Just kegged a Vanilla Oak Bourbon and hooked it up to a Nitros/CO2 mix. What is the best psi to run it at? I keep my standard CO2 beers at 9 psi but this is my first time with Nitros/CO2.
Also, do I really need a Stout faucet to get the “real feel” and taste of a Porter or will a standard faucet be fine? This is also my first Porter so I’m not sure if it should have a finished “head” like a Stout. I’m generally an IPA man. 8)
Beer Mix is usually about 70/30 N2/CO2, so to get the same carbonation you’d want it set at ~30 psi. Obviously you’ll need a longer line (about 30 ft of 3/16") to balance that.
You will need a stout faucet to get the cascading head effect.
I typically use CO2 only to force carbonate to 2 volumes (8 psi at 40F) then move to a beer gas mix where I run at 30 PSI into the stout faucet.
The stout faucet has a restrictor plate that allows you to get that creamy head, by forcing the beer through 5 tiny holes at high pressure. I have not balanced my keg lines with the stout faucet, but perhaps with a long enough line you could not use a restrictor plate.
Thanks for the info.
I have a Stout faucet ordered.