A foamy beer pour is frustrating for your servers and your customers – but to stop the problem, you need to know what’s causing your suds to overflow.

Here are seven questions you’ll need to ask to diagnose a foamy beer problem.

1. Are you pouring the beer properly?
   Hold the glass at a 45-degree angle about one inch below the beer faucet. Place a hand low on the tap, near the faucet, and quickly snap the handle towards you with one motion, until it stops and the faucet is open.
2. Did you give your new keg time to acclimate?
   A fresh keg that has been moved from one place to another tends to warm up a few degrees; before you tap the keg, allow it to cool back down to an appropriate dispensing temperature.
3. Is your beer the right temperature?
   The temperature of non-pasteurized ale and lager beers should range from 36° to 38°F all the way to the tap. If the beer temperature rises even slightly above 38°F, you will get foamy and/or cloudy beer.
4. Is your thermometer accurate?
   Calibrate your thermometer with an external tester to be sure.
5. Are you using appropriate CO2 pressure and carbonation levels?
   Any change in the CO2 or carbonation levels from what a brewer suggests will alter the beer’s taste, pouring characteristics and appearance.
6. Is your beer system properly balanced?
   The first step to balancing a beer system is to establish the applied gas pressure gauge (PSIG) of 100 percent CO2 required to propel and maintain the beers carbonation to the brewer’s specification. This is based on the beer’s CO2 volumes and the temperature of the beer.
7. Is your beer system clean?
   One of the most common causes of foamy draft beer is a buildup of bacteria, yeast, mold, and beer stones within a beer line – a big reason why regular, professional beer line cleaning is a must for your bar or restaurant.

Fall is prime beer season – make sure your beer lines are clean! Contact Irish Carbonic today for professional beer line cleaning and beer line installation and service for your Rochester- or Buffalo-area bar or restaurant.

Want a new way to scare up some Halloween fun in your Buffalo- or Rochester home, office, or restaurant? Pick up some dry ice from one of our convenient locations and get busy creating!

Dry ice is the perfect way to up the spooky factor for your Halloween party – whether you want to make a smoking witch’s cauldron, a foggy Jack-O-Lantern, or a smoldering drink. Or how about adding an eerie fog to your bar room floor for some boos with your booze, or to your porch for unsuspecting trick-or-treaters?

Dry ice is inexpensive and easy to use and – just be sure to follow these simple precautions when handling it, then sit back and enjoy the fun.

Halloween is coming – make it FANGtastic with dry ice from Irish Carbonic! Stop in and stock up on dry ice at our convenient store locations today.

IRISH CARBONIC
1444 Clinton Street | Buffalo, NY 14206
(716) 827-2727 | Map & Directions »

IRISH CARBONIC AND PROPANE
535 Buffalo Road | Rochester, NY 14611
(585) 254-6844 | Map & Directions »

IRISH CARBONIC
772 Marion Rd | Columbus, OH 43207
(800) 884-0072 | Map & Directions »

September is flying by us here in Rochester and Buffalo – bad news if you like the summer, but good news if you’re a beer fan. It could be great news for your bar or restaurant, too – IF your beer taps are up to the Oktoberfest challenge.

Make sure they are with expert beer line cleaning from Irish Carbonic.

Our 10-point beer line cleaning system will virtually eliminate microorganism buildup and mineral deposits. The result? Clean, crisp, delicious tap pours every time, with just the right amount of CO2 fizz.

Our Beer Division Experts will:

• Flush your beer lines with biodegradable cleaning solution
• Rinse your beer lines with fresh water
• Clean each tap faucet and its surrounding area
• Check all connections and fittings
• Check your walk-in cooler temperature
• Check your glycol temperature and level
• Check all pressure settings
• Clean your glycol chiller condensers
• Ensure that your beer is pouring correctly
• Provide 24/7/365 service and assistance

Beer gas blends also available

Of course not all beer is carbonated using carbon dioxide alone; some varieties (stouts, for example) use a blend of CO2 and nitrogen to get the finish they’re famous for. If you serve nitro beers, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered there, too, with mixed gas cylinders and onsite gas blending solutions for your beverage-serving business.

