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Date: 13 Jun 2006 13:47:36
From: Cynthia Robertson
Subject: Dispensing alternatives
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I've been using nitrogen to dispense some of my beers lately, and have
been very satisfied with different mixtures of nitrogen and co2, but
then I had an odd idea:
Has anyone tried using helium to dispense beer? It's only slightly
more expensive than nitrogen, but I think I'm going to
try it, and I was wondering if anyone else has, and can share good or
bad stories regarding that. A link would be helpful as well. thanks.
Anybody try anything other than nitrogen or co2?
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Date: 14 Jun 2006 05:11:01
From: yddraig
Subject: Re: Dispensing alternatives
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Cynthia Robertson wrote:
> In article <1150284222.087658.278240@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>,
> "yddraig" <yddraig@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Cynthia Robertson wrote:
> > > I've been using nitrogen to dispense some of my beers lately, and have
> > > been very satisfied with different mixtures of nitrogen and co2, but
> > > then I had an odd idea:
> > >
> > > Has anyone tried using helium to dispense beer? It's only slightly
> > > more expensive than nitrogen, but I think I'm going to
> > > try it, and I was wondering if anyone else has, and can share good or
> > > bad stories regarding that. A link would be helpful as well. thanks.
> > >
> > > Anybody try anything other than nitrogen or co2?
> >
> > My guess is that the "fizzyness" would be very light with verry fine
> > bubbles. What exactly are you trying to accomplish. Remember C02 adds
> > more than fizz to what ever it is disolved into. Part of the
> > carbonation process is the formation of carbonic acid, that's what
> > gives beer it's "brightness". Helium is a "noble gas" and therefore is
> > completely non-reactive, that's why the use it for a shielding gas in
> > welding. I wouldn't waste a batch of homebrew on He, way to much work.
> > If you must experiment put some un carbonated beer into a 2L soda
> > bottle and use a Carbonator to add the helium, if you don't like it you
> > can cook with it.
>
> Thanks. Do you know then, what it is that gives nitrogen its
> characteristics when used in beer? I guess I was trying to obtain a
> similar or even 'new' quality or effect with other types of
> non-toxic/non-explosive, odorless/tasteless gases.
My guess is that the Nitrogen displaces some or all of the disolved
C02, giving you a "flatter" beer. I only like Nitrogen on hearty
stouts like Guiness, etc. Also Nitorgen doesn't stay disolved in
liquids as long as C02, thats why if Nitrogen is used it is usually
mixed with C02.
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Date: 14 Jun 2006 08:23:10
From: Dan Listermann
Subject: Re: Dispensing alternatives
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>
> My guess is that the Nitrogen displaces some or all of the disolved
> C02, giving you a "flatter" beer. I only like Nitrogen on hearty
> stouts like Guiness, etc. Also Nitorgen doesn't stay disolved in
> liquids as long as C02, thats why if Nitrogen is used it is usually
> mixed with C02.
>
I have read that CO2 is eighty times more soluble in water than N2.
Dan
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Date: 14 Jun 2006 04:23:42
From: yddraig
Subject: Re: Dispensing alternatives
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Cynthia Robertson wrote:
> I've been using nitrogen to dispense some of my beers lately, and have
> been very satisfied with different mixtures of nitrogen and co2, but
> then I had an odd idea:
>
> Has anyone tried using helium to dispense beer? It's only slightly
> more expensive than nitrogen, but I think I'm going to
> try it, and I was wondering if anyone else has, and can share good or
> bad stories regarding that. A link would be helpful as well. thanks.
>
> Anybody try anything other than nitrogen or co2?
My guess is that the "fizzyness" would be very light with verry fine
bubbles. What exactly are you trying to accomplish. Remember C02 adds
more than fizz to what ever it is disolved into. Part of the
carbonation process is the formation of carbonic acid, that's what
gives beer it's "brightness". Helium is a "noble gas" and therefore is
completely non-reactive, that's why the use it for a shielding gas in
welding. I wouldn't waste a batch of homebrew on He, way to much work.
If you must experiment put some un carbonated beer into a 2L soda
bottle and use a Carbonator to add the helium, if you don't like it you
can cook with it.
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Date: 14 Jun 2006 07:31:17
From: Cynthia Robertson
Subject: Re: Dispensing alternatives
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In article <1150284222.087658.278240@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com >,
"yddraig" <yddraig@gmail.com > wrote:
> Cynthia Robertson wrote:
> > I've been using nitrogen to dispense some of my beers lately, and have
> > been very satisfied with different mixtures of nitrogen and co2, but
> > then I had an odd idea:
> >
> > Has anyone tried using helium to dispense beer? It's only slightly
> > more expensive than nitrogen, but I think I'm going to
> > try it, and I was wondering if anyone else has, and can share good or
> > bad stories regarding that. A link would be helpful as well. thanks.
> >
> > Anybody try anything other than nitrogen or co2?
>
> My guess is that the "fizzyness" would be very light with verry fine
> bubbles. What exactly are you trying to accomplish. Remember C02 adds
> more than fizz to what ever it is disolved into. Part of the
> carbonation process is the formation of carbonic acid, that's what
> gives beer it's "brightness". Helium is a "noble gas" and therefore is
> completely non-reactive, that's why the use it for a shielding gas in
> welding. I wouldn't waste a batch of homebrew on He, way to much work.
> If you must experiment put some un carbonated beer into a 2L soda
> bottle and use a Carbonator to add the helium, if you don't like it you
> can cook with it.
Thanks. Do you know then, what it is that gives nitrogen its
characteristics when used in beer? I guess I was trying to obtain a
similar or even 'new' quality or effect with other types of
non-toxic/non-explosive, odorless/tasteless gases.
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Date: 14 Jun 2006 14:08:21
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Dispensing alternatives
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On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 07:31:17 -0400, <cindysue@nospamyahoo.com > wrote:
> Thanks. Do you know then, what it is that gives nitrogen its
> characteristics when used in beer?
The whole point of nitrogen is that it doesn't give any characteristic to
the beer.
John.
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Date: 14 Jun 2006 14:27:12
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Dispensing alternatives
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On 14 Jun 2006 14:08:21 GMT, <spam@shagg.net > wrote:
> On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 07:31:17 -0400, <cindysue@nospamyahoo.com> wrote:
>> Thanks. Do you know then, what it is that gives nitrogen its
>> characteristics when used in beer?
>
> The whole point of nitrogen is that it doesn't give any characteristic to
> the beer.
More specifically, nitrogen doesn't disolve into the beer. It's used as
a source of pressure for dispensing that won't increase the carbonation.
It lets you either serve the beer with a lower carbonation level than you
could achieve with CO2 alone, or else it allows you to serve with a much
higher pressure than would otherwise be possible (for example through
a restrictor tap to create the "Guiness" type effect) without the
carbonation getting out of control. Generally a combination of nitrogen
and CO2 is used, called "beer gas".
The nitrogen doesn't really have any direct effect on the beer, the point
of using it is that it gives you pressure for dispensing the keg without
having any effect.
John.
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