How to Carbonate Stout on Beer Gas?

[Clint Yeastwood]

I haven't used beer gas in forever. I just kegged a dry stout with a stout faucet and beer gas. I know the right pressure for dispensing is around 35-38. What do I do about carbonation, though? I don't remember. Do I force it with CO2 at first, or do I just leave it on beer gas at 37?

 

[lumpher]

Carbonate it with CO2 first. Beer gas is mostly nitrogen, which doesn't dissolve very well in beer (hardly at all). Once you get it carbed up to the pressure you want, then switch to Beer Gas. The nitrogen pressure is to trip the pressure plate in stout faucets but still keep the Stout at low carb levels. About 2/3 of the pressure will come from nitrogen. The 1/3 CO2 is to keep the beer carbonated while serving it.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Thanks. Using CO2 first made sense to me, too. I have it on 15 psi of CO2 right now. I will try to figure out if I need to move that up or down. I want to get CO2 into it by tomorrow.

 

[day_trippr]

If that stout is cold I wouldn't leave it anywhere near 15 psi for long. If you're going to dispense through an actual stout faucet you want to keep the CO2 content around 1.2 volumes and definitely not higher than 1.4, and as our favorite carbonation table shows you kinda need to warm the beer up to carbonate it that low

Cheers!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

First of all, looks like it's more like 20 psi at the moment. I got that wrong. Second, I have no idea how soon I should move back to beer gas. Third, I'm not too sure what the final temperature of the stout will be. I have it on that wooden platform where I've never put anything else. I am really winging it here.

I think maybe I'll check it every couple of hours.

I have had the keezer at 38 for a while. Maybe it's time to bump it up a little. It's pretty cold for ales, and I don't have a lager yet.

 

[AlexKay]

I set and forget on CO2. I use the same pressure as the partial pressure in the beer gas; for my gas, that’s a quarter of the ~40 psi serving pressure, so ~10 psi. And I find it needs to sit on beer gas for a day or so — getting nitrogen into solution actually does matter, and takes a little time.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I was afraid this stuff would overcarbonate fast, but it has done almost nothing.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

My stout finally has some CO2 in it. I poured a beer using my stout faucet, and right when I started, I got a lot, but not an insane amount, of foam. I switched from CO2 to beer gas and continued pouring.

So how long should 3/16" EVAbarrier be for a stout faucet at 38°?

 

[AlexKay]

My stout finally has some CO2 in it. I poured a beer using my stout faucet, and right when I started, I got a lot, but not an insane amount, of foam. I switched from CO2 to beer gas and continued pouring.

So how long should 3/16" EVAbarrier be for a stout faucet at 38°?

Short as is convenient. Restriction comes from the faucet.

 

[day_trippr]

Right. Line restriction on a true stout faucet is counterproductive. Restriction comes from the restrictor plate inside the faucet.
I run the same 6.5 feet of 4mm ID EVAbarrier as my "regular pressure" CO2 runs even though the beergas pressure is 35 psi.

All your stout passes through one of these...

Cheers!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I made a rookie mistake and hooked CO2 up when I thought I was switching to beer gas. Lots of foam now.

I got smart and labeled my disconnects and regulator bodies. A little late.