Nitrogen 2011

[cino101]

I been reading previous posts on nitrogen systems but wanted to post my setup and see if I can get feedback if im doing it correctly.

I have a boddington clone racked into my keg and cooling in the kegerator. I am planning to force carbonate on CO2 before putting it on the BeerGas (75/25) line for serving. The first problem I run into is that my kegerator is nice and nippy at 34 degrees. So im not left with the ability to force carbonate to 1.5vol without loosing pressure on the keg seal. So I compromised and set my CO2 regulator to 4psi to achieve ~2VOL.

Q1: is 2VOL too high for BeerGas Dispensing?

Plan is to leave it at 4psi for 2 weeks to make sure its where I think it is (don't want to burst it on my first go). Once this is done, and I switch it to the BeerGas serving line, I believe I should be using ~16 PSI since that would give me 12PSI nitrogen and 4PSI CO2.

Q2: 16PSI seems really low compared to the 20-30 I keep seeing. If I go higher though wont it increase the CO2 on the beer and carbonate it past the ~2VOL I got it to with 2 weeks of force carbing?

I know I could force carb outside the kegerator and get the proper 1.5VOL for the style but I thought as soon as I put it back into the kegerator at 34 degrees that the BeerGas would overcarb it again no mater what pressure I set it at.

Some system info in case its relevant: yes I have a stout faucet, Beer&Gas lines are 5&4 feet and 3/16&5/16. 34degrees was measured on the thermostat but I am confirming that right now with a glass of water and a thermometer...

*Update, actual temp is 38, measured over the day several times, so more like 1.8VOL at 4psi*

 

[jackers252]

HHmm, good questions. I don't know if it will help or not, but I use 100% nitrogen instead of beergas. I do this because it is a lot cheaper when I have to get it refilled but more importantly, I can just fill it at work for free.

Anyway, since it is 100% nitrogen, you wouldn't have the problem with the beergas bringing your vol's up.

 

[cino101]

I think you need a gas mix. CO2 will maintain the carbonation level in the beer by maintaining equilibrium, and the nitrogen is used so higher pressure can be used to force the beer through the restrictor disk in a stout tap.

I know there are other posts out there indicating 100% argon is being used without any loss in carbonation levels. In the same threads someone used 100% nitrogen without any issue. I get the feeling if you drink it relatively fast it might not be an issue. Here is another link that really goes over the importance of the correct ratio depending on styles to insure intended carb levels are kept accurate: http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer-edu/dispensing-beer-blended-gases-cid-1793.html

Keep in mind they are selling a product so maybe they are a little skewed but it makes alot of sense. Would think 100% nitrogen would allow CO2 to come out of solution so your head space would be a mix of the two and your beer target VOL would reduce over time/consumption. On the other hand you have some experienced people on this forum pushing with 100% inert gas so it cant be all that bad...

I unfortunately have already purchased the beer gas so im stuck on that one. Still curious if 16PSI is going to be way to low for Stout faucet. Will check in 1 week and if it doesn't work will just up it to 30PSI like everyone else...

 

[Tiber_Brew]

I'm also interested in the answers to your questions. I just got a beer gas setup and stout faucet, so I've been doing a lot of reading.

As of now, based on the reading I've done to date, I'm going to carb my beer on CO2 to 1.5 - 2 vol then switch over to the beer gas at 30 or so psi. Since my nitro kegerator doesn't have a CO2 tank, I'll have to carb the beer warm next to my 4 tap CO2 kegerator, at about 9-10 psi (59F in my basement) to get the correct vol of CO2, then chill in the nitro kegerator and put it on beer gas.

Also, the beer gas I got is 80/20 N2/CO2. Hopefully someone more experienced will chime in.

I guess I'll find out if that works.

