So, I know that I can buy a dual regulator so as to have cornies going at 2 different pressures, but that got me thinking - from what I've read, Hefs and Tripels usually require something on the order of constant pressure at 18 psi to be carbed to style, right? But what happens if you pour them at that pressure? Does it come out OK? Because it seems to me that taking a highly carbed beer and serving it at a higher pressure would foam too much and drive much of the "excess" CO2 out of solution. So, is this something that can be balanced out by a very long serving line? And is there a way to do it so that you can hook up a "normal" beer to the tap later and not have it come out messed up? I'm thinking of a workaround where I force carb a Hef to the proper volumes, and then shut it off, leaving it pressurized at 18 psi or so and then burping the pressure down to serve, re-pressurizing it when I'm done, and then shutting it off again. I don't want to have a dedicated high-pressure tap if I can avoid it, so how workable is my (or another) workaround?
A long line will do you just fine. You can later put a 'normal' beer on that line, but it will pour slowly. That may or may not be an issue for you. Indeed, you may prefer it - a slow pour is less of a PITA than a fast glass of foam. Without increasing the line length, you can reduce the pressure to 5-ish or so to serve, as you suggest (release the excess pressure before opening the faucet), but you need to remember to turn it back up after the party's over. You also want to avoid doing this repeatedly for single pours because you'll be venting a boatload of CO2. Shutting the gas off after it's properly carbed is irrelevant in this discussion. Not sure what your objective is with that.
I mean closing the valve after pressurizing the high pressure keg. Otherwise, the CO2 will equalize among the other connected kegs, right? I have a 3 output valve connected to a single regulator, so won't I have to isolate the high pressure keg to keep it at a different pressure?
I see. This is crossing the line of more trouble than it's worth, IMO. When you reduce the pressure to serve, the beer will lose carbonation while the pressure is low. Thus, you'll have to 'fix' it after every session, either by leaving it set to the proper pressure for a week or so, or set it higher for a shorter period of time and hope you get it right. Adjusting the volumes of CO2 in solution is a crap shoot, and your carbonation levels are likely to be inconsistent. You also need to consider the increased wear and tear on the equipment. I would spend the extra $50 or so to get a second regulator to maintain two pressures.
^This. I often have kegs at different pressures, and I can't imagine trying to do it without multiple regulators.
I agree here. I'm not to the extreme that some folks are, in having a regulator for every keg, but I do keep 4 kegs on tap at all times. I have a manifold that splits among 3 beers, and then 1 that goes to it's own keg. Generally I have something on tap that might require a bit different pressure, to which I use that single reg for. Works out pretty well for the most part.
That's identical to my setup. Didn't really plan it out that way, that's just how it evolved. I have a QD on the single line that I use for other things, as needed - force carbing, purging, Beer Gun, etc.
Indeed. I have a port on my manifold where I can hook up a hose for purging, or for the co2 for my beer gun. Works great.
Quite the relevant post. I just drilled another hole in my kegerator to run a higher psi line from the second regulator. Well, technically it's running from a 2-way Co2 distributor, so I can still have a line on the outside of the fridge. Planning on doing a Saison after my DIPA brew next weekend, and it'll be nice not to have to bottle it just so I can have higher carb levels. Been meaning to do it for ages, but didn't want to have to pull the fridge out and such...I can be quite lazy.
It's sounding like the dual regulator would indeed be my best bet. It's more a matter of not wanting to fiddle with my tap lines than it is the cost of the dual regulator, and it seems that the high-pressure beer wouldn't lose much carbonation if you burp-to-serve and then re-pressurize right away. But that does seem like a pretty big waste of CO2.
