How Do You Serve Using Multiple Pressures

[fraser_john]

I have two regulators I was going to hook up in series off my CO2 bottle and then run two gas lines into my fridge, but then I did the balancing calculations and realised I would also need two differing line lengths inside the fridge to the tap!

Does anyone do this? Have several lines that can be swapped off a tap depending on whats being served? I'd love to dedicate one tap to beers of differing serving pressures and have maybe three lines of differing lengths to handle high, medium and low carbonated beers.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

John

 

[raven19]

The only two options I can think of are:

1. Use Celli Taps, hence eliminating the need for excess beer line behind the tap.
2. Stick with different line lengths behind the taps.

Option 1 is more costly but clears up space in your keg fridge/freezer.

The decision may endd up with the minister of finance?

 

[newguy]

The way I (rarely) do this is to force carbonate each at the proper level, then serve the higher carbonated beer with the regulator dialed in to its ideal pressure. The lower carbed beer is dispensed without the gas hooked up. I only hook up the gas for a few seconds when the flow slows to a trickle.

I did this a couple of times then said to hell with it and just leave everything at the same pressure.

 

[enoch]

I have two regulators I was going to hook up in series off my CO2 bottle

Didn't realise you could gang two normal reg's together - interested to see how you do it.

I have a two pressure micromatic regulator and celli's which work for a wheat and an ale on markedly different pressures. The scale on the gauges is a bit fine for much subtlety in control though - required working range is less than 20% of full scale.

I have seen flow control devices on here somewhere (JG?) which might help out.

 

[fraser_john]

Didn't realise you could gang two normal reg's together - interested to see how you do it.

Take the high pressure gauge off one regulator and get a threaded brass pipe and remove the CO2 inlet from the second regulator and join them that way.

The adjustable taps aren't gonna happen as I have invested in Perlicks last year.

Course, I could look around for another fridge and have an extra two taps in there using my old taps.........hmmmm, then I'd have six beers on draught at any one time :icon_drool2:

 

[Tim]

The only two options I can think of are:

1. Use Celli Taps, hence eliminating the need for excess beer line behind the tap.
2. Stick with different line lengths behind the taps.

Option 1 is more costly but clears up space in your keg fridge/freezer.

The decision may endd up with the minister of finance?

This really isn't a solution as the carbonation of boith beers would still be the same. The idea is to have one at a higher carbonation than the other. I think just stick to one regulator and have a secondary reg inline to the lower gassed beer. Just use a cheap air compressor reg for the secondary. In terms of flow rates just put up with the slower pour for your English Styles, or use a shorter line.

 

[jayse]

I think just stick to one regulator and have a secondary reg inline to the lower gassed beer. Just use a cheap air compressor reg for the secondary.

Thats what I have set up but as I don't do high carb beers I don't really use it much, anyway since John has the two regs it makes sense to do it with those rather than the inline air reg. Its really no different.
The inline air reg is a great idea for others though, i have the john guest fittings on each side so it can go anywhere really. Didn't pay for mine but have heard they are only 30 bucks from cheap auto part stores.

In terms of flow rates just put up with the slower pour for your English Styles, or use a shorter line.

I think i'd prefer to do it proberly with the shorter line to get a proper pour with a little bit of turbulance out the tap and in the glass just for that tiny little bit of foam formation, its a reasonble idea but its still a compromise and most of us here don't do compromising when it comes to our beer.

Anyway any chance of posting some pics of some of your real ale adventures over there in London Tim? I need some more drool in my keyboard :super:

 

[Tim]

Jayse, just click the link to my blog (The Beer Diary). Plenty of pics about my adventures.

 

[kyleg]

Hi all,

I was just hoping to get some clarification on this matter before i dive into buy my first time kegging setuup.

My plan for now is to buy 2 kegs, just 1 tap for now, but plan to have 3-4 taps possibly in the future (and kegs obviously). The taps im going to get are the perlick 545PC (flow control).

So if i want to have say a wheat beer and a stout on tap, with only one co2 bottle, could i do this with a single regulator, just via the flow control? or would the stout still be highly carbonated?

I guess what i'm asking is can i achieve essentially two differently carbed beers from the one bottle with 1 reg, purely via the flow controllers? Or do the flow controllers do something else? (im super noob to kegging). I'm planning on getting a micromatic regulator, dual gauge (not dual reg), and i don't want to find that i need to upgrade to a dual reg later to serve different styles.

any advice and/or direction to material that i can learn from would be greatly appreciated.

 

[glaab]

I guess what i'm asking is can i achieve essentially two differently carbed beers from the one bottle with 1 reg, purely via the flow controllers?

No, if it's set to 1 bar they will both be carbed the same, you need a dual output reg. The flow controllers are adjusted for a better pour/ the right amount of foam, you can get that by adjusting your beer line length.

 

[Nick JD]

There is another way but it's a bit of a piss around.

Never have both kegs connected to the reg at the same time. Basically run them as two distinct kegs.

Carb your wheat beer up high, then remove the gas QD.

