Nitro Mead: how to nitro-carbonate?

[ondiferi]

Hi,

I have some mead ready to force-carbonate. I've done CO2 carbonation before but I would like to experiment with nitro this time.

At home I got a tank of CO2 and a tank of Nitro ready to be used. I am now looking for advice on how to push nitro into the keg.

• My understanding is that I should force-carbonate first and then add nitro. Is that right?
• How much nitro do I have to add?
• And then how will that affect bottling?

Looking for tips. Thanks a ton!

 

[Jag75]

You can force carb via co2 to about 1.2 volumes then connect to your beer gas and serve at 35psi.

Or you can hook up to beer gas , set to 35psi and wait a couple weeks until its ready.

Your nitro is a mixture (beer gas) correct, not pure nitro?

Bottling nitro doesn't work.

 

[ondiferi]

Your nitro is a mixture (beer gas) correct, not pure nitro?

No, it's pure Nitro in this case.

Bottling nitro doesn't work.

How so? I've seen nitro in cans out there. How do they achieve bottling then?

 

[DuncB]

It's complicated, the nitro canning and bottling.
If you just want a creamy head on your mead carbonate it to 1.2 vols and then get an ultrasonic jewellery cleaner and stand the glass in that for a moment and it will do similar. Look on you tube for guinness surger unit alternative
The nitrogen is only a means of delivering the product to the glass, another alternative is carb to 1.2 vols and then use a syringe filled with air ( 80 percent nitrogen ) and a small needle and inject the air into the bottom of the glass.

Otherwise I think you are into getting an expensive inline nitrogen mixer for your mead or something from Nitrobrew again not cheap. I'd play around with the above methods to see if it adds anything to your mead. It doesn't make every beer better ( normally worse ) when put on nitro.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Unless you've got widgets for your bottles and the ability to inject liquid nitrogen into said widget (gonna to ahead and say the answer is no....) then don't bother. The non-widget "nitro" bottles and cans typically inject liquid nitrogen straight into the beer and it is a very poor impersonation of the widget form. Nitrogen is all but insoluble in beer (or mead) and sans the widget it'll all escape the headspace pretty much immediately leaving very little in the packaged product.

Without even using liquid nitrogen, you're just gonna have flat bottles. Don't bother.

Provided you abandon bottling....

Are you looking for a "nitro cold brew coffee" feel or a "nitro beer" feel? Nitro cold brew is typically pure nitrogen, adding creaminess and texture without any actual carbonation. Nitro beer is a mixture of nitrogen and CO2, either via pre-mixed gas (I use 75% nitrogen 25% CO2 at home), or bars typically use a gas mixer (often with a nitrogen generator). If you want "beer" style carb it to 1.2-1.3 vols with CO2, and then put it on gas mix (I like 75/25 as above) at like 30 PSI. Give it an extra couple days to balance out and you're good to go.

Do you have a nitro faucet? If not, you're gonna need one.

 

[DuncB]

@Qhrumphf
Seems it's all about the mead.
I'm not sure whether carbonated mead pours with a head on it, might have a head like brut IPA.

I still wonder why? and will it make it better?

 

[Qhrumphf]

Nitro coffee pours with a head on it. I'm sure mead would form a head. How stable it would be is the question.

 

[Qhrumphf]

(i assume it's be closer to soda- foam hard and collapse immediately, but have no honest idea, did a few sparkling hydromels years ago and that was how it went, dunno how nitro would change it)

 

[DuncB]

What pours with a nitro head on doesn't help us know if mead will have a lasting head with Nitro.
I don't know enough about meads to say, but as we've noted low body drinks such as sodas, sparkling wines, brut ipa have flash in the pan heads on them.

 

[Jag75]

It may depend on the body of the mead. The main reason for nitro is the mesmerizing cascade and creamy frothy head. I'm curious to see how the mead turns out on nitro. Hopefully the OP keeps us updated.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I bring up coffee only because nitro coffee is (typically) pure nitrogen, and essentially uncarbonated, but supports a nitro-beer-like head. That said, I can only assume coffee has significantly higher protein content than mead (as does beer).

When I've done any form of mead or cider carbonated, it's been akin to soda. Also aggressively carbonated, akin to soda. Nitrogenating a mead obviously wouldn't be aggressively carbed.

I'm curious to see what happens.

 

[ondiferi]

Hi all, thanks for all the input. Let me collect all this and come up with some experiment. I'll give updates.

 

[day_trippr]

Widget-less bottled "nitro" beers are a disappointment compared to comparable stouts propelled with beer gas through a proper faucet.
For the classic example there is Left Hand's Milk Stout. Advise on the label is to pour hard, and not without obvious cause.
Otoh, Young's Double Chocolate Stout in a widget can is not far off from a nice faucet pour. The widget truly makes a difference...

Cheers!