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passedpawn

passedpawn

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Who here kegs wine? Beer gas?

Maybe it's popular, but I haven't seen it. Just curious.

I absolutely love the taste of full-bodied tannic red wines, but I only drink a glass every couple of weeks. But I was thinking about making some and putting it on tap.

Thoughts?
 
passedpawn said:
Who here kegs wine? Beer gas?

Maybe it's popular, but I haven't seen it. Just curious.

I absolutely love the taste of full-bodied tannic red wines, but I only drink a glass every couple of weeks. But I was thinking about making some and putting it on tap.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I've only done it to carbonate. I feel as though that little consumption would be more practical to bottle.
 
The pico brewery/winery/coffee house/cigar lounge I used to hang out at (which is now an hour away from where I currently live) serves their "house" wines from corny kegs.

4 wines, 4 beers on tap.

69423_450051939066_6500337_n.jpg
 
Inner10 said:
I've only done it to carbonate. I feel as though that little consumption would be more practical to bottle.
Click to expand...

Yea, me too. For now. OK, I lie, I'm intrigued. But I wouldn't serve from my keezer. I like red wine at room temp, so I'd probably fill a small cornie and serve in my kitchen somehow. Hmmm, just thinking out loud.
 
I've heard that if you use co2, that it will carb the wine, although you only need a little bit of pressure to get it out. However, I've also seen that Argon (Ar) is used and doesn't dissolve, although N2 should be similar, since it doesn't dissolve very well.

Also some restraunts are converting over to kegged wine for the larger purchased product - that is rather than open up bottle after bottle of Zinfindel, just get it keg and on tap, however they are going slow because of needing supply, and of course they don't have much demand.. but the demand is building.
 
ACbrewer said:
I've heard that if you use co2, that it will carb the wine, although you only need a little bit of pressure to get it out. However, I've also seen that Argon (Ar) is used and doesn't dissolve, although N2 should be similar, since it doesn't dissolve very well.

Also some restraunts are converting over to kegged wine for the larger purchased product - that is rather than open up bottle after bottle of Zinfindel, just get it keg and on tap, however they are going slow because of needing supply, and of course they don't have much demand.. but the demand is building.
Click to expand...

Locally they are using beer gas (Nitrogen and Co2)
 
passedpawn said:
Who here kegs wine? Beer gas?

Maybe it's popular, but I haven't seen it. Just curious.

I absolutely love the taste of full-bodied tannic red wines, but I only drink a glass every couple of weeks. But I was thinking about making some and putting it on tap.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Use nitrogen.
 
passedpawn said:
Locally they are using beer gas (Nitrogen and Co2)
Click to expand...

I can see that. I've seen the Argon in the catalogs from some of the IHBS. And the article I read on restraunts converting over was fuzzy on the gas issue. It was more a case of getting wine taps installed - ie more hoses/taps - that was holding places back that having a different gas. Still N2 seems the most reasonable as it is likely to have little fizzing effects, and should be less expensive than Argon.
 
if you keep the keg at room temperature and use a short hose, like 1 foot, you probably only need like 1-2 PSI to push it out slowly. this probably isn't a noticeable amount of carbonation.

im planning on making a champagne and carbing the same as beers
 
My wine, mist wine and mead are in kegs. I use co2 to push, but have to vent the gas, or leave it slightly carbed (which isn't a downside for mist wines). I'd like to get an noble gas for this someday. Otherwise, I do this: a smaller keg above glass level and let a gravity feed fill my glass. When the pressure in the keg gets too little for the feed to work, I add a tiny bit of co2. (I usually do this if I bottle from the keg).
I don't know how long term aging plays out though, and I'd probably bottle after a certain point.
 
I missed this thread when it first came up. I recently realized I had room on the hump of my keezer for a 2.5 gallon keg. "Well, time for a stout faucet," I told myself. However, I've also decided to use it to push mead and wine when I don't have a beer on that line. I've made a couple of batches of mead, but waiting for them to get 3-6 months age on them. I have a white wine kit ready to "brew" soon and will order a red kit afterwards. I do have a separate faucet I will need to swap out for the wine, as my stout faucet is not stainless. I'm going to try to push everything with beer gas, just at a MUCH lower pressure for the wine and mead. Hopefully any minimal carbonation will be knocked out as it hits the glass, but time will tell.
 