Carb your stout low and leave the gas on, at the appropriate low pressure.

Your wheat will pour with a big head and a lot of carbonation ... when it starts to get below how you want it, unplug the stout gas QD and crank the wheat back up.

A little fiddly - but it works. You could also carb your stout low, remove the gas and keep the reg on the wheat always cranked high (just give the stout a quick burst now and then to keep it pouring) ... you just need to ignore the whole "balanced system" mantra. Keep it unbalanced.

 

[kyleg]

There is another way but it's a bit of a piss around.

Never have both kegs connected to the reg at the same time. Basically run them as two distinct kegs.

Carb your wheat beer up high, then remove the gas QD.

Carb your stout low and leave the gas on, at the appropriate low pressure.

Your wheat will pour with a big head and a lot of carbonation ... when it starts to get below how you want it, unplug the stout gas QD and crank the wheat back up.

A little fiddly - but it works. You could also carb your stout low, remove the gas and keep the reg on the wheat always cranked high (just give the stout a quick burst now and then to keep it pouring) ... you just need to ignore the whole "balanced system" mantra. Keep it unbalanced.

hmmm decisions.. $80 for single reg or $200 for dual.. might just stick with single for now and use this option when i come around to having 2 beers like that on tap.

 

[keifer33]

There is another way but it's a bit of a piss around.

Never have both kegs connected to the reg at the same time. Basically run them as two distinct kegs.

Carb your wheat beer up high, then remove the gas QD.

Carb your stout low and leave the gas on, at the appropriate low pressure.

Your wheat will pour with a big head and a lot of carbonation ... when it starts to get below how you want it, unplug the stout gas QD and crank the wheat back up.

A little fiddly - but it works. You could also carb your stout low, remove the gas and keep the reg on the wheat always cranked high (just give the stout a quick burst now and then to keep it pouring) ... you just need to ignore the whole "balanced system" mantra. Keep it unbalanced.

This method works quite well if you cant be bothered shelling out for a dual reg. Using this if you get or build a manifold does make it easier to shut off the gas supply to each keg to save removing the disconnects and if it was put in line before the keg fridge if your bottle is external you could label and not even have to open the door.

 

[Nick JD]

hmmm decisions.. $80 for single reg or $200 for dual.. might just stick with single for now and use this option when i come around to having 2 beers like that on tap.

You can run two single regs in series. The second one to take the edge off the first.

 

[mxd]

another way is with one way valves on gas lines,
carb up the wheat first and then leave the reg at the stout level for pouring and carbing of the stout, then once every few days or after big session, turn off stout gas line, pump pressure up to wheat carb level, then drop reg back to stout level and turn on stout gas again, for pouring pressure.

 

[Jace89]

Like Nick says just unplug etc.
I have a leak some where in my system its just somewhere on the gas side of things kegs still keep carbed, so to prevent it for happening I just connect the gas when a keg starts pouring slow/low. I then noticed that this mean I can have different carbonation rates for each style. Its a bit of screwing around but I'm to lazy to fix the leak and this method works for me

 

[DKS]

There is another way but it's a bit of a piss around.

Never have both kegs connected to the reg at the same time. Basically run them as two distinct kegs.

Carb your wheat beer up high, then remove the gas QD.

Carb your stout low and leave the gas on, at the appropriate low pressure.

Your wheat will pour with a big head and a lot of carbonation ... when it starts to get below how you want it, unplug the stout gas QD and crank the wheat back up.

A little fiddly - but it works. You could also carb your stout low, remove the gas and keep the reg on the wheat always cranked high (just give the stout a quick burst now and then to keep it pouring) ... you just need to ignore the whole "balanced system" mantra. Keep it unbalanced.

Interesting thread, never thought of adding second reg there, although it means a second line into the kegerator.
Im having some problems with wanting different carbonation levels for three kegs on one split gas line, apart from that I'de also like to up the carb just prior to CPBFing from one keg because I always seem to loose a bit into the bottle. Nicks post above is basically what I'm doing now but its too much faffin around for my liking. The cheap air reg could be a good idea. Not running flow control taps, only picnic taps and gun so this maybe the next best thing for the time being. I'll give it a go with a spare reg and see how it goes.Thanks for the tip.
Daz

 

[black_labb]

Someone mentioned that they only have a single tap on their fridge. If that's the case why not just adjust to the right pressure and swap the gas disconnect between the kegs while you swap the tap disconnect over.

 

[brettprevans]

another way is with one way valves on gas lines,
carb up the wheat first and then leave the reg at the stout level for pouring and carbing of the stout, then once every few days or after big session, turn off stout gas line, pump pressure up to wheat carb level, then drop reg back to stout level and turn on stout gas again, for pouring pressure.

One way valvrs r ur best.bet. a few of us run them. They ate.awsome.
If uve got cash, then 2 regs is the go.

Simple really

 

[Wimmig]

Too much dicking around for my liking. Get a dual output reg and run no return valves on everything.

Do it once, do it right. Your setting up right now, get the job done properly.