Yes, that is correct. But with the faucet it doesn’t take hardly any co2 to get the proper effect since you are relying on forced oxidation for the foam. Still, I’d say you have maybe 10-14 days tops before you need to swap it out. Mine has never lasted that long so not sure exactly.
Wow am I late to this
Yes most definitely get the engine. Cask breather is a must. You use VERY LITTLE CO2. And the breather also serves to release excess pressure. I use my corny kegs as my casks and I prime instead of force carbing
Engines with the swan neck and sparkler give the nitro pour look. I still think the cask beers poured this way retain more condition than the extremely flat nitro poured beers. If you can get a set of short spouts. The beer will look flat but in reality has more condition to it
I serve my beers so they are 52-55 in the glasss so my fridge is set to around 45. All I have are beer engines. I would not have it any other way. It takes a while to get the condition right so they are not over carbonated and “self pour” but once you master that I don’t think you will go back.
Short spouts
Valve after breather before gas ball lock to so CO2 does not back flow through breather and remove excess condition. My version of a hard spile
That I did! I ordered the pint365 to start with, I see a lot of good stuff about them, and they claim to not need any demand valve etc as it is built in! I’m really excited to try it out once it gets here. I have all the ingredients and am ready to brew a fullers ESB clone recipe to serve on it as soon as I can. That’s a nice set up! If I like it, I plan on getting some anagrams some day. I tried the syringe trick with a local brewery’s ESB and it made quite the difference and I liked what it did to the beer
Even though I have a double engine I only need one breather as I run a gas manifold after the breather
The hard part is the excess condition esp when you first tap. The first couple of beers are self pouring.
Also. DO NOT attach the gas line when you first tap. You will have beer backflow through the gas line. Ask me how I know. I attach the gas line after I start to feel some resistance as I am pumping a vacuum.
Remember you have a live beer and it is constantly making some co2 and co2 is coming out of solution.
It is more work than force carbing and pouring but well worth the effort.
Another important item. I have a y fitting with a valve to clean the engine out at the end of each night. You don’t want beer in the cylinder
Lastly. I also have a valve after the beer out ball lock to prevent self pouring beers due to over carbonation. You can also get a check valve/backflow valve that would serve the same purpose. I just did not have the room
I use the cask widge in my corny kegs. Perfect size and it is a weighted floating dip tube. Much better than the pure floating ones. Here is the cask widget and silicon dip tube compared to a corny keg dip tube
With the cask breather your beers will last the same amount of time as traditional keg beers since air never touches the beer. Do it all the time!
So the beer engine is just a manner to dispense your beers. Where the magic happens is that beer engines require lower co2 levels. What this does, in combination of a higher serving temp is you get a bunch more flavor out of your beers.
Personally I disdain big OG high alcohol beers for one I can only have a couple before I want to take a nap. Another reason is all I taste is sweet. I like beers with a dry finish my personal opinion. Now serving a 1.060 + beer on an engine would be the absolute worst for me anyway
CO2 also adds to perceived bitterness take a coke Pepsi 7up exc and shake the snot out of it to release the co2. Ungodly sweet.
So with lower co2 beers you can reduce the OG and still get wonderful flavors esp when served in the low 50s.
I mainly brew my pales with US citrusy hops. I love mosaic and have brewed multiple 1.040-45 beers that pack tons of flavor when compared with higher OG higher carbed beers. Again personal preference
So the engine simply enables you to serve beers with reduced CO2 levels. I tried duplicating this with a standard setup prior to getting my engines and could not get the same flavor profile.
Hope all this is helpful. It is something that really enjoy as well as sharing with others.
Feel free to ask as many questions once you get your system. I am not familiar with the 365 engine just the Angram as that was all that was available when I purchased mine
I do appreciate all of your input, thank you! I will give updates and post a pic once I get mine set up
You will find the cellaring part to be the most challenging. You will not be able to prime or force carb ( please don’t!!!) and serve. You will need a routine to get the right amount of CO2 in the beer. I have my routine to get the right condition. Is that the best way, probably not but it works and I get nice consistent condition in the glass. I have thought about getting a spunding valve to help with conditioning but never did though I still may
I just finished my 2nd keg/“cask”. So a rare occasion that I have nothing in my fridge. Here is what the plumbing looks like put together. Note I have a double engine so everything is 2X in this photo but I hope you can see how I setup mine. I have a Sanyo fridge that I converted over so I don’t have much room
Thought I would share, here it is! First Esb brewed and served via beer engine, absolutely loving it and can’t wait to brew up a porter for it next!
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Very nice!
Very nice. If you thought home brewing was an addictive. Brewing cellaring and serving cask beer just amplified it
I would agree there it adds so much more pleasure, and I throughly enjoyed it before this is just a little extra enjoyment through the finish of the beer!