Shooter said:
I missed this thread when it first came up. I recently realized I had room on the hump of my keezer for a 2.5 gallon keg. "Well, time for a stout faucet," I told myself. However, I've also decided to use it to push mead and wine when I don't have a beer on that line. I've made a couple of batches of mead, but waiting for them to get 3-6 months age on them. I have a white wine kit ready to "brew" soon and will order a red kit afterwards. I do have a separate faucet I will need to swap out for the wine, as my stout faucet is not stainless. I'm going to try to push everything with beer gas, just at a MUCH lower pressure for the wine and mead. Hopefully any minimal carbonation will be knocked out as it hits the glass, but time will tell.
Click to expand...

Cool. Let us know how it turns out. I might go out and see if a 2.5 will fit on my hump too.
 
I had a blueberry wine in a keg at room temp. I had CO2 at 2psi to push it into a bubba keg chiller that I converted. The wine had no carbonation at all.
And Yes, if I drink wine alone, I drink it out of a beer glass!
image-1935472371.jpg
 
Do a search on Cubitainer

opplanet-paramount-faucet-cubitainer-40205.jpg


These are collapsible plastic containers with various dispensing methods. They are available in many sizes. This should be perfect for serving wine. It lets no air in as the plastic collapses around the product. Just like wine in a box but it can be reused many times.
 
Well, 9 years later, but I don't ever let an idea go haha.

We'll see how it turns out. I have it on 12psi, same as the two other kegs under this tap. I do have a dual-pressure regulator in storage that I might employ if I start to see too much carbonation.

Also, it's at beer temperature, which isn't ideal for me as I usually drink red wine at room temperature. They say 55°F is the right temperature. I guess if I can let it sit for 1.8 minutes before I drink it, it'll be at the right temperature. But I don't know if I can wait.

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I'm really not a fan of carbonation in reds at all. What starts out as a perfect balance of acid and tannins become sharp very quickly with carbonic acid. Although it's a hassle to have a separate gas system, 100% nitrogen or argon is the better choice.
 
Vaguely remember someone telling me they were using whippit cartridges since it was way easier than buying a small nitrogen tank…..
 
I've used kegs for a dozen years or so .... ever since a waiter in Italy explained to me that their house wine "comes like beer" in kegs with only enough pressure to "push it out." Reds are on picnic taps basement temp ... very nice for pulling a glass or carafe for dinner. Whites also the same way, but I bottle, cap with a tasting cork and chill as I need them. I seal the kegs at 40# pressure to get that gasket 'pop,' then bleed off to a couple psi and manually add CO2 as necessary to keep 'pushing.' If there's any carbonation, which I've never really noticed at that temp/psi, it's easily dispersed in the pour. I've also kept Mist-series wines in 3 gal. cornies on the hump of my freezer-kegerator at the standard beer 12 psi, which makes them a nice frizzante option. Couple of cautions: Taps should be stainless due to the extra acidity of wine, and lines can retain the wine flavor if you switch back to beer.
 
rallenhall said:
I've used kegs for a dozen years or so .... ever since a waiter in Italy explained to me that their house wine "comes like beer" in kegs with only enough pressure to "push it out." Reds are on picnic taps basement temp ... very nice for pulling a glass or carafe for dinner. Whites also the same way, but I bottle, cap with a tasting cork and chill as I need them. I seal the kegs at 40# pressure to get that gasket 'pop,' then bleed off to a couple psi and manually add CO2 as necessary to keep 'pushing.' If there's any carbonation, which I've never really noticed at that temp/psi, it's easily dispersed in the pour. I've also kept Mist-series wines in 3 gal. cornies on the hump of my freezer-kegerator at the standard beer 12 psi, which makes them a nice frizzante option. Couple of cautions: Taps should be stainless due to the extra acidity of wine, and lines can retain the wine flavor if you switch back to beer.
Click to expand...

I did switch this line back to beer and there was zero residual flavor from the wine (I was surprised).

This test with kegged wine was mostly a success. It was a little too cold, and there was a bit of carbonation when first poured. Both of those were a little annoying. BUT I found that if I just poured the wine and let it sit for a few minutes, it was not much different than bottled.

To avoid over-carbing the wine, I just opened the gas for a minute, then reclosed it. When flow was reduced, a squirt of gas worked for a few more days. I'll do it again for sure, but next time I'll check into those whippet cartridges.
 
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My wife and I have been looking at this for a future project and I wonder if the beer engine method would work, where instead of air, it pumps in just enough CO2 to replace the wine removed? Or gravity-fed, same replacement idea? A new use for pin casks?
 

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