Your customers may not be able to make it to Munich this year, but that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy Oktoberfest on this side of the pond. Keep their glasses raised with fine pours from clean beer lines – courtesy of the beer line experts at Irish Carbonic. Contact us today for details.

Prost!

Does your restaurant or bar menu suffer from bland, boring beverages? Perk up your potables with bulk beverage syrups from Irish Carbonic.

Irish Carbonic offers the flavorful faves your customers crave in a wide range of containers and delivery systems. Best of all, we sell, install, and maintain all the beverage dispensing systems you need to keep the fountains flowing.

Our line of bulk beverage products include:

• Sodas — We feature the full line of Royal Crown Cola (RC Cola) and Dr. Pepper/7-Up products in both post-mix bag-in-box and Figal containers (premix Figal containers are also available). We also feature the full line of Johnnie Ryan beverages—a cane-sugar-sweetened line of syrups and fountain mixers made locally in Western New York.
• Juices — We feature 100% juice, juice blends and juice drink products in a range of flavors—available in bag-in-box, ultra pack cartridges and bottles.
• Frozen Mixes — Available for use in your blender or jet spray beverage dispenser, we feature the full line of Royale Brands frozen mixes for your margaritas, mojitos, and other cocktails.
• Sparkling Ice — Sparkling Iced teas, lemonades, waters and essence drinks in more than 20 fruitful flavors are available.

Irish Carbonic provides delicious alternatives to boring beverages, backed by expert installation and maintenance on the dispensing equipment you need. Contact us today to learn more about our beverage dispensing products and services.

Labor Day is behind us, which means cooler weather will soon be on the way to Buffalo and Rochester (sorry folks, we’re only the messengers here).

If you’re a restaurant owner with an outdoor deck or patio, September is a time to put a plan into action for the crisp days and evenings ahead so you can eke out every last bit of profit from your outdoor entertainment space.
One of the best ways to do that is with a little help from propane patio and outdoor space heaters – powered by propane from us, of course.

Irish Propane offers reliable propane cylinder delivery to keep your outdoor heating systems hot and ready so your customers can chill when it’s chilly. We’ll keep the high-quality 20-lb cylinders coming all season long so you’re ready for any crowd in any weather.

For reliable delivery of 20-lb cylinders for your restaurant’s propane space heaters, trust the pros at Irish Propane. Contact us today to set up a propane delivery schedule for your restaurant – and don’t forget to check out our restaurant and bar services at Irish Carbonic!

It’s back to school time here in Buffalo and Rochester, but that doesn’t mean fun time is over – especially if you have a little dry ice on hand.

Dry ice can be a fun to use in experiments – as long as you handle it safely (see instructions below). It has cool properties (literally) that cause it to fog, make bubbles, and even make noises when used with other objects.

Here are three fun science experiments to try – grab some dry ice and give them a go! But first, some notes on dry ice safety.

Dry Ice Safety

• Dry ice is not a toy! Use it only with adult supervision.
• Dry ice must be handled using heavy gloves or tongs. It will cause severe burns if it comes in contact with bare or unprotected skin.
• Always wear safety goggles when handling dry ice. The debris and shards are extremely dangerous to your eyes. When tapping dry ice with a hammer, first cover it with a towel to keep the pieces in one place.
• Never put dry ice in your mouth.
• Never store dry ice in an airtight container. As the dry ice sublimates, gas pressure will build and the container will explode.
• Do not store dry ice in your freezer. It will cause your freezer to become too cold and the freezer may shut off.
• In the unlikely event of a dry ice burn, treat it the same as you would a heat burn. See a doctor if the skin blisters or comes off.

Project 1: Balloon Blow Up

Materials

• Dry ice
• Empty soda bottle
• Balloon

Instructions

• Put a few small pieces of dry ice into the bottle, then quickly put the opening of the balloon over the mouth of the bottle.
• As dry ice sublimates (turns from a solid to a gas – in this case carbon dioxide), it will blow up the balloon. When the balloon is fully inflated, take it off of the bottle and tie the end.
• Next, blow up another balloon with your breath and tie the end.
• Once both balloons are filled and tied off, throw them both in the air and see which one sinks more quickly to the ground

The Science
Dry ice is not made from water, it’s frozen carbon dioxide (CO2). Unlike ice that you put in drinks, dry ice never becomes a liquid; it turns directly into a gas. Carbon dioxide weighs more than air, so anything filled with it will sink more quickly than the same object filled with air.

