Anyone run nitrogen in their kegerator for any beer instead of Co2?

[TsunamiMike]

SO i currently am running a dual pressure taprite Co2 regulator with a Co2 tank. Looking to get a stout faucet and it seems i can use nitrogen to push all my beers as well as have the nitro for my stouts and nitro cold brew coffee.

Has anyone made the switch? What are the pros and cons?

I would still keep a single reg and co2 tank for force carbing but am wondering if it is a better idea to switch to nitro overall? Anyone know how many cornye itll push with nitro vs co2?

 

[Vale71]

Pros:

none.

Cons:

- more expensive than CO2
- same-size tank holds a lot less nitro than CO2 requiring more frequent refills
- beer will progressively loose carbonation as it's served until it will be severely undercarbed

 

[VikeMan]

SO i currently am running a dual pressure taprite Co2 regulator with a Co2 tank. Looking to get a stout faucet and it seems i can use nitrogen to push all my beers as well as have the nitro for my stouts and nitro cold brew coffee.

If you mean 100% nitrogen, I don't know of anyone who does that. Or do you mean a nitrogen/CO2 mix? That's a fairly common thing and there should be lots of threads around here about that.

 

[Jim R]

Pros:

none.

Disagree with that. A good nitrogen stout is awesome. That being said, it is too expensive for me.

 

[day_trippr]

I think the response was based specifically on the use of straight Nitrogen.
And on that I'd have to agree - it isn't the best way to go.

fwiw, I run 70/30 beer gas through a Micromatic stout faucet at 35 psi using a 10 pound cga580-valved steel mixed gas cylinder. I get almost two years out of a fill, pouring ~5-6 ounces of my imperial chocolate stout nightly (and I mean every night )

Cheers!

 

[rhys333]

You could try running helium...



I'm pretty sure it's fake, but good chuckles regardless.

 

[DuncB]

Nitrogen only would be hopeless unless you plan on opening a nitro coffee bar.



watch from about 6 minutes.

I think there is a gadget that mixes the nitrogen into the line during dispensing so the beer is CO2 carbonated and driven or pumped with Nitrogen maybe even the above gadget. It's not cheap though and you'd buy several regulators and a lot of beer gas for the money.

The real clue is in the term Carbonation. We do not Nitrogenate our beers, it doesn't dissolve and it changes the flavour without CO2 etc etc.

As @day_trippr says no pros to nitrogen only, beer gas mix for stout and some beers but not routine. I run about the same pressure for my stout tap and can't say how long it will last as only been using it a few months.
@day_trippr What pressure reading does your Nitro reg read ( not serving pressure mentioned )? Mine is a bit higher than for the CO2 setup.

 

[DuncB]

I would think that Helium would be the fastest head loss ever. Hydrogen would be lighter but it's very reactive.
Argon is expensive and used for wine dispensing I have just learnt.

 

[TsunamiMike]

So I was told that an Intertap stout adapter with the restricted plate won’t work for serving nitro stout, I’ve been told I need a nitro faucet? Anyone have experience with this?

what’s the best way to achieve nitro?

 

[DuncB]

@TsunamiMike I see you found the thread.
Tap and adapter will work provided you have the beer gas running, otherwise if you use it on a normally carbed stout no nitrogen mixed in you will get foam, foam and more foam.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]
@day_trippr What pressure reading does your Nitro reg read ( not serving pressure mentioned )? Mine is a bit higher than for the CO2 setup.

Right now my beer gas tank is closing in on a refill, and the tank pressure is around 600 psi. That's actually lower than the average tank pressure of my three CO2 systems, which are all sitting around 800 psi. But that's a temperature thing, mostly, while the beer gas is a % fill thing. Eg: the last time I brought the beer gas tank home totally full it was registering around 1500 psi...

Cheers!

 

[DuncB]

Thanks @day_trippr you are using a more solid cylinder than the standard CO2 one I think. My guy can only fill the CO2 cylinder to about 800psi with beer gas.

