Mixed Gas Setup

[Damo]

Hi Slayerking

I got that tap from a friendly barman.  It was 1 of 3,
I managed to secure when collecting stuff for my bar.

I gave 1 to chris D'pimp and im keeping the other as a spare.

[Metattron]

The bottle is a BOC mixed gas bottle, I also have a BOC mixed gas regulator.  I got the same tap Rukkus linked above, also has the restrictor, but I did ask for that also.  I picked up another tap off ebay that is a Blue Moon tap.  Haven't got it yet but it looks the same as the one above but probably doesn't have a restrictor plate.  But it was £10 so not complaining.

[barkar]

I have a mixed gas set like Damo , i can vouch that stout/ cream ale does come out very good using mixed gas , I have both a lager mix and stout mix cylinders.

I have 2 reg's , i orignally purchase a dual reg from US but cylinder fitting was off (managed to get a uk fitting and now use it). I procured another one like what damo has with a set serving rate. I think there is a way to adjust this but ye need a special allen key for it. I think they are set at about 40 psi for serving

I would say that it isnt that difficult to get a relatively carbonated pint using the lager mix which is 50:50, only thing being when you get near the bottom of the keg you may have a lot of gas in your keg that you would much prefer to hold on to in your cylinder for the next keg considering its price suppose it could be used to push cleaning fluid through your taps or something by lining up with a keg full of water and oxy. I  havent really though of an efficient use for it

The Bar co. in Galway supply at 40 a pop ,I was never charged any rental just refill.


Ebay.co.uk is a great place for getting taps etc. I am not sure here whether the breweries take back some of the taps once a pub shuts which is why ye dont see a great second hand market in them. They are easy to take apart and thoroughly clean once ye get them.

The only real difference between a stout tap and a normal tap is the restrictor plate

[Metattron]

Poured my first pint of coconut stout off the new setup last night.  A thing of beauty.  8-)

[rukkus]

Nice one, great taps for the price aren't they. Mine is pouring an english mild at the moment but with the plate removed

[rukkus]

How do you go about carbonation? Do you carbonate using pure co2 or mixed gas?

[Will_D]

That is a really cracking head!

If it tastes half as good as it looks then it should be brilliant!

[barkar]

How do you go about carbonation? Do you carbonate using pure co2 or mixed gas?

I usually just force carb with the mixed gas, just leave it rigged up in the fridge for a week at full tilt 50 psi or so usually does it , reduce to 30 psi for serving

[Metattron]

I had started force carbing this keg but knocked it off and released the pressure after the lads said not to prime it. Takes a minute or two to settle but not unlike a guinness pour. I don't change the pressure, its "fixed".  Be interesting to see how an uncarbed one serves.

[magnethead]

Sorry to kick this off again, but just to answer the last poster..If you pour straight at 35psi from a keg that has just come from your fermenter, you'll get nothing but black water, sorry, the first half pint there is a tiny head(must be some residue Co2 from ferementation) and after that it just pours black......
For mixed gas to"Work", you must have a carbonated Brew, and carbonated to the correct level...
I put my first "Nitro stout" at 5psi for 3 days @6c and ended up with this..Not too bad, but the head is a little on the low side     (that's carbing with pure CO2, why waste the Nitro gas)



I've now got the stout at 10psi for a couple of days, and I imagine when I take it off, it'll give a better head. This "white head" can be performed on any beer..It's the creamer disk doing the creaming, not imaginery nitrogen.


So much for "Nitrogenation"  I don't think it exists for the homebrewer. I'm beginning to believe these lads and their debate
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/great-nitrogen-bubble-debate-394874/

I started a thread on Beoir before I relised that nobody seems to be using it anymore
http://www.beoir.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=9596

I'm hoping to get into Nitrogenation soon(as I don't think breweries spend 50,000 euro on these machines for the good of their health), I have got a pump and will start a different thread as soon as I have something to report.

Please note, even though I tried to focus as best as I could with my phone, the above picture looks more perfect then real life...There are lot's of tiny bubbles present and it is sure as hell, not the whipped cream, you can spead on your apple tart that you get off the head of that black pint we all know about  and the head above also doesn't have the same staying power, it's pretty much gone bar a small skim of sudds at the end. Don't let that pic fool you ;p
One hint that there is no Nitrogen is the fact that the head settles out really fast....(i haven't timed it yet (30 seconds at a guess), will do after the next shot)

[DEMPSEY]

Keep us informed as this will be part of my setup at a later date. Cathalbrua has also being working on nitro,meeting him today so will check with him too.

[magnethead]

  remember, mine was carbed to a very low level 

What the charts were telling me would be around 1.8 Volumes..which I thought would be the correct level to get the perfect head, Damo leaves his brew hooked up to mixed gas for 2 weeks and Carbs that way which is cool if that works for him.

Maybe I have my flow control a little tight, not letting a it see the full pressure at the creamer...anyway, it's VERY much a work in progress at this stage 

[Metattron]

I didn't force carb my stout with co2, just left it on the mixed gas for about 2 days before serving.  Another pic, pouring steps...  Keeps about a 1/2 cm head all the way down.

[magnethead]

Fair play Metattron, those pouring steps look great, that sure is one creamy looking pint.

Can you tell us at what pressure and temperature you left the Cocunut stout at for those 2 days? and did you use an airstone to bubble the gas through? I can't see there been a huge amount of gas absorption in just 2 days unless you had it at really high pressure and a very low temp but obviously it worked 

Also do you think there's anything in that recipe that would help with head retention, like a good amount of wheat?

[magnethead]

ok, I gave the Keg another shot, 10psi @6c for another 4days..It definately helped the head..and I'm fairly happy with it, might give it just a bit more co2 but the pouring time and head retention are all rightish..the head looks good at the start, but falls to the 15minute level within 3-4min or first few gulps..and then maintains that most of the way down, like a guiness with a wet head......This is still 100% co2, I haven't exposed it to mixed gas except for the brief hook up at pouring.....Looks like Nitrogenation might be worth getting into
Again, just to note, the pictures can't convey the look of the head properly(focus or too much flash, is just knitting all those bubbles together and making it look creamier than it is, maybe the camera can't handle the whiteness of it?).....


edit: I just noticed that the 15minute mark in this set is like my first picture above, but this time it had a proper head at the start! the head in the above post never really changed from start to finish.