TB

 

[p-nut]

I use 100% nitrogen too. I haven't noticed any loss in carbonation. I just made a stout and started at 1.2 volumes and had to push it with 45 psi to get the cascade I wanted. I bumped it up to 2 volumes and now I am pushing it with 20 psi and it is coming out perfect. I don't think it is an exact science. I would go with 2.0 volumes and start out with 15 psi on the beergas. If it is not cascading like you want, then increase the pressure a little. I wouln't worry about overcarbonation.

 

[jmkratt]

I'm also interested in the answers to your questions. I just got a beer gas setup and stout faucet, so I've been doing a lot of reading.

As of now, based on the reading I've done to date, I'm going to carb my beer on CO2 to 1.5 - 2 vol then switch over to the beer gas at 30 or so psi. Since my nitro kegerator doesn't have a CO2 tank, I'll have to carb the beer warm next to my 4 tap CO2 kegerator, at about 9-10 psi (59F in my basement) to get the correct vol of CO2, then chill in the nitro kegerator and put it on beer gas.

I am in the same boat. Just got the Nitro cylinder and regulator, waiting on beer gas. The methodology you described is exactly what I was planning on doing with brew #1 Nitro. I'd be interested to hear from experienced brewers as well.

 

[rodd]

I just poured my first pint of stout with beergas and a stout faucet about a week ago. I carbonated with 7 PSI CO2 for a few weeks (in keezer) then switched it to beergas mix (75/25) at 28 PSI. Waited for the tank to stop hissing as it pressurized the keg, and poured. Great pour right away. I have only had it hooked up for a week, but each pour has been consistent, and perfect to my tastes.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

I just poured my first pint of stout with beergas and a stout faucet about a week ago. I carbonated with 7 PSI CO2 for a few weeks (in keezer) then switched it to beergas mix (75/25) at 28 PSI. Waited for the tank to stop hissing as it pressurized the keg, and poured. Great pour right away. I have only had it hooked up for a week, but each pour has been consistent, and perfect to my tastes.

Interesting, thanks. My first pour will be tonight, but might have to play around with it. I'm carbing the beer at 59F, so it might not pour right until it has time to uniformly cool to about 44F. We'll see...

TB

 

[p-nut]

Poured two last night. Beer is at 2.0 volumes @ 50 degrees, and I am pushing with 40 psi. The serving line is 5 feet of 1/4" tubing. I was cascading beautifully and formed a 1/2" head. I am pushing with 100% nitrogen. My beer hasn't lost any carbonation either.

 

[rodd]

I am pushing with 100% nitrogen. My beer hasn't lost any carbonation either.

How long does a keg usually last for you? Do you go through them pretty quickly?

 

[p-nut]

They ususally last about a month or two.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

Poured my first couple pints last night. Worked extremely well, and didn't have to mess with the pressure much at all. Can't wait to try more beers on this tap!

(Carbed to about 1.6 volumes, served on 80/20 beer gas at 36 psi)

TiberwhydidInotdothisearlierBrew

 

[cino101]

excited to tap mine this saturday. So quick question, did you guys just carb and tap directly after putting on the beer gas or did you wait additional time to let the beer gas settle. Mine is still force carbing on C02 and will be ready saturday, will I have to wait after switching it over? Will test it regardless just curious.

 

[p-nut]

Once you are sure the carbonation is right, just hook up the beer gas and pour. My first pint was perfect.

 

[cino101]

So my first pour was terrible, I turned the beer gas up and up all the way to 46 and I could not get any foam or head or anything. Luckily I had split my 5gal batch into two kegs so I could do a side by side comparison. My other non-nitro half was perfectly carbonated so I switched the beer gas over to it and walla! at 30psi beer gas it poured like a champ. Apparently the other keg had a loose popit valve because when I put co2 back on that one I could hear it hissing. I never did try to dispense at 16psi, it seems fine right at 30 so im going to just leave it and enjoy this boddingtons clone.

 

[Waunabeer]

I'm still learning about nitrogen, but what happens when you dispense a stout using only CO2 and not beer gas or nitrogen? Will it work; not at all; not very well?