Stout Setup

[SuckaMooHudda]

Looking to add a Stout Faucet, tower, nito tank, etc...

I already checked with the local welding shop and they do provide nitro/co2 mix tanks.

Anyone know where I can get the very best deal on this system? Thank you!!

 

[erikpete18]

I'm curious to see what you can find, since I've been looking around randomly for a little bit now planning future expansions. Plenty of places seem to carry the regulators, but I've got no experience on which are of any better quality. So far the cheapest regulators I've been able to find are at Kegconnection ($45 & $60), Rebel Brewer ($54) and ChiCompany ($40). Northern Brewer, Austin, Morebeer, etc. all carry regulators too which might be of higher quality, but I can't tell just by looking. Kegconnection also has a fairly cheap 5lb nitro tank ($80) and ApexBrew has one for $70 but they caution that not all places might fill it up.

As far as faucets, your guess is as good as mine. I've been able to find a bunch, but I'm still trying to figure out the best way to go. For instance, ChiCompany appears to have the largest variety of stout faucets (I count 8). Of those, I see a variety of all-chrome ($66), chrome/stainless ($92), all-brass ($77), brass/stainless ($92), and all-stainless ($137). Now I'm not sure what the chrome/stainless actually implies as to what the beer actually touches along the path, does it contact stainless the whole time or chrome for part? Adventures in homebrewing also lists a "SS Stout Faucet" for $70, but it looks a lot like the ones listed at Morebeer and Rebel Brewer that list them as the chrome/stainless version or the Kegconnection one that doesn't list the metal (but I bet they'd tell you with a call).

Maybe by the time you figure everything out, I'll be able to start and can just use your list .

 

[SuckaMooHudda]

Thanks so much for the reply. I am still researching and I will keep you posted as I gather more information.

 

[SuckaMooHudda]

So far I have purchased the all stainless steel stout faucet from Adventures in Hombrewing and the nitrogen regulator from Keg Connection. I am still waiting on gas information as my local "go to" welding supply shop will only fill larger tanks (65 CF) for some strange reason. I live in the Chicago area so I am sure a 5# or 10# (20CF) beer gas fill-up will not be too hard to locate.

The above with an added tank is significantly cheaper than the whole systems offered by Morebeer.com or Midwest Brewing Supply, plus, my faucet is all stainless. Morebeer's and Midwest's is not. I am taking all measures to remove brass from my entire setup.

 

[beergolf]

I am interested in nitro also.

I have been bottling everything but after a trip to Ireland I became very interested in keegging some brews using nitro.

I did find this but it is not cheap but is the complete set up.

http://http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/kegging/draft-systems/deluxe-nitro-keg-system.html

 

[erikpete18]

So far I have purchased the all stainless steel stout faucet from Adventures in Hombrewing and the nitrogen regulator from Keg Connection. I am still waiting on gas information as my local "go to" welding supply shop will only fill larger tanks (65 CF) for some strange reason. I live in the Chicago area so I am sure a 5# or 10# (20CF) beer gas fill-up will not be too hard to locate.

The above with an added tank is significantly cheaper than the whole systems offered by Morebeer.com or Midwest Brewing Supply, plus, my faucet is all stainless. Morebeer's and Midwest's is not. I am taking all measures to remove brass from my entire setup.

Were you able to confirm that the one from AiH was actually all-stainless? It looked a lot like some of the stainless/chrome ones, but if its actually all-stainless I may have to get 2 . If you've already got it in and have a part number for it, I'd appreciate it!

 

[SuckaMooHudda]

They advised it was all stainless...however I will inspect it upon arrival and post the info here. Hopefully I am not disappointed. I would imagine they would be truthful considering the power of forums like this spreading the word of untruths.

 

[sniperd]

I have that nitro setup from northern brewer. It was my first keg setup and 100% comes with everything you need, I'm on my third keg of beer in it. That being said the shank of 3" is too short in my opinion. The only other thing I would note is the regulator doesn't have a shutoff or pressure relief little flipper, not a really big deal but stuff I would expect for a high end all in one system.

So, here is what I did. I have a full size fridge. I bought this system and installed it (had to Macgyver the shank to get it to fit, they really need to give a 4"). Going forward I swapped to a dual regulator and use the one they supply for a 'utility' C02 tank. I figured since they gave me a nitro reg I can just buy an adapter and run C02.

I really like the lines they give too, they seems must better then what my LHBS has.

