Finally got a man can for root beer

[crossmr]

A couple years ago I looked into this and finally got around to buying one, it'll be here in a couple weeks, I'm overseas, and I'll be giving it a go. I was reading this guide:

http://www.leeners.com/soda/how-to/root-beer-kegging.shtml

Is it a good one to follow? Carbonating the water first then adding the syrup and rest and finishing it off?

I'll be using Zatarain's and have previously just made it in bottles with yeast and sugar. So I'd like to keep it similar flavor with just using sugar and not much else.

 

[ericbw]

I usually mix it and then carbonate it, although plain water carbs faster. I also carb at 30 psi, and serve it at that with a long line (I think it's 20 feet). You have to balance it properly so that it stays carbed and serves at the right rate. If you lower it to 5 psi, eventually your root beer will be pretty flat. Depends on how fast you drink it.

 

[crossmr]

20 feet might be excessive for my little home, is that a real necessity for serving it? It'll be my first time kegging anything, so I'm sure it'll be an experience. Can I change the line on the man can?

 

[ericbw]

I don't know what a man can is. The extra line is to decrease the pressure when it gets to the glass. Google balancing a keg. You keep the extra line coiled up.

 

[crossmr]

This is a man can: https://mancan.beer/ it's a small 1 gallon keg system. I wonder if that would end up being any different.

and 20 feet of what kind of line? what's the PSI resistance on it? maybe I can shorten it by making a shorter line.

 

[ericbw]

From what I can tell, the Man Can doesn't have a pressure gauge that you can set? It looks like the idea is that you fill it at a brewery (already carbonated) and then the Co2 cartridge keeps it pressurized and carbonated while you serve it.

Honestly, I don't know if you'll get enough carbonation from that, But I don't know for sure.

If you got the "flex" kit, then you can definitely add more hose to it (beverage/liquid line). But with this set up, I don't think you'll need to.

When it arrives, I would try it first with carbonating water - see if it will get bubbles in the water. Get the water cold and keep the man can refrigerated with the gas on. I would wait a week and then try some and see if it's fizzy. If it is, then I would mix up a batch of rootbeer and add it to the can. Refrigerate with the gas on, then see how it is in a few days or a week.

I think you have to push a button to get more gas in the can, so it delivers one "shot" of gas at a time. Is that right? In that case, you want to push that button often in the beginning, and remember that cold liquid absorbs gas faster.

Like I said, I don't know anything about it, but that's how I would try it.

 

[crossmr]

I did get the flex kit, hopefully I can make it in this. It was recommended to me about a year and a half ago on this forum when I was looking for a smaller keg since a larger keg wouldn't have really worked with what I wanted to make and my current living setup.

thanks for the input, I'll have a better look at it when it gets here, and maybe I can change the assembly on the top. My main concern was getting a keg that was only 1 gallon, since I can't find anything under 5 locally. If it's a standard size maybe I can buy a normal gauge and gas system locally.

Is there any kind of calculator I can use to figure out how much cO2 I should put into 1 gallon of root beer?

 

[crossmr]

Going on the calculation from this thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=1861298&postcount=9

This is for 2 atmospheres for beer, but if I expand that to 4.0 for root beer, we'd be looking at weight of 0.326 pounds of CO2 for 5 gallons or around 0.0652 lbs for 1 gallon which is around 29 grams of C02. The cartridges it uses are 16g grams, so putting in almost 2 of those should be just about the right amount of C02 to get it up to level.

 

[crossmr]

ah-ha. Finally found a post they made on it:

https://mancan.beer/blogs/news/39558595-giving-homebrewers-an-alternative-to-imperfect-packaging

Note: It is not possible to force carbonate with our Perfect Pour Regulator. The Perfect Pour is designed to deliver a fixed amount of pressure.

To force carbonate you will need to attach a CO2 tank system (2 lbs or greater) with adjustable regulator set up for Cornelius fittings. First, attach the gas ball cap with a Cornelius ball connection. Once set up, adjust the pressure to 25 PSI and keep the pressure on for a couple of days while leaving it in the fridge. This ensures the pressure will stay at a continuous 25 PSI for the duration of the force carbonation process. It's an efficient way to get to enjoy your beer a few weeks earlier with the ManCan. Consult your local home brew store if you have questions; they should also have all the parts you need, as well.

Okay, so I will need an extra CO2 tank and fittings to do it.

 

[ericbw]

Looks like you got the info you need from that.

I'm not sure why they say you need 2lbs or greater for the CO2. I used a 20 ounce paintball tank to force carb and serve 2.5 gallon kegs for a long time. You need a certain kind of adapter to connect the regulator to the paintball tank (different kind of fitting than the usual tanks have), but this is a really cheap route to go.

Take a look at this kit: https://www.kegoutlet.com/hk7110-basic-homebrew-keg-kit-20oz-co2-ball-lock.html

Keg Connection and Keg Outlet will customize kits for you - like you don't need the picnic tap or the disconnects, if they came with the Man Can. That will save a few bucks. But you might be able to get what you need from a local source, too.

If you know anyone who has a CO2 tank that will let you hook up to it, you could get it carbed with that and then put the cartridge on it to keep it pressurized and serve.

The man can seems cool, and it looks like it is fairly adaptable as well. And if space is a concern, it should work great.

 

[crossmr]

I'm not sure why they mention 2lbs either. Unfortunately I can't buy the kit you've linked as I'm not in the US, so I can't ship CO2 at all. I know there are 20oz paintball tanks here, so I'll see if I can find the correct adapters for it. By my calculations I should only need around 29 g to carbonate it, and 2lbs would be overkill.

 

[ericbw]

If you can't find the adapter for a paintball tank locally, just other that part. Where are you located?

 

[crossmr]

If you can't find the adapter for a paintball tank locally, just other that part. Where are you located?

I'm in South Korea. I have seen the 20 oz paintball tanks here, I'll see if I can find the adapter locally, if not, I should be able to get that adapter sent here. Is there an affordably priced kit that comes without the CO2 (but with the paintball tank adapter) for sale anywhere?

 

[ericbw]

Keg Connection will customize their setups. They have great customer service.

 

[crossmr]

Thanks I'll contact them if I can't find the adapter locally!