Keeping a Champagne punch carbonated?

[bad coffee]

We're hosting a party next week, and The Lady wants to put a champagne punch on tap. We'll be making the punch in the morning, and then putting it on gas.

I can't find any charts that go above 4.5 volumes. From the magic of the web, I found a number of 5.5 volumes in champagne.

My keez is set to 37*, and 4.5 vols is 31 PSI. If I just crank the PSI up to 35, I should be close enough for the day, I think. With that, will 10' of beer line between the keg and the tap be enough so the punch doesn't shoot out? I did just get a new stout faucet, so I could push it through the restrictor plate to kill some of the pressure, but it might affect the mouthfeel of the punch.

There might be some leftover for brunch on Sunday. After that I don't know how much will survive/need to be carbed.

Any suggestions? Should I put in a plastic shank and faucet? I'm about to place an order for the three shanks to upgrade my keez from three to six faucets on my 7.2, so I can pick up what I need.

The other option would be to use a picnic tap. I think I still have one around here somewhere.

Cheers,
B

 

[SumnerH]

My keez is set to 37*, and 4.5 vols is 31 PSI. If I just crank the PSI up to 35, I should be close enough for the day, I think. With that, will 10' of beer line between the keg and the tap be enough so the punch doesn't shoot out?

Ballpark estimation of line length, assuming fairly standard 3/16" ID line:

L = (PSI-1.5)/2

So you want 16-17' of line.

For every foot your taps are above the top of the keg, you can lose 1/2 foot of line length.

 

[germanicus81]

I would think that a champagne punch would have a much lower level of carbonation than straight champagne because of the fruit juices and such. I would probably just go with the same pressure my beer is at and call it a grand experiment. I don't think I'd much like a punch at a champagne level of carb anyway...

 

[bad coffee]

good point. We'll mix up the punch and I'll 'sample' a glass in the mornin and comape the carb level to beers. I could mathematically figure it out, but sampling will produce better results. For me at least.

B

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

You are going to have to shake the crap out of that thing anyway to get any CO2 into solution that fast. It will not be accurate at all. Just let it rip and taste test your way to a desirable carbonation level.

 

[bad coffee]

I'm not looking to carbonate it, I just want to keep it carbed at the level it goes into the keg.

The recipes we might use:
Old Navy Punch (serves 10-15)
2/3 pint lemon Juice
1.5# bar sugar (confectioners)
Juice of 3 oranges
4oz. Peach Brandy
Fifth of 151 rum
1 pint Brandy
3 pints champagne

Claret Punch (serves 25-30)
12 lumps sugar
2 lemons sliced
2 oranges sliced
4oz. Marichino Liquer
1 bottle Sparkling water
4 bottles Claret
1 bottle Champagne.

Any fruit will be tied in a nylon bag and hung in the keg, so it won't clog the lines.

B

 

[bad coffee]

Okay, follow up time:

We made the recipe for Old Navy Punch. We used Appleton rum instead of 151, and it still had a hot alcohol bite. Chilled all the bottles overnight so they were the same temp as the keg/keezer. We added 2 more bottles of champagne and a liter of club soda. Then it was nice and smooth. I threw it in the keez and put it on 14# at 40*.

We ended up with 3 gallons, and about 2.75 were drank for the party. The keg sat for two weeks or so until I could get time to clean it out. But when I did, the punch was still bubbly, but the OJ had turned sour. Other than that I think kegging the punch was a great success!

B