The main thing was that I didn't want to have parts that I could no longer use after I continue to upgrade and improve my system. It's like don't buy a 42" TV with the plan to move up to a 50" TV later. I think it's a great 'intro' to kegging, but if you already have and know how to run C02 you can probably just buy the parts you need. I knew out of the box that I wanted to just run various English/Scottish beers so I just jumped right in.

Ok, parts aside, how to carbonate it. Here is what works for me (after a few tries). Setup the system as per instructions with the diffusion stone. So chill the filled keg overnight. Then put the pressure to 5psi. Burp it a whole bunch to get the oxygen out. You'll hear the keg fizzing from the diffusion stone putting gas into the beer. Turn the pressure up to about 15psi and you'll hear more fizzy action and just let it do it's thing. Come back in about 1 hour and go up by 2-3 psi and let it fizzy itself, wait 20 minutes or so. And keep doing that until you get up to about 35 psi. I tried what they told me in the directions to just crank it to 35psi but it didn't carbonate it well, I think the trick is to slowly move it up a few psi over a few hours to 35. Now just leave it overnight (or you can try it, but I find it comes out better if you wait a day). Now the next day you should be good to go, drink up! Enjoy the cascade!

 

[SuckaMooHudda]

Thank you for the input. That will help. I have been kegging with CO2 for a few years now but was unsure on how to approach the Nitro. I will go with your suggestions. My system will be complete by the end of the week and I have an oatmeal stout that will be completely ready in two weeks. (Then I can start my world take-over!!) As soon as I have my first pour I will let you know how it goes. Maybe even post a video of my VIRGIN CASCADE!!! Thanks again, sir!!!

 

[SuckaMooHudda]

My stout setup is complete and I have to say, it is by far the best thing I have done since I started homebrewing. UNBELIEVABLE RESULTS!!!! My Oatmeal Stout, put through this system, is by far the best beer I have ever had....EVER!! I cannot say enough (without sounding like I am making stuff up). I kid you not, this will turn even the biggest Stout haters into Stout converts....I swear. I used a lot of the above information and kinda winged it at the same time, and BAMM!! I am a happy man!!! If anyone knows how to post a video, please let me know, I would love to show my first cascade video on this thread but I cannot figure it out Thanks all.

 

[sniperd]

That is so awesome! The first keg I ever made was on nitro, it was a British Pale Ale and came pouring out just like Boddingtons, I couldn't believe it either. Congrats on the great beer!

 

[erikpete18]

They advised it was all stainless...however I will inspect it upon arrival and post the info here. Hopefully I am not disappointed. I would imagine they would be truthful considering the power of forums like this spreading the word of untruths.

Just an update, I emailed AiH about the faucet and got the same reply back. Guy said he grabbed one and took a knife to it and everywhere he could reach it was stainless, so that's definitely the best deal out there I can find. Sounds like its good to go, now I've just got to get everything else together so I can justify buying one!

 

[SuckaMooHudda]

sniperd, do you have that British Pale Ale Recipe handy? I have six faucets total and now I almost want two stout faucets....One always with a stout and one with a brit pale ale. If you have Boddingtons clone or the likes, I would love to have it. thank you sir.

erikpete18- Don't wait.....I promise you will not regret it!! Enjoy!!

 

[SuckaMooHudda]

http://s1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb474/SuckaMooHudda/The Keezer Project 2011/

It may not be considered a "text book" pour but like I said, the taste is amazing.

 

[Brickout]

Sucka, did you find a place that fills beergas? Or did you have to get one of their tanks?

I'm also in the Chicago area and I'm going to need beergas soon.

 

[SuckaMooHudda]

Yes I did...and any size you wish. I just went with a small-standard (22 CuFt). They do an exchange program, they do not fill your tank.

I did not have a tank to exchange so I had to start from scratch and buy one first. I believe my total was approximately $106 total, including tank, hazmat fee, gas, and tax. The guy there was very cool....normally the gas alone is about $41 but he told me that when I need to exchange it, just see him and he will set me up for $22. Didn't get his name but he is always there on weekdays during normal business hours. Doesn't seem too bad for beer gas mix.

Airgas, I believe, is a national company, so if the below address in Crystal Lake is too far for you, I believe they have locations all over.

Airgas North Central
166 Virginia Road
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
815 455 2250

 

[SuckaMooHudda]

If you have a tank, you can just exchange it for a filled one...most likely for about $22. If you NEED to keep your tank, then no, I don't believe they will fill it. But to me, I could not care less if I ever "own" a tank. A tank is a tank to me, I just need the gas.

