Is a Stout Faucet worth the $$$?

[Kerberbb]

I just brewed a milk stout over the holiday and have it sitting in the primary. I have only kegged a few beers, but just realized I might need a stout faucet. Is it really worth the extra $100, or rather would you just keg it as normal or perhaps just put it in 22oz Bombers? What do you guys think?

 

[Coastarine]

I have had a stout faucet for about a year and I am ordering a perlick to replace it. When it is working the way it should, it is nice, but not every beer takes to the stout faucet as well as you imagine it, IMO. Also, tanks of beergas are WAY more expensive than CO2 and take up extra room in the keezer. Of course you need a nitrogen regulator too. [edit: you may not need one, see KB's post below] I get the proper cascading when I'm serving at about 25-30psi, and once the pressure falls below that I get too much foam, but the tank is far from being empty. More trouble than it is worth if you ask me, but lots of people will say they enjoy it, and that's cool too. Hopefully when I get rid of mine it will go to a good home.

Once I am back from holiday travels I will make a post in the classifieds forum. Faucet ($75 new) + N2 regulator ($60 new) for 100 shipped.

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

Yes and No Coastarine...You do not NEED a nitrogen regulator. It depends on the tank. My current tank of beer gas uses a CO2 regulator. I love my stout faucet and have an RIS on right now. I've done blondes, browns, IPA's, etc all served via the stout faucet and beer gas. Yes the tank is larger, but I store my tanks outside the keezer so that's no big deal. And since I only have 1 stout faucet the tank has lasted me over a year at this point.

It's all up to you though.

 

[Kerberbb]

The faucets I have seen are restrictor faucets. I was aware of certain commercial stouts utilizing nitrogen, but did not specifically think of it for homebrew. Does a restrictor faucet use a n2 setup like you described above? Am I to assume you would just keg the beer as normal and serve off a typical faucet?

 

[Coastarine]

You do need nitrogen to serve the beer through a restrictor faucet (aka stout faucet). Here's why: The beer needs to be pushed through the restrictor faucet at 25-30ish psi. If you were to set CO2 at that pressure, you would have a wildly overcarbonated beer. Nitrogen doesn't dissolve in the beer, so you can push at high pressure without overcarbonating. "Beergas" is often a 75/25 or 66/33 blend of N2 and CO2 which helps the beer maintain its carbonation while still pushing at the required pressure.

Does that answer your question?

 

[Kerberbb]

Yes it does answer that question, however the question does remain, Can you keg a stout like you would any other beer and serve out of a normal faucet at normal serving pressure. I assume yes, but just want to make sure. Would a stout in general however be better if rather than kegged it was bottled in bombers?

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

No no no...with beer gas you DO NOT NEED A NITROGEN REGULATOR. Like I said, it depends on the tank used by your supplier. CO2 regulators go well over 25 - 30 PSI. That has nothing to do with it. Yes, you need the higher PSI to push through the plate, but that has no impact on the regulator. My beer gas tank (25/75 split) uses a CO2 regulator. A nitrogen regulator would not and does not fit. The moral is check with your supplier in regards to a regulator first. I mistakenly thought the same as Coastarine and purchased a Nitrogen regulator before getting the tank. I had to pay a restocking fee to return it because the tank didn't accept.

 

[david_42]

Much as I love the way stouts serve with a restriction tap and beer gas, I can't rationalize buying a setup. If I was still making $150K/yr, then yeah.

 

[Coastarine]

No no no...with beer gas you DO NOT NEED A NITROGEN REGULATOR.

Dude...I wasn't talking about what kind of regulator you need in that post, only that you do need to use nitrogen, beergas, or argon. Nobody is arguing with you!

 

[Coastarine]

Yes it does answer that question, however the question does remain, Can you keg a stout like you would any other beer and serve out of a normal faucet at normal serving pressure. I assume yes, but just want to make sure. Would a stout in general however be better if rather than kegged it was bottled in bombers?

You absolutely can serve a stout through a regular faucet like any other beer, and that's how I prefer them, which is why I am selling my stout faucet.

 

[phrogpilot73]

I'm going the cheap route. I'm going to get Perlick 575ss creamer faucets.

 

[Coastarine]

I'm going the cheap route. I'm going to get Perlick 575ss creamer faucets.

I hope it works as advertised for you, this is the only video I could find of one in action. I have to think this isn't how they are supposed to work.

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

Dude...I wasn't talking about what kind of regulator you need in that post, only that you do need to use nitrogen, beergas, or argon. Nobody is arguing with you!

Sorry about that Coast...I was enjoying about 3 too many of my RIS's on nitro and may have added some words to your response.

As for a creamer faucet...not sure that that's worth any extra. You can essentially get the same results with a normal perlick. Just don't open the tap the whole way when pouring.

 

[Coastarine]

No worries KB

 

[mordantly]

so why not just crack the faucet and not get the mildly bad reviewed 575?

 

[MMTG]

Coastarine, I will be more than happy to take you up on your offer of $100 shipped forthe stout tap and N2 regulator! Pm sent.