You already have a beer gas regulator connected to your tank, which is there to ensure that there is the right amount of pressure in your system so that you can pour beer from your taps and keep all of your kegs well pressurized. If you’re looking at upgrading your draft system then secondary regulators should be in your crosshairs.
Carbonation and Beer
Carbonation plays an important role in beer. It helps to clean the palate, often it is described as the bubbles “scrubbing” the palate, which is excellent if you’re drinking and eating! Carbonation also helps to lift the aromas out of the beer and up your nose, as well as helping with head creation. Besides this, carbonation helps to accentuate the slightly more acidic elements of the beer - carbonic acid itself being mildly acidic- helping to make a beer crisper and more refreshing.
What Does “True to Style” Mean?
Beer styles all have their own -sometimes strict- parameters. As beer drinkers we all know many of these without even thinking: IPAs are hoppy; Milk Stouts are black, creamy, and sweet; hefeweizen are hazy, crisp, and citrusy. One of the parameters which is often overlooked by beer drinkers is carbonation level. “True to style” is a beer that fits all the parameters of its designated style, and this includes carbonation level; which can vary greatly between styles.
Secondary Regulators
Beers sold in cans and bottles are always carbonated to the exact level the brewer intended. They do the same to their kegs too but once you tap it into your draft system, unless both the keg and the system are at the same level of carbonation that carbonation level will soon begin to change; affecting the product that the brewer created so perfectly.
A secondary regulator is on the wall inside your cooler, in line with each keg, often located below your FOB or Foam on Beer Detector. These regulators allows you to control the specific pressure of each keg. Thus, allowing you to control the carbonation level of the beer in that keg and keep it true to what the brewer intended.
Who Would Want This?
Everyone! But specifically those passionate about beer. As the craft beer market continues to grow and mature brewers and customers are turning to older, more eclectic styles of beer in order to find, or brew, something new and different. What makes many of these styles unique in their homelands is their varying levels of carbonation.
If you or your customers are passionate about beer then one way to step up your game is to carbonate your beer perfectly and that means being “true to style” but, more specifically, it means finding out the level of carbonation that a brewer intended their beer to be served at and setting your secondary regulator to match that.
