Beer Engine and how to set up

[Don in E Texas]

I would like to install a Beer Engine at the brew pub were I'm the brewer. (Anvil Brewing: Pittsburg, TX). I can keg beer directly from the secondary (no carbonation). I only need about 8 oz of CO2 to keep some pressure in the keg to allow the pump to work and yet low enough not to carbonate the beer. Wonder if someone has or is doing this? I also thought a CO2 regulator at the tank; and a Propane regulator before the keg. CO2 has a lot more pressure than Propane, so can't connect a Propane regulator directly to the CO2 tank. What are the thoughts - would welcome any input.
Don

 

[rmr9]

Hey Don,

It’s feasible to do something along those lines. But first I wonder what you’re trying to accomplish with the beer engine setup. Is the idea to serve cask conditioned ales or to just have a fun and different way of serving your beers? I think the answer to that will change some aspects of your setup.

When it comes to carbing in your keg, I would say you should aim more for volume of CO2 as opposed to an amount of priming sugar, shooting for around 1.2-1.5 volumes of CO2. This is traditional for cask ales and if you have much more you run the risk of pulling a foamy mess with your beer engine.

I’ve seen a lot of posts on this forum and others about using the propane regulator as a pseudo “cask breather” it’s a nice approach, but my philosophy is if you have the funds, a true cask breather/aspirator is your best bet. It’s a demand valve that will replace beer with CO2 at atmospheric pressure, just hook it up in line with your gas lines (but I would use psi of 5 or less).

I hope this helps!

 

[Don in E Texas]

Thanks for your response. I did more research and found the answer to all my questions on a YouTube video of a chap in the UK that is doing just what I want to do. The key is a "Check Valve" -- a Cask Ale demand valve. Here is a link to the video plus in his write up is a link to a supplier of all thinks "Cask" including this valve. Just set my CO2 pressure to about 5 PSI and pull a pint of ale.

 

[rmr9]

I’ve seen that video and some of the others he’s put up. He’s got some great info and it’s really informative to watch them. It’s definitely hard to come across good info on beer engines and cask ales here in the US, it’s been a challenge for me as well.

Yes, a check valve is definitely key if you just want to pull your keg beer through an engine. I mainly cask condition and use a cask breather so I don’t really use external CO2, except through the breather so I don’t have to worry about pressure buildup forcing beer through the engine when not in use.