Consider how a Guinness or similar beer feels in your mouth. Velvety smooth, with a thick, rich head that you can almost eat with a spoon. What if I told you that this is no longer reserved for Irish brown pubs, but is now possible to create at home?
The reason this type of beer has its special consistency is due to something popularly called beer gas. Unlike regular CO2, which is mostly used to carbonate beer, beer gas is a mixture of nitrogen (N2) and CO2. Previously, this has mainly been available to the professional market, in the form of a large CO2 cylinder, a large nitrogen cylinder, and an additional dedicated regulator to mix the gases to the correct amount before being added to the keg. In other words, not ideal for a homebrewer who typically brews 25-50 liters at a time.
That is why we are now very happy and proud to present beer gas in 21ml cartridges, which we have developed in collaboration with Liss. These contain a pre-mixed beer gas, with 70% nitrogen and 30% CO2, mainly intended for homebrewers tapping from kegs. These cartridges have significantly higher pressure than traditional CO2 cartridges, and we have therefore also developed a dedicated regulator with a manometer that fits them.
Using Beer Gas
The beer is carbonated as usual with CO2 to the desired level of carbonation. Nitro stouts are usually carbonated lower than normal, for example Guinness which is carbonated to 1.2 vol CO2. Disconnect the CO2, and attach the mini-regulator with a 21ml beer gas cartridge. To provoke the correct head, it will be very beneficial to use a stout tap with a built-in creamer (a small plate with small holes) designed for stout, or a tap with a stout spout or English sparkler attached. Adjust the pressure as needed until you achieve the desired creamy experience.
With our beer gas regulator specifically designed for this mixed gas, you can dispense up to 2-3 bar pressure. The dispensing pressure for Guinness, for example, is about 2 bar, but we recommend starting at around 1 bar first, and then adjusting the pressure until you get the desired effect. This is something you have to experiment with, and it can vary based on original carbonation, beer style, temperature, and of course, what dispensing solution you have from keg to tap. A tap with a built-in creamer typically requires higher pressure than usual to charge the beer with nitrogen when dispensed, but different taps behave differently.
Which beer styles use Beer Gas?
Primarily, we think of stout and porter when we talk about serving beer infused with small nitrogen bubbles. But there are undoubtedly more alternatives and possibilities here. How about a really creamy NEIPA, wit, or dunkelweisse as a creative and exciting alternative?
