beer engine or nitro system

[argyle]

First, I know what a beer engine is and I know what a Guinness tap (in a nitrogen system of course) is and I know how they work.

I've had a nitrogen beer, but never had one from a beer engine. I've never even saw a beer engine in person.

My question is.... will a beer engine give the beer the same settling and thick foam that a Guinness tap will?

any replies are appreciated.

 

[ajf]

I'm not aware of anything (other than Nitrogen) that would give the same sort of head you get with draught Guinness, The beer engines that I grew up with dispensed virtually headless beer. However, if you like head, you can fit a device called a sparkler to the beer engine. From Pale Ale (Terry Foster)
"Both types (of beer engine) can be fitted with a sparkler, which is adjustable and can be screwed up or down to increase or decrease its effect. The turbulence caused by forcing the beer through the restricted orifice of the sparkler generates foaming by evolution of carbon dioxide and by air pickup. A tight sparkler gives a very thick dense head, while a loose one gives it a much fluffier smaller head."
I've never had beer dispensed in this manner, but I can't imagine that it would produce a long lasting dense head.

-a.

 

[david_42]

Since beer engines are used with real (uncarbonated, which is to say limited to the amount of CO2 a warm ale can hold at atmospheric pressure) ales, you'll never see the kind of head nitro produces. The air entrainment of a sparkler gives you more of a head than without, but it also changes the flavor.

 

[argyle]

Thank you for the replies! I now know that the thick head that I want can only be given from a nitro system