Barrier Gas Lines?

[Tyler.W]

Are there any barrier gas lines out there that can be used with barbs? My whole setup is barbed, and I don’t want to replace everything. I am looking at Bevseal Ultra for my beer lines, but is there anything that would fit the 3/8 barbs for gas?

I am deciding to do this after my perfectly fine IPA completely oxidized while I was on vacation. The beer was spunded to carbonate and was transferred under pressure to a fully sanitizer-CO2 purged keg. I have noticed that the first few ounces of every beer is a little off, and I suspect the vacation allowed the oxidization in the lines to transfer through to the keg and spoil the whole thing.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I managed to get the 5mm ID/8mm OD EVAbarrier tubing over the 3/8" gas barb on my Micromatic beer gas regulator by the judicious use of a heat gun and a swaging tool. Morebeer.com carries the 6mm ID/9.5mm OD version of the same tubing, which should be incrementally easier to get on a 3/8" barb...

Cheers!

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I have noticed that the first few ounces of every beer is a little off, and I suspect the vacation allowed the oxidization in the lines to transfer through to the keg and spoil the whole thing.

I am not sold on this. There are a LOT of homebrewers with kegs using "standard" lines for decades without having oxygen through the lines spoil entire batches. I am pretty anal about avoiding cold side oxidation, I brew a lot of hoppy beers, and I am fairly in tune with flavors from oxidation. I have not noticed any oxidation issues with my kegged beers using standard gas and liquid tubing.

 

[Tyler.W]

Thanks!

Have you noticed better longevity in your kegged beer? I haven’t been drinking things as fast and some are on tap for upwards of 2.5 months so I think these lines will be the biggest upgrade for the system as I feel I have everything else dialed in.

 

[Tyler.W]

I am not sold on this. There are a LOT of homebrewers with kegs using "standard" lines for decades without having oxygen through the lines spoil entire batches. I am pretty anal about avoiding cold side oxidation, I brew a lot of hoppy beers, and I am fairly in tune with flavors from oxidation. I have not noticed any oxidation issues with my kegged beers using standard gas and liquid tubing.

I suppose this could be a different flavor as I’m not super in tune with oxidization (in terms of I’ve never purposely oxidized something to train my pallet).

I do notice that the beer that sits in the lines is typically flat and tastes like crap compared to the rest that comes out after you clear what was sitting in the lines. This flavor is the same flavor I find in nearly all my IPAs over time, which is why I lean on it being oxidization. It doesn’t taste spoiled or sour, the beer is still a nice yellow color, but the taste is greatly diminished and just overall not pleasant.

 

[day_trippr]

I don't think one can really appreciate the quality improvement regarding barrier tubing by reading testimonials...

Cheers!