We've got some friends staying with us this weekend from Canada and I wanted to premiere a Creamy Ale I made which would be served on Nitro. Well, I'm still figuring out carbonation levels when it comes to Nitro, and I carbed the keg at room temperature so I kept it at 26psi for a few weeks to compensate for the warm carbing temp.
Well, that may have worked for a beer served regularly, or a beer that isn't prone to a massive head, but it was ALL WRONG for this beer.
Hooked it up, opened the tap - nothing but thick foam. Disaster!
Well, I didn't have time to wait 24-48 hours to get the CO2 down by just opening the pressure release every few hours...
Here's the answer that worked flawlessly:
1. Depressurize the keg.
2. Hook up the CO2 into the OUT connection on the corny (you'll have to switch out your hookups for this maneuver).
3. As you can see in the photo directly below, you can then attach a short release to vent the CO2 out of the IN connect. If you don't have this available, you can just use the pressure vent on the lid.
4. Now open the gas for a second. Wait a beat. Do it again for a second. Wait for the CO2 to travel fully thru the beer (if you're not sure, put your ear to the keg, if you hear bubbles, it's still making its way thru).
5. OK, now vent the CO2, but do it slowly and gradually. This is what makes the dohickey I've got attached a good idea - I can open the valve and release the gas in a slow, controlled manner. But using the pressure release on the lid can work just fine too, just be patient. Otherwise you'll get a lot of foam flying out.
6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 3-4 times. You might need to go an additional 1 or 2 times depending on how overcarbed the keg is (I did).
Essentially what is happening is the CO2 being blasted thru the keg from the bottom (coming in thru the OUT connection which has it entering the keg from the bottom of the dip tube) is pushing all the CO2 in solution out.
IT WORKED FLAWLESSLY! Perfect pour 30 minutes later.
Well, that may have worked for a beer served regularly, or a beer that isn't prone to a massive head, but it was ALL WRONG for this beer.
Hooked it up, opened the tap - nothing but thick foam. Disaster!
Well, I didn't have time to wait 24-48 hours to get the CO2 down by just opening the pressure release every few hours...
Here's the answer that worked flawlessly:
1. Depressurize the keg.
2. Hook up the CO2 into the OUT connection on the corny (you'll have to switch out your hookups for this maneuver).
3. As you can see in the photo directly below, you can then attach a short release to vent the CO2 out of the IN connect. If you don't have this available, you can just use the pressure vent on the lid.
4. Now open the gas for a second. Wait a beat. Do it again for a second. Wait for the CO2 to travel fully thru the beer (if you're not sure, put your ear to the keg, if you hear bubbles, it's still making its way thru).
5. OK, now vent the CO2, but do it slowly and gradually. This is what makes the dohickey I've got attached a good idea - I can open the valve and release the gas in a slow, controlled manner. But using the pressure release on the lid can work just fine too, just be patient. Otherwise you'll get a lot of foam flying out.
6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 3-4 times. You might need to go an additional 1 or 2 times depending on how overcarbed the keg is (I did).
Essentially what is happening is the CO2 being blasted thru the keg from the bottom (coming in thru the OUT connection which has it entering the keg from the bottom of the dip tube) is pushing all the CO2 in solution out.
IT WORKED FLAWLESSLY! Perfect pour 30 minutes later.