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Using compressed air to dispense

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Jp2016

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I am using a Lindr Kotakt 55 to dispense all my leg cider. As I am not using CO2 but compressed air will the keg go off quickly after it is tapped?? If so how quickly, I know beer will spoil when mixed with air but what about Kegged Cider?
 
Is this compressed air being pulled from the local environment, and fed into the keg?

If so, introducing compressed air is likely a recipe for disaster because you'll be introducing a host of wild yeast, molds and bacteria present in the air. These may quickly take up residence in your cider and flourish.

A general rule of thumb is to keep your storage as sterile and airtight as possible.
 
This is why beer/cider dispensed using a picnic pump tap goes bad so quickly compared to beer on a CO2 system.
 
(contrast this to the "Interesting German Brewing PDF" thread, where there is quite the discussion about the effects of even 1 ppm of dissolved oxygen from as early on in the process as the mash. :D )

Yes, at the very least, you will oxidize the heck out of your hard work, and in short order. If it is uncarbonated cider and you are just looking to dispense, you could possibly get away with one of those small 16g CO2 cartridges and a cartridge dispenser, as opposed to investing in a 5lb tank and a regulator.
 
I presume it is being pulled from the environment.... I have a mobile bar business and have bought three of these machines from draughtbeeronline.co.uk.... I now feel like I have waited a lot of money as I won't be able to use the same opened keg from one weekend to another as I mainly do weddings and functions on a weekend, do you think I can use on two consecutive weekends?
 
Is this compressed air being pulled from the local environment, and fed into the keg?

If so, introducing compressed air is likely a recipe for disaster because you'll be introducing a host of wild yeast, molds and bacteria present in the air. These may quickly take up residence in your cider and flourish.

A general rule of thumb is to keep your storage as sterile and airtight as possible.
I presume it is being pulled from the environment.... I have a mobile bar business and have bought three of these machines from draughtbeeronline.co.uk.... I now feel like I have waited a lot of money as I won't be able to use the same opened keg from one weekend to another as I mainly do weddings and functions on a weekend, do you think I can use on two consecutive weekends?
 
I presume it is being pulled from the environment.... I have a mobile bar business and have bought three of these machines from draughtbeeronline.co.uk.... I now feel like I have waited a lot of money as I won't be able to use the same opened keg from one weekend to another as I mainly do weddings and functions on a weekend, do you think I can use on two consecutive weekends?

Ah... those units have "air filters" (FWIW), but it's still air with significant levels of oxygen, and really are intended for what you are doing, mobile bar. In practice I think they would work well for what you are trying to do with a fresh keg, but I would doubt that any keg you used would be as good the following weekend.
 
In my experience, no. Once a keg is popped with a party keg (using air), it is only good for at most 3 days.

If you're going to use THE WHOLE KEG, you're probably fine to use air as your delivery system, because it takes a little bit of time to oxidize your product. Oxidation is slowed when the product is cold, so if you used a whole keg that was very cold, nobody would notice.
 
If the cost of losing a full keg of beer and cider to oxidation is a concern, might be worth investing in a few cheap used Cornelius kegs, purge with CO2, use CO2 to transfer 2.5 gallons into each, and dispensing from those instead.
 
Think of it along the lines of cask beer. It'll alter the character of the cider, but it will drastically shorten the shelf life. I'm not sure what flavors arise from oxidized cider, but vinegar is a definite possibility.
 
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