Project 2: Screaming Metal

Materials

• Dry ice
• Quarter
• Metal spoon
• Other pieces of metal

Instructions

• Place a piece of dry ice on a flat surface.
  • Make sure to wear gloves or use tongs when handling the dry ice.
  • Place a towel underneath the dry ice before laying it down; don’t put the dry ice directly on tables or countertops because it could damage them.
• Once the dry ice is in place, put a quarter on top. After a few seconds, the quarter will vibrate and make a squealing sound. You can also try the experiment with a metal spoon, knife, or other flat pieces of metal. Experiment to see what kinds of sounds you can make!

The Science
The metal makes a sound as dry ice sublimate around it; this causes the metal to vibrate very quickly, which makes the sound that you hear.

Project 3: Foggy Gurgling Bubbles

Materials

• Large container
• Dry ice
• Liquid dish soap
• Warm water
• Tongs

Instructions

• Fill a container about halfway full of water. Add a few drops of dish soap, stirring the soap into the water.
• Add a few pieces of dry ice.
• The soap bubbles will have fog in them from the dry ice. The mix will also begin to produce bigger than normal bubbles of soap. As more dry ice sublimates in the water, the bubbles will spill over the container. The mixture will also make a sound similar to water boiling.

The Science
Another cool example of dry ice sublimation!

As we’ve discussed before on this blog, with a little planning and a few blocks of dry ice, you can bring your favorite foods just about anywhere – even on a camping trip (good to know, since we’ve still got five weeks of summer ahead of us).

But how do you actually pack a cooler for camping if you’re using dry ice? Here are five steps to doing it right.

• Step 1: Start with the right cooler. Choose a cooler that is sturdy, well insulated, and designed for long-term ice retention. Some of the more reputable brands of dry ice-approved coolers include Yeti, ORCA, Engel, Pelican, and Grizzly. Check out this YouTube channel for dry ice cooler video reviews*.
• Step 2: Load your food. Packing perishable food should be the last thing you do before getting on the road. Keep the food packed as tightly as possible and fill any gaps with wads of newspaper for maximum efficiency; this will slow the dry ice sublimation process.
• Step 3: Leave space for dry ice. Leave at least three to four inches of room at the top of the cooler for the dry ice (although it can be inconvenient, placing the dry ice at the top of the cooler keeps the temperature inside colder, since cold air sinks). Keep the dry ice wrapped in the paper it comes in. If you plan to camp at higher elevations, bring more dry ice along than what you would use at sea level (dry ice sublimates faster in high elevations, where air pressure is lower).
• Step 4: Load the dry ice. Always use gloves and follow safe dry ice handling practices when handling dry ice – even if it’s wrapped in paper. Dry ice is sold in 10-inch blocks; two of these should fit into a standard cooler and will last about 24 hours.
• Step 5: Ventilate and insulate the cooler. Keep the lid of your cooler slightly ajar; while this may seem counterintuitive, it prevents sublimating gas from building in your airtight cooler and bursting. To keep your cooler both ventilated and insulated, wrap it in a sleeping bag or wool blanket.

Need dry ice for your next camping trip? We’ve got you covered! Visit one of our convenient locations to pick up yours today.

*Please note: Irish Carbonic is not in any way affiliated with Coolers on Sale and is not responsible for the content found in its videos.

Let’s face it: we all want our kids to be healthy, but sometimes they make unhealthy choices (this isn’t news, right?).

Take school beverages, for example: with limited options available, some kids will reach for soda rather than boring old (but super healthy) water. But what if they had an option that was healthy and delicious?

They could, if you choose fruit juice products from Irish Carbonic for your school.

