Help with New Stout Faucet

[jerkbag]

Hi All,

I'm attempting my first Guinness pour with a stout faucet and beergas. I was in a rush to try it out so after racking I did a very quick shake carb to just get some CO2 in there, and left it at 10PSI CO2 overnight. Then switched to 35 PSI Beergas on the stout faucet.

When I pour, I hear a hissing sound out of the faucet, and get basically flat beer with no head/cascade. Did I not carb enough? I think something else might be amiss as people talk about 100 seconds to fill? When I pull the tap it fills a pint in like 8-10 seconds. Is there something wrong, or does the restricting / slow flow / cascade not happen without enough carb?


it's this one:

http://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/Taprite_Stainless_Steel_Stout_Faucet_p/taprite-stout-faucet.htm

 

[gnef]

First I would check to make sure the restrictor disc is installed correctly, same with the flow straightener. If you don't know what I am talking about, look up a diagram of a stout faucet, and make sure all parts are where they are supposed to be and that everything is clean.

Like you said, another thing could be that your beer isn't carbed enough either. If there is hissing though, it sounds like CO2 has come out of solution and is gathering at the faucet.

 

[Subdivisions]

Are you trying to carbonate with the beer gas? It is usually 75% nitrogen so it's not going to carbonate your beer very well. Beer gas is for serving. The small amount of CO2 keeps it from going flat. Try carbonating with 100% CO2 first then switch over to the beer gas. You should aim for around 2 volumes of CO2 for a stout. It can take a week or 2 to carbonate at normal pressure. You can burst carb it by applying high pressure (30psi) for a day at around 40F. Use this calculator to figure your pressure for just pure CO2.

Keg Carbonation Calculator

EDIT: After re-reading your post it sounds like you are carbonating with CO2 only. You probably have flat beer. Carb at 30 psi and 40F for 24 hours and you should be in range for around 2 volumes. Don't shake at this pressure since it's very easy to over carbonate and it's a PITA to remove carbonation. You may want to go even less like 18 hours since you've already had a day at lower pressure

 

[masonsjax]

I leave mine on beergas to carb, same as I leave other beers on co2. Set it and forget it is a fool proof method. With nitro it's super easy to overcarb. A hair too much will give you a full glass of foam and you'll have to jump through hoops to get it right. Congrats on the new rig, nitro is awesome to have. Also, it's not just for stouts and bitters. Loads of styles are great on nitro. I'm especially fond of American IPAs on nitro. Mmm

 

[dustinboyd]

I leave mine on beergas to carb, same as I leave other beers on co2. Set it and forget it is a fool proof method. With nitro it's super easy to overcarb. A hair too much will give you a full glass of foam and you'll have to jump through hoops to get it right. Congrats on the new rig, nitro is awesome to have. Also, it's not just for stouts and bitters. Loads of styles are great on nitro. I'm especially fond of American IPAs on nitro. Mmm

This. So much easier and fool proof than hooking up to pure CO2 first. I would advise against hooking up to straight CO2 at all. Just set and forget for 2 weeks on the nitro and it should be perfect.

 

[jerkbag]

Thanks everyone. I ended up switching to beergas and it's starting to come right now. Must have been flat before -- I was just expecting something dramatic to happen right away

On a related note: how many keg are you caring / serving on a beergas tank? I'm paranoid about it not holding as much as an equivalent CO2 so didn't want to carb that way.

 

[dustinboyd]

I only have 1 tap on nitro. I imagine it will take a long time to go through the tank.

 

[masonsjax]

I only have one nitro tap as well, but I have an 80 cuft tank. I've swapped it a couple of times but I lose count on how many kegs I get per fill. It's a lot, but yeah, probably less than the equivalent size CO2 tank. That's because CO2 is a liquid when under mild pressure whereas nitrogen is not, so they pump it in to a fairly high pressure.