results.

Also, my experience suggests that 1.8 vols is too much for a successful nitro pour. 1.0 is closer to what I have to use, i.e., damn near flat really. Naturally, YMMV.

 

[DGibb]

Irish Red on nitro

I love the glass.

 

[HollisBT]

Where are you guys ordering your nitro set ups from? I think I just found what I will be asking Santa for this year

 

[LLBeanJ]

I pieced mine together from a couple of different sources:

Tank, regulator, barbs, & gas disconnect from Beverage Elements
Stout faucet from Learn to Brew (via Amazon.com)

 

[Silentdrinker]

I agree, but when real world results don't jibe with the theoretical, you have no choice but to act on the real world results.

Also, my experience suggests that 1.8 vols is too much for a successful nitro pour. 1.0 is closer to what I have to use, i.e., damn near flat really. Naturally, YMMV.

1.8 is slightly high, but shouldn't be all foam high... 1.2-1.7 is normal 1v isn't unheard of. Agreed... Something has to not be accurate, or his regulator is broken.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

so when you set the regulator to 30.. why does that not over carb the beer in the keg after a couple of days?

 

[Silentdrinker]

so when you set the regulator to 30.. why does that not over carb the beer in the keg after a couple of days?

It all depends. You can if you're not set up properly. A 25/75 mix at 55f will carbonate less at 25psi vs a 40/60 mix at 32f and 15psi. I've even heard of people shutting the gas off only to use while serving.

 

[ABVIBUSRM]

so when you set the regulator to 30.. why does that not over carb the beer in the keg after a couple of days?

Nitrogen does not absorb into beer well..Thats why you slightly carb the beer with co2 first and just use the nitro to serve

 

[LLBeanJ]

so when you set the regulator to 30.. why does that not over carb the beer in the keg after a couple of days?

Unlike CO2, nitrogen cannot be absorbed by the beer (at least, not at the pressures we're working with), which is why it is used for this purpose. It's only function is push the beer at a relatively high PSI thru the restrictor plate in the stout faucet so that the result is the cascading, creamy head. The 25% (or 40%) CO2 in the beer gas is there to maintain carbonation. At 30 PSI, 25% CO2 is equivalent to carbing @ 7.5 PSI of pure CO2.

You can actually get the cascading, creamy head with 100% CO2 by setting the pressure to 30 PSI and pushing through a stout faucet. You would then have to immediately vent the keg from serving pressure back to carb pressure so that you don't wind up with an overcarbed mess on your hands. Since that would be a huge PITA and a major waste of CO2, we use beer gas instead.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

thank you

 

[masonsjax]

I've noticed that carbing to a calculated 1.2 volumes with straight CO2 ends up being too much and gives me all foam. Now I just let it carb up on beergas. I vent the keg a few times for the first few days because most of the CO2 will absorb leaving just nitrogen in the headspace so carbing halts until you flush with fresh beergas.

I also got my stuff from various sources. I highly recommend the premium Micromatic regulator:
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/gas-equipment-pid-GN1773.html

Get a tank from Scotty. I got an 80cf and couldn't be happier:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/40-20-co2-tanks-415193/

 

[day_trippr]

[...]I vent the keg a few times for the first few days because most of the CO2 will absorb leaving just nitrogen in the headspace so carbing halts until you flush with fresh beergas.
[...]

That would violate partial pressure gas theory.

I'm pretty sure your venting is just wasting gas, and that the CO2 will in fact plough right past all that backed up nitrogen and find its way into your beer...

Cheers!

 

[masonsjax]

You're probably right. My experience seems to indicate otherwise though. Doesn't Dalton's law just apply to the predictability of overall pressure as opposed to the blend's ratio changing under variable circumstances?