Nitro Widgets

[BensingBrewery]

Does anyone know where to find a/the supplier for the nitro widgets?

[v2comp]

I couldnt find who manufactured the widgets but I did find an old article from BYO magazine and thought I would include a little of the write up and explanation.
Bottled widget beers require extra-heavy glass since the headspace has a higher pressure than carbonated beers. To start the process, an empty widget is inserted into the can. Next, they fill the bottle or can with beer and a small drop of liquid nitrogen is added immediately before it is sealed. Since liquid nitrogen has a very low boiling point, it boils in the container and creates enough pressure to partially fill the widget with beer. When the beer is opened and the headspace pressure is released, the gas in the widget rapidly expands and forces the beer in the widget through the holes or check valves and then the magic happens. Nitrogen bubbles lead to more nitrogen bubbles and, after several seconds, the beer has a head you can cut with a knife.

[TL Services]

If you are looking to improve foam stability then why not simply nitrogenate during process?

Much easier than sourcing bottles, widgets, liquid N2 dosing, etc, etc.

Just couple up an N2 cylinder just as you would for carbonation (sinter, stone, etc.) and give it a few minutes.

If you nitrogenate into BBT then you can get a good idea of the time you'll need by sampling the tank periodically to see how it's going. I'd suggest starting with about 10mins (dependent on your tank capacity), increasing by 5min intervals until you have the sort of head you're looking for.

Nitrogen is very soluble in beer - which is why the article mentions the time it takes for head formation - so shouldn't cause any major fobbing problems at the filler.

To put some numbers on it, a light, lager-type beer will show a marked difference at 10-15ppm; an ale would be around 20-25ppm and a dark stout anywhere up to 40ppm.

You will also notice some difference in taste with nitrogen, as it tends to soften the overall flavour.

Another alternative is a system that adds the nitrogen at dispense - so you can use the same beer and same keg but give the drinker the choice

Hope that helps!

[BensingBrewery]

That is very helpful! It give me a place to start fiddling around with the application of nitrogen.

Thanks!

Bill Bensing

http://www.billbensing.com

[charronc]

Nitrogen is very soluble in beer - which is why the article mentions the time it takes for head formation - so shouldn't cause any major fobbing problems at the filler.
!

I've heard this, but I've also heard that nitrogen is 80 times as hard to get into solution, and is thus only found in negligible amounts after a nitrogenating cycle.

So there seem to be 2 explanations going around as to how the nitro serving system works.

Version 1 - Carbonate the beer to ~1-1.5 volumes, serve out of the nitro tap at high dispense pressure with beer gas. The high pressure is to push the beer through the restrictor plate in the faucet, which strips out the vast majority of the CO2 that is in solution. CO2 that is stripped out of solution by a restrictor plate forms smaller bubbles, hence the tight head. Nitrogenating cycles and the like are a complete waste of time, nitrogen will not go into solution in beer.

Version 2 - The nitrogen actually goes into solution in the beer, either via a stone, or head pressure over time. When poured, the nitrogen comes out of solution in the same way CO2 does in a "normal" beer, but nitrogen bubbles are smaller and stronger, hence the tight head.

Which is the correct one? I have heard both versions from people who seem to know what they're talking about.

I've only ever played with nitrogen a couple of times, usually with homebrew. I fill my keg with nearly flat beer, pressurize head space to ~40psi beer gas, leave it for a week, then serve out a nitro faucet. Obviously this will work no matter which of the 2 explanations above is correct.
Thanks

[TL Services]

Correct nitrogenation procedure can get >40ppm of N2 into beer, so 'Version 2' is the one I would accept as closer to reality.

There is some truth that nitrogen is hard to get into solution; this is because the N2 molecule is very stable and it initially forms microbubbles rather than becoming truly 'dissolved'.

Over time (24-48 hours) the microbubbles dissolve and the dissolved level equilibrates.

[gitchegumee]

Version 2. Gone over nitrogen in beer on several posts before. Nitrogen is not very soluble in aqueous solutions. That's exactly why it forms a stable head; the nitrogen inside the bubble cannot get out. It finds the bubble wall as a barrier to dissolution. So the bubble doesn't collapse like it would with CO2.

[liammckenna]

Ditto, Philip.

Definitely version two. However, there are gizmos you can buy to allow nitrogenation inline to the point of dispense/tap. Like the cellarstream
I have never used one but I can see how it might work.
I'm thinking difficult to clean but I may be wrong.

For extremely efficient gas transfer into or out of liquids with little turbulence and pretty low pressures, I've got to recommend this. A contactor membrane. I have used one for a few years now. They seem pretty durable and are definitely easy to use. Even in a low tech environment.

Good luck,

Pax.

Liam

[TL Services]

I know the guys who developed Cellarstream originally - for a smaller brewery it is a useful system to allow both 'standard' and 'nitro' beers to be served from the same keg.

As far as I'm aware it is cleaned as part of the line clean process.