 

[day_trippr]

I'm using a standard 10 pound mixed gas steel cylinder with a cga 580 valve - nothing exotic. They have to handle at least 2200 psi for that service class, iirc...

Cheers!

 

[DuncB]

Hmm, maybe it's a feature of the pressure that he is getting from the cylinders that he fills my cylinder from. Would it make a difference CO2 first then Nitrogen or the other way round. I assume the Nitrogen filling cylinder is under much higher pressure than the CO2. So CO2 first then Nitrogen maybe. I think he went CO2 first 400grammes and then struggled to get 1.2 kg of Nitrogen in, he even tried freezing the cylinder.
I will have to enquire. My oxygen cylinder is under much more pressure that's for sure.

 

[day_trippr]

Honestly, analog stuff like blended gas mixes aren't in my wheel house - I made my fortune manipulating ones and zeros
But every time I've had my beer gas cylinder filled it's been from an array of massive same-blend tanks - ie: no mixing required. The operator used the least filled of those tanks first, then moved to the next least filled, and so on, before finally topping off from the most-filled tank.

It's all about the pressure

Cheers!

 

[TsunamiMike]

I thought you could only use a nitrogen tank and regulator for beer gas?

 

[day_trippr]

There isn't actually a "nitrogen tank" in the guiding regulations. There is a "mixed gas cylinder" that includes nitrogen and nitrogen/CO2 blends (aka "beer gas") as well as other gases (Argon, for instance) in the US national regulations.

"Normally", one obtains straight nitrogen - or blended beer gas - in a cylinder equipped with a CGA 580 valve, which would in turn drive the choice of regulator. In truth, it isn't completely out of bounds to fill a "CO2 cylinder" - with a CGA 320 valve - with beer gas, and use a "CO2 regulator".
Indeed, the actual regulator body can be identical for all three cases, with only the stem/coupler assembly differing from one usage to another...

Cheers!

 

[DuncB]

I tried to change the stem on my spare regulator to use with the oxygen cylinder but it was on too tight for me to get it off. But the Nitrogen regulators ( also for oxygen and argon ) from Kegland are the same just a different Stem and coupler as Day_trippr says.

I suppose the cheapest way to get the headed stout effect is to use the ultrasonic jewellery cleaner method and a low carbed CO2 pour.
Plenty of videos of how to do this on the web. After all the Nitrogen adds nothing to the product you drink it just gets it there in style!

 

[Vale71]

Disagree with that. A good nitrogen stout is awesome. That being said, it is too expensive for me.

The OP was talking about using nitrogen (either straight or beer gas, it's clear OP doesn't really know the difference) to serve regular beers at regular carbonation levels through a regular tap. This has no "pros" to speak of either than the "hey, everybody is talking about nitro so it must be really awesome" factor but it does have the cons I have detailed.

Clearly OP has fallen victim to the nitro-hype that makes some people think that everything must be better with nitro just because, well, it's nitro...

 

[Garfield43]

If anyone is using beer gas (75% nitrogen/ 25% CO2) to dispense beer that isn't a stout, or anything else I would like to hear the particulars.
I bought a rig that was supposed to have "everything I would need" to dispense from kegs.
I got jockey boxes with normal taps and Miller Lite handles and 2 tanks with beer gas in them.
So it isn't the right set up for Guinness nor is it the right set up for beer.
Right now I am considering filling my tires with it.
Nitrogen doesn't leak through rubber as fast as air and is supposed to change pressure with temp less than air.

 

[Vale71]

Nitrogen doesn't leak through rubber as fast as air and is supposed to change pressure with temp less than air.

Considering that air is 78% nitrogen I doubt you'll be able to see any measurable difference after replacing the remaining 22% with nitrogen.

Edit: strike that, with beer gas you'd be replacing oxygen with CO2 and possibly reducing the N2 content to as low as 70% (with a 70/30 mix).

