Going All-Nitrogen, what would happen ?

[walther]

Hi,

I plan on making a setup with a Nitrogen tank (pure N2, not beergas), connected to three kegs:

1 -Stout
2 -Pilsner
3 -Water (for soda water(for wife and kids(I shower in water)))

What would happen to these three ?
I'm guessing the stout will be fine,....

Cheers,
walther

 

[cellardoor]

I'm not an expert but i don't think it will work the way you would want it to unless you are naturally priming the kegs. Even if you do prime the kegs with sugar at kegging time you'll run into problems with the soda water. The problem is that nitrogen is not very soluble in water at all as opposed to CO2. For the beer I can see it working because you will have the carbonation from the priming sugar and will just be using the nitrogen to push the beer out of the kegs. The keg of water would be just as flat as when it came out of the faucet I'm afraid.

Someone with more knowledge please chime in if I'm wrong.

 

[llazy_llama]

Pure nitrogen won't absorb into the beer like CO2 will. Force carbonation will be impossible, and at best, you will be able to dispense flat beer.

It’s important to understand some basics. Nitrogen doesn’t behave like CO2. Nitrogen doesn’t have the affinity for going into
solution like carbon dioxide does. Professional breweries “nitrogenate” their beer by chilling the beer to 32° F and forcing nitrogen into it under extremetly high pressure. Nitrogenation helps brewers re-create the smooth feel and thick head of cask ales. If you tried brewing a batch of homebrew, moving it into a keg, then pressurizing with nitrogen for a number of days, the only result would be a tap delivering very flat, high-pressure homebrew. As a safety note, most homebrew equipment is not designed to handle the pressure needed to force nitrogen into beer.

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

+1 on this not really working. As stated above nitrogen does not disolve in water/beer, so you will not be able to carb. Even if you prime with sugar, Nitrogen is miscable with CO2, so as you dispence, the CO2 will come out of solution into the headspace of your keg, and you will end up with flat beer by the end.

I assume you are wanting to use nitrogen since you have a tank already, but I still sugest getting a CO2 tank. With your existing nitrogen tank you are that much closer to getting a beer gas setup. If it were me, I would put the nitrogen tanke in the closet, set up with CO2, and when i had the extra money, upgrade to beer gas.

 

[david_42]

This won't work at all for soda water.

Even if you naturally carbonated the beers, they would get flatter and flatter as the head space grew and the CO2 out-gassed.

 

[z987k]

flat beer and flat water!

And even if the N2 did go into solution, it would not create the carbonic acid the CO2 does and your beer would taste really weird... as well as the soda water.

 

[walther]

Thank you for all the great replies !

So what if,.....

I change to beergas (70/30), what would happen to the three kegs ?

Cheers,
walther

 

[EvilTOJ]

beergas will work. You'll get smaller bubbles, but it will result in carbonation.

 

[jonp9576]

the water will just be water. the stout will be fine if its carbed first and pushed through a stout faucet and if you carbed the pilsner first then it will be carbed with little to no head

 

[user 4295]

You can't use nitrogen instead of CO2. It is used in conjunction with CO2. A 75% to 25% nitrogen to CO2 ratio, IIRC. You need to use CARBON dioxide to CARBONate.

In order to serve a stout through a stout faucet, which has a restrictor plate, a high serving pressure is required. If only CO2 was used it would be highly overcarbonated. Using a 75/25 mix of nitrogen and CO2 allows for this higher pressure without overcarbonating. When the beer passes through the restrictor plate in the faucet the pressure is reduced, the nitrogen is knocked out of solution and gives you that famous cascading head of tiny bubbles.

 

[walther]

Thanks again for the great replies,

What would happen to a keg of water and a keg of lager/pilsner if I increase the pressure and use stout faucets ?
Will the sodawater carbonate, and will the lager be ok ?

How did people have hobbies before the internet, and why did they have so much money ?

(Btw, I just became a suporter of the forum. Seemed only reasonable given the quality of advice I get here, and the money I spend on equipment)

Cheers,
walther

 

[eljib]

Assuming OP has a nitrogen tank already, would it be possible for him to connect N2 -AND- CO2 to his stout by using a corny lid that has a third ball valve welded on? Or would the higher pressure of the N2 not allow any CO2 into the tank?