Stout vs. Ale on Tap

[daveooph131]

I am planning on building a kegerator, but am unsure what I should do with the two taps.

It would be nice to have a dark beer and a light ale on tap, however what is needed to have stouts on tap? I thought I read something that it wasn't different, but couldn't find it again.

Is there a major cost/time difference in the two. Thanks.

 

[thedude123]

That all depends if you want your stout on beer gas and if you want a stout faucet. You can pour stout just like ales if you want to.

 

[SumnerH]

A stout is an ale.

Many popular stouts and other British/Irish ales use a nitrogen push with a so-called "stout faucet" to give a thick, creamy head. Guinness, Beamish, Boddington's, Caffrey's, and Old Speckled Hen are a few common examples.

At home, you can opt to serve those beers with a regular tap, or you can get a beer gas tank + regulator and serve them through stout faucets to emulate that style.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Or

You can serve through a stout faucet at higher pressure through a short line. Does the same thing as the beer gas.

 

[MNBugeater]

As mentioned above you dont NEED a stout tap to serve stout. If you are only looking at having 2 taps then the beer gas option may get expensive as you will need CO2 also unless you plan on naturally carbonating your kegs which does take away some of the benefits of kegging.

One comment about using beer gas at home. If you dont drink the stout, or any beer for that matter, that you have on beer gas very often and it sits for a long time it might get a little metallic taste. While nitrogen doesnt dissolve anywhere near as easily in beer as CO2 (hence the reason it is used for dispensing) it can dissolve slightly over time and it imparts a slightly metallic flavor.

 

[daveooph131]

Thanks guys, I'll just go with two regular taps for ales. I already have a co2 tank and 1 5g keg. I just need the rest of the stuff to convert.

 

[Yooper]

You don't need to limit yourself to ales- you can have lagers on tap, too, if you want. I have two ales and one lager on tap right now, in my three faucet kegerator. Some people like their English style ales less carbonated, but you can definitely put any beer (or cider, wine, or mead, or even soda) on tap that you want to. If you only have one regulator, you can choose a middling range for carbonation. I don't do many Belgian ales, so I usually carb most of my beers in the 2.2-2.5 volumes of co2 range. Even my nut brown ales are ok at that volume, although a bit more carbed than to style.