 

[bwible]

If anyone is using beer gas (75% nitrogen/ 25% CO2) to dispense beer that isn't a stout, or anything else I would like to hear the particulars.
I bought a rig that was supposed to have "everything I would need" to dispense from kegs.
I got jockey boxes with normal taps and Miller Lite handles and 2 tanks with beer gas in them.
So it isn't the right set up for Guinness nor is it the right set up for beer.
Right now I am considering filling my tires with it.
Nitrogen doesn't leak through rubber as fast as air and is supposed to change pressure with temp less than air.

I think you need an actual stout faucet. They have some kind of restrictor plate or device inside that is different from a regular tap. I used to have one, I almost never used it and I sold it with my converted beer fridge when I bought my kegerator. Didn’t have room for both boxes.

Far as beers other than stout, some beers that are not stout do come in nitro cans, like Boddington’s. People seem to have mixed feelings. Some say the nitro washes out the flavor, etc. But if you want to do that, I don’t see why it shouldn’t work.

https://www.amazon.com/KegWorks-Eur...ocphy=1016367&hvtargid=pla-373645558247&psc=1

 

[Vale71]

Far as beers other than stout, some beers that are not stout do come in nitro cans, like Boddington’s. People seem to have mixed feelings.

That's probably because the "nitro packaging" makes absolutely no difference and any perceived difference is just the result of autosuggestion.

 

[Nathan Graen]

My understanding is that you can use beer gas to dispense "normal beer". You would just need 4x the pressure and enough line to compensate. I've heard of bars doing this when there kegs are a significant distance from the tap.

So definitely a pro when you can't get adequate flow rate with line size without over carbonating the keg.

Also a pro would be only one cylinder for both stout and non-stout.

I haven't wrapped my mind around the jockey box. Long lines and beer at higher temp(in the keg) would both drive the need for higher pressure. I'm not sure how to compensate for the cooler lines in the box...

Personally, I have stout on tap on nitro and a separate cylinder just for it.

 

[bwible]

That's probably because the "nitro packaging" makes absolutely no difference and any perceived difference is just the result of autosuggestion.

So you think there is “no difference” between a can of Boddingtons and a can of Coors Light?

 

[Vale71]

So you think there is “no difference” between a can of Boddingtons and a can of Coors Light?

Is Boddingtons a nitro-packaged Coors Light? If not then your question is just meaningless and provocatory, i.e. a complete waste of time.

 

[Jim R]

Clearly OP has fallen victim to the nitro-hype that makes some people think that everything must be better with nitro just because, well, it's nitro...

That is bs. The OP has simply been in bars and ordered nitrogen poured beers and has enjoyed the small bubble, creamy, foamy head that slowly develops in the glass. I had a friend that was a bartender at an Irish pub and the Guiness distributor made him take a course on the proper pour of a nitrogen poured Guiness. One of our local establishments has a Vanilla Stout on tap with their nitrogen tank and it has the same creamy head. I also enjoy Boddington on nitrogen tap just to watch the creamy head slowly develop in the glass over a couple minutes. You can't mimic this with a CO2 tank.

 

[Vale71]

You do realize those are all beers that are designed to be served with nitro? Did you even bother to read the OP's initial posting?

 

[rizziot]

I believe you do need a nitro / stout faucet to truly get the experience you are looking for. I am very interested in this and will be adding one to my setup by (hopefully) this fall. Please keep us posted as you move forward on this.

I found this article as well - Nitrogen Draft Tap - Brew Your Own which talks about the blended gas.

Send some pics when your setup!

@day_trippr - imperial choco stout on nitro sounds like an amazing nightcap!!

 

[TsunamiMike]

The whole reason for this post, is the stout that I am brewing. My wife wants it to be a nitro stout so that’s why my original post was inquiring about utilizing across across the whole gamut of my kegerator. Now I am curious as I think I’m going to a single bottle unit with a beergas max to run just for that stout. I’m hoping I canGet away with the inner tap stout attachment versus getting an actual nitro Faucet