beer gas question

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Fredderick

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I recently made a stout For St Patties day and need to Keg it soon. I have a stout faucet and mixed beer gas for it. How do I go about carbonating this stout... Should I use my regular co2 then move to beer gas or carb with beer gas?

What type of pressure do I serve with my beer gas and stout faucet?

Thanks for your help!
 
I recently made a stout For St Patties day and need to Keg it soon. I have a stout faucet and mixed beer gas for it. How do I go about carbonating this stout... Should I use my regular co2 then move to beer gas or carb with beer gas?

What type of pressure do I serve with my beer gas and stout faucet?

Thanks for your help!

Carb with regular CO2, but keep it under 1.8 vol of carbonation. I'd suggest something in the neighborhood of 1.0-1.6 vol. Unlike when using CO2 to serve, the serving pressure matching the carbonation equilibrium pressure isn't nearly as critical with beergas. Instead, you'll probably want to play with it a little until you find the pressure that gives you the pour you're looking for. Should be in the neighborhood of 25-40 psi. Many people end up pretty close to 30 psi.
 
Thanks for the info... I will do so... Will the nitro actually dissolve into the beer?

Basically what I am asking, after I carb the beer, can I hook up to beer gas and immediately serve or does the nitro need to dissolve in the beer?

On a side topic but semi related, I use a co2 volume table to determine carb levels but I can't seem to find how long to leave the Keg hooked up to carb. Is there a scientific answer to this because all I can find is people's suggestions

Lastly, when I carb a beer at a certain volume level, when I serve at a different pressure (lower) , do I have to worry about the beer losing its carb level?

As you can tell I am just getting started with kegging.
 
Thanks for the info... I will do so... Will the nitro actually dissolve into the beer?

Basically what I am asking, after I carb the beer, can I hook up to beer gas and immediately serve or does the nitro need to dissolve in the beer?

Only tiny amounts of nitrogen will dissolve in the beer, so there's no need to wait. As soon as it's carbed you can hook up the beergas and start serving.

On a side topic but semi related, I use a co2 volume table to determine carb levels but I can't seem to find how long to leave the Keg hooked up to carb. Is there a scientific answer to this because all I can find is people's suggestions

There's no scientific answer, it depends on the target carb level, SG of the beer, alcohol content, temperature, etc. For lower carb levels like this 2 weeks should be enough time.

Lastly, when I carb a beer at a certain volume level, when I serve at a different pressure (lower) , do I have to worry about the beer losing its carb level?

When serving with 100% CO2, yes. The carbonation will change to reach equilibrium with the serving pressure. If your serving pressure is too low, not only will the beer lose carbonation over time, but CO2 coming out of solution will form pockets of gas in the beer line, which will create foamy pours.

With beer gas it's not as important. The presence of the practically insoluble nitrogen and the high pressure make the change to equilibrium so slow that it's not really noticeable. If you really want to know what the equilibrium pressure is with your beergas, you can use a calculator like the one below. The problem is that the nitro faucet may not work well at the equilibrium pressure.

http://mcdantim.mobi/easypsig.html
 
Carb with regular CO2, but keep it under 1.8 vol of carbonation. I'd suggest something in the neighborhood of 1.0-1.6 vol. Unlike when using CO2 to serve, the serving pressure matching the carbonation equilibrium pressure isn't nearly as critical with beergas. Instead, you'll probably want to play with it a little until you find the pressure that gives you the pour you're looking for. Should be in the neighborhood of 25-40 psi. Many people end up pretty close to 30 psi.

With beer gas serving pressures this high... How long should I make my beer line for the stout faucet?
 
With beer gas serving pressures this high... How long should I make my beer line for the stout faucet?

It doesn't really matter much. I'd just make it same length you would for beer served with CO2 in case you ever want to use the line for a non-nitro keg.
 
It doesn't really matter much. I'd just make it same length you would for beer served with CO2 in case you ever want to use the line for a non-nitro keg.

I just hooked up my beer gas and my stout doesn't retain the head at all... Do I need to turn up the nitro pressure? Why does the head not stay... Does it have to be hooked up and dissolve into the beer?
 
I just hooked up my beer gas and my stout doesn't retain the head at all... Do I need to turn up the nitro pressure? Why does the head not stay... Does it have to be hooked up and dissolve into the beer?

Any suggestions?
 
I figured it out... I was pushing it at 30 psi... I cranked it up to 50 psi as recommended through a online calculator... It's perfect now... Nice big creamy head to my stout
 
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