New to Kegging - 100% CO2 or Nitrogen/CO2 Mix?

[day_trippr]

Firstly you can recycle the wine bags that are in bag in box wine the tap pops out and then you clean and sterilise bag fill, squeeze the air out put tap back in. Or put tap in open it and squeeze to get air out then close tap ( easier ).
[...]
Would be a good addition to your all singing and dancing kegerator build that you recently posted great pictures of.

hah! I dunno that I'd be giving up a tap to wine any time soon, but it would be a cool option to hook up a "wine bag in a keg" for special occasions (lord, I hope we can have those again some day, dammit). I thought you'd found some ready-to-go bag that would actually fit a cornelius keg already, which you be pretty cool...

Cheers! (btw, it does "sing" on command - the PIR trips a bubbling sound when one approaches - but doesn't dance...yet )

 

[passedpawn]

Like the idea of the prosecco.
I made an elderflower fizz and pressure fermented that and then straight into bottles counter pressure filled so no sediment or carbing needed. I did use a keg for this as the fermentasaurus only rated to 35psi and to get 6 vols I needed a lot more pressure in keg at ferment temp.
Worked well though, but that prosecco looks good. What do you back sweeten with? and why the filtering? my wine was perfectly clear without that step.

I was trying to make a sweet carbonated white wine (i.e., Asti Spumante), so I killed the yeast and added some saved moscato juice. I've done this twice actually. Regarding filtering, I think there is clear, then CLEAR. perhaps the latter is achievable with time, but I have a plate filter setup that allows me to push wine or beer from one keg to another and really get it clear. I've done it with pilsners and the difference is stark.

 

[day_trippr]

edit "filter" for "chiller" I believe.

And you're a braver person than I to risk oxidation for the sake of clarity. I'd rather use Solo cups, I'm that chicken

Cheers!

 

[DuncB]

I thought you'd found some ready-to-go bag that would actually fit a cornelius keg already, which you be pretty cool...

Cheers! (btw, it does "sing" on command - the PIR trips a bubbling sound when one approaches - but doesn't dance...yet )

In answer I believe that Kegland are looking into bags that would go inside kegs.

See on page 269 of this thread reply from Kegland.

https://aussiehomebrewer.com/threads/kegland-questions-and-answers.98306/page-269#post-1567024
Their intention for beer I believe and they plan on using water pressure to force the beer out.

Might be cheaper to just buy a 20 litre key keg and use that as that is bag in a keg.

I think the bag and connector cludge would work.
Certainly good option if you had a beer engine to use a bag.

Surely the PIR should be triggered to say " hello day trippr what can I get you today " or other quotes spring to mind.

 

[day_trippr]

lol! Believe me, I have considered all kinds of "personal greetings" (eg: "What are you doing, Dave?" ) but I do have The Spousal Unit and guests to consider Perhaps when I upgrade the keezer to an RPi4B facial recognition may be practical enough for custom greetings

Anyway...it looks like a potential Kegland "keg bladder" product is still in the offing. But I do have to say the Kegland folks are almost single-handedly expanding the possibilities for home brewers these days. And kudos to them for that

Cheers!

 

[RussW]

Carbonating with CO2.

Pros: works.
Cons: none

Carbonating with beer gas.

Pros: none
Cons: it doesn't work at all.

Thanks!

 

[RussW]

I love my stout tap (I love stouts), but it is definitely added overhead. Unless you only drink stouts and porters, you're going to want 100% CO2 for most of your beers. To have both, you'll need a CO2 tank (probably 5 or 10 pound) and a beer gas (nitrogen/CO2 - probably 5 pound) tank, which means two regulators (beer gas uses a completely different regulator that threads the other direction so you can't mix them up). Most CO2 tanks are aluminum, while beer gas tanks are almost always steel (to handle the additional pressure). I have 5 and 10 pound CO2 tanks that I purchased years ago; I can take those to a local company and get them filled (keeping my tanks). When I purchased my first beer gas tank I had to buy the tank (used) and the gas. Now I can simply bring in the empty tank and exchange it for a full one, paying only for the gas. Most places will do the same with CO2; it was just easier to have my own tanks when I started kegging. Definitely check around, if you haven't already, and make sure someone in your area sells small tanks of beer gas for home brewers. When I got my first beer gas tank, there was only one place in my town that sold it, and at first they said I'd have to get a 20 pound tank, which was crazy (5 pounds will probably carb and serve 4-5 5-gallon kegs). They were finally able to locate a 5 pound tank for me at one of their locations in California. Home brewing has grown a lot since then, and they now keep 5 and 10 pound beer gas tanks on hand all the time. I kind of crammed a lot of info in here, but hopefully it's helpful.

Thanks for the info, appreciate it!

 

[DuncB]

Yes HAL could get quite annoying.
Kegland are pushing new products for sure. I really like the MaltZilla ( but many, many don't ).

When I used to pop over to Australia for various meetings ( grand prix etc) always used to get a big order into the Hotel from Kegland.
About 2/3 to half of the price to the cost in NZ. It just meant that I bought more though.
Covid has put a stop to that though. Maybe the saving in airline flights is an offset!

 

[day_trippr]

We'll have to disagree on MaltZilla. That may be their weakest offering while being the most expensive item in their catalog.
That said, there have been quite a few exquisitely priced mills offered of late that I find wholly unimpressive, so they're not alone...

Cheers!

 

[DuncB]

The mill was pricey,

But not this much!

https://www.kegland.com.au/1200l-12hl-brewhouse.html

 

[day_trippr]

lol! They nothing if not aspirational

 

[passedpawn]

edit "filter" for "chiller" I believe.

And you're a braver person than I to risk oxidation for the sake of clarity. I'd rather use Solo cups, I'm that chicken

Cheers!

keg-to-keg filtering shouldn't allow oxidation?

 

[u81doughboy]

Late to the party, but I disagree with what others have said. If Beer Gas was a bad thing, or had no advantages, bars and restaurants wouldn't use it. It definitely has advantages over 100% CO2, especially in long draw tap systems. Also depending on the gas mix 70/30 or 25/75 (that's the ratio of CO2 to N2) The first would be fine on any kegging system whereas the second is only used on Nitro systems.

I believe most of us prefer the easiest method to achieve results. That solution is 100% CO2.

Here is a good article for anyone looking into beer gas.
http://www.craftbrewersconference.com/wp-content/uploads/NewGuidelines-BlendedGasforDraughtBeer1.pdf

Good Luck!

 

[day_trippr]

I must have missed (or forgotten) a statement that "Beer gas is bad" in this thread. For long-line dispensing it's nearly mandatory to propel beer over long distances without over-carbonation - assuming exploiting tubing diameters alone is an inadequate solution (as it often is)....

Cheers!