Bad co2??

[LiquidLunch5211]

I'm going to guess that your beer is over carbonated. What is the pressure on your regulator? Over carbonated beer will taste sour or bitter, with a strong "bite" from carbonic acid.

CO2 is CO2 is CO2. It doesn't get "old" or go "bad." It's a chemical compound that doesn't really react with anything to get "bad."

CO2 won't go bad but it will get a very distinct smell to it when it's old. But when I saw old I mean years old.

 

[LiquidLunch5211]

Do u have an aluminum cylinder or steel

 

[TX-straggler]

Do u have an aluminum cylinder or steel

It's an old steel bottle, looks like one youd see at a welding shop. I'm over it though, doubt I will ever use it for beer again. I tried to rush into Kegging , buy the cheapest stuff to get there quick. Mistake.
Just gonna buy a brand new tank and co2 setup

 

[KurtB]

If you purchase a new tank, make sure you locate a place that will simply fill it and not exchange it. Most places in my neck of the woods will simply exchange your nice shiny new tank for a repainted/rusty steel one. There are places that will re-fill your tank, but you may have to so some investigating around your area. A couple good places to look are fire extinguisher companies and paintball equipment suppliers.

 

[SmokingGunn]

Fire extinguisher companies and paintball shops all get their gas from welding supply companies.

 

[KurtB]

Fire extinguisher companies and paintball shops all get their gas from welding supply companies.

I am sure many of them probably do. Most likely TX-straggler's LHBS does the same (or maybe from some bulk supplier like Praxair).

At least if he takes his nice new shiny tank to the store to get it filled instead of exchanged he will still have a nice new shiny tank when he walks out of the store (even if it is filled with basicaly the same CO2 out of a rusty repainted steel bottle that he would have gotten with an exchange).

I think the biggest problem TX-straggler had was simply a lack of knowledge on how to properly carbonate kegged beer, not a problem with the CO2 that was in the tank he purchased or even the tank itself. Hopefully he is beyond that lack of knowledge through the information provided in this thread and any other threads that he has read when trying to solve his problem.

 

[LiquidLunch5211]

It's an old steel bottle, looks like one youd see at a welding shop. I'm over it though, doubt I will ever use it for beer again. I tried to rush into Kegging , buy the cheapest stuff to get there quick. Mistake.
Just gonna buy a brand new tank and co2 setup

Old steel cylinders with older co2 will absolutely have a distinct smell. Try aluminum cylinders.

 

[LiquidLunch5211]

I own a fire extinguisher company and we always refill the customers cylinder. I would recommend that you ask for the same service. We roll over about 4 tons of CO2 semiannually. But like I said before I can tell what we call in the shop "old CO2" so I would assume you could taste that in the beer.

 

[Dan]

I got through around 20 replies before I replied. Not my norm, usually read them all.

The CO2 bought at welding shops and such is very, very clean. And the tanks they are put in, if from a reputable shop have to have a DOT inspection before being certified or recertified.

Having said that, steel tanks can corrode under the right conditions.

But I really doubt you have a corroded tank. Probably more likely carbonic acid is what you are tasting.

I've gotten the off flavor before with an aluminum tank that I over carbed the beer with when I first started kegging..

Just my two pennies. Counts for not much.

 

[Dynachrome]

I was given a soda keg setup with a steel tank. It is a few years out of service.

I intend to use it to serve my beer at a wedding reception. I have never had my own setup.

1 Can the chemical compostion/purity be verified.

2 Is there a way to look inside and see if there is rust?

 

[day_trippr]

I don't know about #1 though I suspect independent analysis would exceed the price of a fill.
As for #2, one would need to fully discharge the cylinder and remove the valve assembly to access the interior with a borescope...

Cheers!

 

[mashpaddled]

An easy way to determine if overcarbonation is your problem is to pour a pint, stir it until you knock most of the CO2 out of solution and then taste it. If the off flavor goes away, you overcarbed which is an easy fix. Take it off the gas, activate the relief valve if your keg has one or if not press the gas in post until it stops hissing. Let it sit for a day at room temperature. Hook up the liquid only, pull a pint and see if it's better. If not, repeat the whole process and keep trying day by day until it's no longer overcarbonated.

If overcarbonation is not the problem, then start looking at replacing equipment. It's easy to overcarbonate beer by setting the regulator too high and leaving it there for several days too long. The probability you overcarbonated by accident is far more likely than bad/old CO2 or a bad tank.

 

[Dynachrome]

...tank was empty