46 replies to this topic

[3rd party JKor]

Got a full tank of beer gas Friday in anticipation of my stout coming on tap. $38. It hurts a little, but it should last a while, it's 4X as much gas in a 5# cylinder of CO2.

[3rd party JKor]

Anyone else have any beer related updates?

[Humperdink]

Anyone else have any beer related updates?

Not at all where I thought this thread was going.Beer gives me gas. Ordered a march 809. Going to Sierra Nevada in two weeks. S'about it.

[Gumbo Leviathan]

Sorry, but "beer gas" in the PH can only mean someone drank a few too many hefeweizens the night before...

[awall]

waiting for autumn so the temps in my basement get low enough to ferment something other than a belgian.

[texred1]

Got a full tank of beer gas Friday in anticipation of my stout coming on tap. $38. It hurts a little, but it should last a while, it's 4X as much gas in a 5# cylinder of CO2.

Wow, I pay $18 to fill a 5# with CO2 and seem to burn though it pretty fast. Maybe I should look into this.~d

[HVB]

waiting for autumn so the temps in my basement get low enough to ferment something other than a belgian.

Time to build a fermentation chamber!

[denny]

Got a full tank of beer gas Friday in anticipation of my stout coming on tap. $38. It hurts a little, but it should last a while, it's 4X as much gas in a 5# cylinder of CO2.

A syringe is much cheaper and produces pretty much the same result.

[EWW]

Wow, I pay $18 to fill a 5# with CO2 and seem to burn though it pretty fast. Maybe I should look into this.~d

But you use it at 30 psi...double the gas at double the use pressure is the same cost in my book. Sure you don't always carb with beer gas, but once you figure in the cost of the faucet et al it costs you more.

[ANUSTART]

Got a full tank of beer gas Friday in anticipation of my stout coming on tap. $38. It hurts a little, but it should last a while, it's 4X as much gas in a 5# cylinder of CO2.

I'm a little confused. Did you get a 5# CO2 tank filled with beer gas? You might be disappointed with how long it'll last.Is 4x referring to the price? My understanding is you get much less beer gas in the same container vs CO2 because the CO2 is liquid.

[texred1]

But you use it at 30 psi...double the gas at double the use pressure is the same cost in my book. Sure you don't always carb with beer gas, but once you figure in the cost of the faucet et al it costs you more.

I am confused, why would I need different faucets?~d

[MtnBrewer]

I am confused, why would I need different faucets?

The whole point of beer gas is to get a thick creamy head. You need a stout faucet (or a syringe) to do that.

[denny]

(or a syringe) to do that.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

A syringe is much cheaper and produces pretty much the same result.

I've tried this. Works pretty well but is a bit of a hassle particularly when you are going to pour a bunch of beers in a row.

[chuck_d]

I am confused, why would I need different faucets?~d

A stout faucet has a restrictor plate in it with 5 tiny holes through which the beer passes cause the dissolved gas to come out of solution, creating the small cascading bubbles you see in Guinness. In order to use such a faucet there are a couple of opposing requirements: the beer needs to have a low level of carbonation, and the beer needs to be pushed with greater force (a.k.a. higher pressure). Hence a mixture of CO2 & N2 is used for such faucets called "Beer Gas". Beer gas is used for applications where a higher pressure is needed to push the beer than is required for the proper level of carbonation in the beer, such as long draw systems or jockey boxes. By using mixed gas, you can increase the pressure to push the beer through the system without over-carbonating the beer thanks to Henry's Law. The syringe may work (never tried it) but I can't imagine the presentation is as good as having it happen right off the faucet. However, I have heard it is a cheap way to get the effect so it can be useful for people who don't have beer gas and a stout faucet available to them.

[jayb151]

How does one use a syringe? Do you pour the beer, then fill the syringe, then empty the syringe into the beer?

[3rd party JKor]

I'm a little confused. Did you get a 5# CO2 tank filled with beer gas? You might be disappointed with how long it'll last.Is 4x referring to the price? My understanding is you get much less beer gas in the same container vs CO2 because the CO2 is liquid.

No, I have a separate 80 cubic foot cylinder for the beer gas. As far as how much gas you get, a 5# CO2 tank has about 18.5 cubic feet of gas. So the 80 cubic foot tank actually has 20 cubic feet of CO2, only slightly more than 5# liquid co2 tank, but you typically carb beer gas beer less, maybe 1.5 volumes vs. 2.2 volumes for other beers.Using those number the volume of beer carbed with a beer gas tank compared to a 5# liquid tank is:(20/18.5)*(2.2/1.5)=1.6 times as much beer carbed with an 80CF beer gas tank.Of course, the biggest difference is that I only have one stout tap so it'll be something like a 5 to 1 ratio of normal carbed beers versus beer gas carbed. If you're ONLY carbing your beer, a 5# tank will carb 140 gallons of beer to 2.2 volumes. Of course, I do a lot more things than carb beer. I'm sure I blow through a lot of CO2 in purging and CO2 transfers. I won't be doing as much of that with the beer gas. My guess is the beer gas will last 10+ batches. That's likely 2 or 3 years of beer gas beer.

[3rd party JKor]

A syringe is much cheaper and produces pretty much the same result.

Interesting. I've never heard of this method. I might give it a try. Although, since I already have all the equipment and gas to run the stout faucet, I'll probably stick with that for my standard method. I do like the idea of the syringe method for traveling and/or bottling the beer. It'll save the extra hassle of lugging the 80CF tank around (which is freaking heavy!).

[MtnBrewer]

As far as how much gas you get, a 5# CO2 tank has about 18.5 cubic feet of gas.

A 5# CO₂ tank has 18.5 cubic feet of liquid.

[3rd party JKor]

A 5# CO₂ tank has 18.5 cubic feet of liquid.

One cubic foot is 7.5 gallons. Liquid CO2 at room temp has a density of about 6.5 lb/gal. 5# will occupy about 0.8 gallon.