Nitrogen & Stouts

[Garrete]

Hey everyone.
I am thinking about getting a nitrogen system for my stout. However, I am worried that after spending $300, my stout will not be the way I like it. My stout has a roasty character. Will the nitrogen soften this taste? Also, do you use the same Psi setting like used for CO2?

Thank you in advance.

[Mylo]

Well - like adding fruit - the base beer should be able to stand alone. It should be a good stout before you put it on nitrogen. It's not going to change the flavor. It will, however, affect the mouthfeel. It smooths out the carbonation (mostly by stripping it), and will give you a tight creamy head.

You will have to buy a tank of beer gas, regulator, and nitro faucet. The beer gas is 1/3 CO2 and 2/3 Nitrogen. You will be dispensing (and storing) it at 30 PSI. The nitrogen is barely soluable (if at all). Because 1/3 of 30 PSI is 10 PSI - your beer will not become overcarbonated. You just need the 30 PSI to be able to push the beer through the restrictor plate - which basically pulls the CO2 out in small bubbles.

You can get an idea of what that method of delivery will have on your beer if you have one of those selzer bottles. Those little cartriges will put a lot of pressure on your beer - and there is a tiny oraface which will do essentially what the restrictor plate does. Obviously, it's only an approximation.

I just got my faucet in the mail yesterday. I plan on making the plunge into nitro delivery in the near future.


Mylo

[SacoDeToro]

Yes, the nitro dispensing will soften the beer, but that mainly comes from the tap itself, not the gas. The nozzle has a diffuser disc in it that "breaks" the CO2 out of solution, giving you that dense creamy head. The dry Irish stout that I brew has 12% roasted barley - a shitload, IMO. The beer is pleasantly roasty when dispensed from my nitro tap. Of course, there are other things at play there too, such as the high percentage of flaked barley, relatively high hopping rate, etc... Personally, I wouldn't drink a dry stout any other way. While you should mildly carbonate your stout with CO2, you'll need to set the nitro to 35-40psi for proper dispensing through the nitro-specific tap.

[Garrete]

Don't get me wrong. My beer is GREAT! Even my stout-drinking neighbor loves it too!

I knew that nitrogen makes the beer softer, like you guys said and Doc. But I did not know what effects that would do to the roasty character. My stout is like a cross between dark chocolate and black coffee. Mmmmm.... S-T-O-U-T...

My stout has 2.91% black patent, chocolate and roasted barley.

My last stout I made, did not have that nice roastiness I wanted, so my neighbor got most of it. It was drinkable, but it was not what I was looking for.

Thank you all for such a quick reply.

[3 Dogs]

I brew 10 gallons. I use C02 in one keg and beer gas for the other. I like both. If I am short of kegs, I will bottle condition 5 gallons. If I was forced to pick one over the other, I guess I would prefer the non-beer gas version.







3 Dogs