Explain the widget in the guiness can

[Paulwolf]

I have had guiness on tap, but dont like it from a bottle, so I decided to get a can with a widget in it.

All was well, drank the guiness, decided to examine the widget, cut the can open, and it is a plastic ball.....with no holes in it..........and a few dimples. How does this thingy make the guiness any different from the bottle? Please





ps Sorry if this has been brought up before......i am certain I am not the only one to look into this........... but had my first can today (yes i know very sad life)

Paul

[Steelers&Beer]

i think the widget in the bottle and can are the same. from my understanding, the widget contains either nitrogen or the beer gas mixture and when the top is popped the pressure drop causes the gas within the widget to be released into the beer causing the same cascade effect you get from the tap.

[passlaku]

I am not so certain that the widget contains gas or is pressurized. From what I conjecture, the widget degasses the beer in the bottle, agitates the beer so the CO2 comes out of solution. Less CO2 means the stout is less "bitey" and astringent. Also, a cool by-product is that you get that cascading foam effect.

[TheMadHopper]

Maybe the widget does nothing more than start discussions on what the widget does.
BRILLIANT!

[andy77]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widget_%28beer%29

Some canned beers are pressurized by adding liquid nitrogen, which vaporises and expands in volume after the can is sealed, forcing gas and beer into the widget's hollow interior through a tiny hole—the less beer the better for subsequent head quality. In addition, some nitrogen dissolves in the beer which also contains dissolved carbon dioxide. It is important that oxygen be eliminated from any process developed as this can cause flavour deterioration when present.

The presence of dissolved nitrogen allows smaller bubbles to be formed with consequently greater creaminess of the subsequent head. This is because the smaller bubbles need a higher internal pressure to balance the greater surface tension, which is inversely proportional to the radius of the bubbles. Achieving this higher pressure would not be possible with just dissolved carbon dioxide, as the greater solubility of this gas compared to nitrogen would create an unacceptably large head.

When the can is opened, the pressure in the can quickly drops, causing the pressurized gas and beer inside the widget to jet out from the hole. This agitation on the surrounding beer causes a chain reaction of bubble formation throughout the beer. The result, when the can is then poured out, is a surging mixture in the glass of very small gas bubbles and liquid.

This is the case with certain types of draught beer such as draught stouts. In the case of these draught beers, which before dispensing also contain a mixture of dissolved nitrogen and carbon dioxide, the agitation is caused by forcing the beer under pressure through small holes in a restrictor in the tap. The surging mixture gradually settles to produce a very creamy head.

[TheDarkSide]

How does this thingy make the guiness any different from the bottle?

Leprechaun magic?

[Mylo]

From what make of it - the cans are pressurized with beergas - or maybe just CO2. I seriously doubt that any nitrogen is dissoved in the beer - as it would have to be under a fuck load of pressure to do so. A weighted widget floats on top, and has a tiny hole in the bottom. When you open the can, the pressure drops quickly in the headspace, but the widget takes longer to acclimate. It shoots it's gas straight down in the bottle in a tiny stream.


Mylo

[ColdBraue]

a tiny stream.
Mylo

Hehehe. You said. "stream."

Check out a can of Youngs Luxury Double Chocolate Stout and cut open the can. You can see the widget looks much less complicated than Guiness'. It's simply a ball with a couple little holes on opposite ends.
St. James Gate just wanted to be able to patent something methinks.
Cheers!