Irish Carbonic features 100 percent juice bulk products – along with juice blends and other juice drinks — that are packed with healthy doses of vitamins and minerals. Available in bag-in-box, ultra-pack cartridges and bottles, our top-quality juice brands come in a wide variety of delicious flavors.

Expert installation of juice dispensing equipment available

Irish Carbonic also provides expert installation and maintenance on the dispensing equipment needed for any bulk beverage product we sell or lease. We’ll set up you equipment quickly and keep it running perfectly so your students will enjoy every last drop of their favorite cold beverages.

Contact us today to learn more about our bulk juice and other beverage solutions for your school!

When it comes to buying dry ice, bulk CO2, or any other CO2-related product or services in any of our service areas, you basically have two choices: buy from a huge industrial supplier that treats you like a number, or buy from the friendly experts at Irish Carbonic.

Call us crazy, but that seems like an easy choice.

With Irish Carbonic, you’ll get the same quality products and services that the “other guys” offer – but you’ll get it from a fourth generation, family-owned, certified women’s enterprise  with roots right here in the neighborhood.

Of course, when you do business with Irish Carbonic, you’ll always get:

• Personalized service
• Fair and honest pricing
• Problem-solving innovation
• Best-in-class safety standards

But most of all you’ll get all of that from real people who you can call and talk to whenever you need us.

In this era of mega corporations and big box stores, isn’t it nice to know you have a CO2 supplier for your bar, restaurant, beverage company, brewery, greenhouse, or any other business that is more Main Street than Wall Street?

You have it at Irish Carbonic.

For world-class CO2 services with a local touch, trust the experts at Irish Carbonic – featuring bulk CO2, Industrial CO2, and beverage-grade CO2 deliveries throughout NY State and Ohio. Contact us today to learn more.

Planning a summer camping trip or vacation, but want to take some of the more perishable comforts of home with you?

Why not give dry ice a try?

Dry ice makes it possible for you to transport frozen or perishable food in a sturdy, quality cooler, helping you to avoid the leaks, mess, and constant need for replenishment that comes with using wet ice (when dry ice melts, it simply turns to gas, or sublimates, so there’s no puddling).

Here are some dry ice basics for your next trip to the woods – or anywhere else the spirit may take you.

10 tips for traveling with dry ice

1. Always follow safe handling instructions for dry ice!
2. Plan on using 10 to 20 pounds of dry ice for every 24-hour period, depending upon the size of the ice chest. Dry Ice will keep everything in its container frozen, including extra ice – so keep non-frozen goods with regular ice in a separate cooler.
3. Dry Ice normally comes in 10-inch squares that weigh about 10 pounds each; plan to put one square per each 15 inches of ice chest length (that’s approximately two squares, weighing 20 pounds, for an average 40-quart cooler). For larger containers and longer travel times, multiply dry ice quantities by these rates.
4. At -109.0°F, dry ice will continue to freeze everything in its container until it is completely sublimated. These frozen items will take some extra time to thaw because they have been so cold, so plan accordingly.
5. Since cold sinks, keeping dry ice on top of items you wish to freeze will work better.
6. When packing items in a cooler or any other container, fill any empty space with wadded newspaper or some other insulating filler; open space in your cooler will cause the dry ice to sublimate faster.
7. The best storage container is a three-inch thick urethane insulated box.
8. Lining the inside of your ice chest with sheets of Styrofoam will increase the life of dry ice. Sublimation will vary depending on the temperature, air pressure and thickness of insulation; the more dry ice you have stored in the container, the longer it will last.
9. If transporting your dry ice by car, try to insulate the ice chest with sleeping bags; this will make the dry ice last longer. If the dry ice is inside the car (not in the trunk) for more than 10 minutes, keep windows slightly open to avoid overexposure to CO2 (signs include rapid breathing, headache, and blue fingernails or lips). Open windows immediately if you or anyone in the car experiences these symptoms.
10. If transporting your dry ice by plane, try to pick it up as close to departure time as possible, and carry it in a well-insulated ice chest or soft pack. Most airlines will not let you carry more than two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of Dry Ice on the airplane without special arrangements.

Need dry ice for your next travel adventure? We have it! Visit one of our convenient locations to pick up yours today.