 

[sniperd]

My understanding is that filling beer gas tanks is complicated. I called several places (I had a brand new tank and wanted to keep it) and they told me if I wanted to keep the tank they would ship it out for a fill and try put a note on it and I might get the same one back. So I just flip my beer gas, it's $20 at the LHBS. His C02 flip is also $20. That way you can actually just bring in whatever tank you want and flip it, he tries to keep that part simple.

 

[Brickout]

Hmm, I wonder if I can swap a Co2 tank for a beergas tank. My understanding is that beergas tanks in Chicago use the same threads as co2 tanks. So I can still use my co2 regulator.

 

[sniperd]

sniperd, do you have that British Pale Ale Recipe handy? I have six faucets total and now I almost want two stout faucets....One always with a stout and one with a brit pale ale. If you have Boddingtons clone or the likes, I would love to have it. thank you sir.

erikpete18- Don't wait.....I promise you will not regret it!! Enjoy!!

Yep, I've got it written down at home, I'll post it here. It is supposed to be Fullers London Pride but on beer gas it tastes exactly like Boddingtons. Sweeeet video by the way, I guess I need to brew a stout now for.. comparative purposes.. yes, that is what I'll tell my wife

Brickout, you do NOT want to use beer gas with a C02 regulator. The first reason is beergas and C02 are thread differently, like completely differently. However you can find a C02 regulator adapter to run beer gas which boggles my mind. The second reason is beer gas is stored at a much higher pressure and can damage your C02 regulator, you, or your (gasp!) your other beer equipment. Now what you can do is buy a nitro regulator with a C02 adapter, then you can use that regulator with beer gas or C02, in fact that is what I have. I don't own a C02 regulator at all. I have 2 nitro regs, one is a dual gauge and one is a single. And if I need to run C02 to carb up or beer gun I can just use my C02 tank with my nitro reg and adapter.

Here is the nitro regulator adapter I have: http://www.bvrgelements.com/keg_accessories_keg_parts.html

I've actually bought a bunch of stuff from these guys, awesome service.

 

[sniperd]

Here is the all grain Fullers London Pride clone that I used on my nitro setup.

Step 1: have a beer.

5 Gallon batch
8.75lbs Pale Ale Malt
14oz Crystal 75L Malt

Mash at just over 150F for 1 hour.

Boil time is 1 hour.
60 Minutes, .5 oz of Target
15 Minutes, .75 oz of Challenger, .75 of Northdown

OG should be about 1.048

Ferment 1 week, put in secondary for 1 week, keg it for 1 week in the fridge. Impress friends.

Good luck!

 

[SuckaMooHudda]

Just how I like em....nice and simple. Awesome!! Thank you again, sir.

I suppose since your step one and my step one are the same, I have to have 2. Oh well, I gotta follow the directions, right?

 

[sniperd]

Oh yah, gotta have 2! The 1 was a typo.

 

[Brickout]

O k, so I called three shops here in Chicago and was told the same thing. In the Mid-West (mainly Chicago) Co2 and Beergas cylinders use the same threads. I also asked about using my C02 regulator on Beergas. All three places said "no problem". In fact one of them stated that they don't even carry different regulators and that all of their customers use standard Co2 regulators with beergas.

Here are the shops I called:
Airgas - Joliet 815-725-4595; 5Lb exchange only $52 (ouch!)

NFC - Chicago, 773-472-9570; 5Lb refill $20

City Welding - Skokie, 847-676-0003; refill $23.50

 

[sniperd]

Yah know what it might be.. You can run C02 from a beergas (which I'll refer to as nitro) tank and a nitro regulator. So maybe the laws around your parts require tanks/regs to be handle higher pressure, and thus it's really all just nitro gear and thusly you can just run C02 out of it.

For me my nitrogen tank is female thread and nitrogen regulators are male. And the C02 tank is male threaded (which I use an adapter on to hook up to my regulators).

If I remember correctly my nitro tank came in at about 1500-1800 lbs, my C02 tank came in at about 800-1000 lbs. I guess if the c02 tank and c02 regulator are rated for whatever you are going to have for lbs, then it would work. I think that's the whole deal, it's not that it'll pour bad or anything, it's just that nitro typically comes at a much higher pressure, and you'll have to serve it at something like 35psi. The "nitro" gear is really just for the higher pressure.

When I called around my area there is a clear difference in tank swap prices, pounds in the tank, and regulators. It must just be a regional thing but that would be news to me. Then again I haven't been doing this too long so pretty much anything is going to be news to me! I guess as long as it's safe you'll be good to go!