February is a month of many faces when it comes to festivities: believe it or not, it is officially recognized as having nearly sixty events worthy of observation, including celebrations to honor everything from adopting rabbits to boosting self esteem to appreciating grapefruits.

But most of us associate February with Valentine’s Day, and Valentine’s Day is all about love – as in the love we have for you, our loyal Irish Carbonic Customers.

Or the love you have for buying local.

It’s something we hear time and time again from customers at our Irish Carbonic locations, and on location at the many restaurants and bars that we service: “It is so nice to deal with real people, and not some huge, impersonal corporation.”

That’s what happens when you choose Irish – your local choice for CO2 products and services.

For us, business is personal: whether you need a reliable supplier of bulk industrial or beverage grade CO2, an expert to plan, install, service or clean your beer lines, a friendly place to order dry ice for personal or commercial use, or anything else from us, you will get it with a smile from professionals committed to giving you the help and attention you need.

Expert service with a personal touch from a local, family run, women-owned business – just a few reasons to choose Irish for all your CO2 needs. Want even more reasons to love us? Become an Irish Carbonic customer today and let’s count the ways together.

Feeling the love for all things local this Valentine’s Day? Make the switch to Irish Carbonic today! Serving the Buffalo and Rochester, NY areas with comprehensive installation and maintenance services for your restaurant or bar, with bulk CO2 deliveries also available to Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Akron, and Dayton, Ohio.

Sure, roses are nice. Diamonds, too. But if you really want to make your love feel like a kid again, nothing does it better than room full of balloons – and nothing will make that happen faster than a helium tank rental from Irish Carbonic.

Rent a helium tank from us and you can bring the festive joy of balloons to your private rendezvous or Valentine’s Day shindig (or your anti-Valentine’s Day party, for the tainted among you). Imagine the impression you will make with a dozens or even hundreds of those floating red and silver expressions of love!

Filling balloons with helium yourself will always cost less – usually a lot less – than buying pre-filled balloons. In fact, if you are into celebrations, you might even invest in your own refillable helium tank (we do helium tank refills, too).

Our helium rental tanks come in several sizes (see below) and are easy to operate and transport. Helium is perfectly safe, too, since it’s a non-toxic and inert gas that will never, ever explode. Just follow a few simple instructions and you’ll always stay safe!

How big a helium tank will I need?

Ready to party down with Cupid? Here’s what you will need to make your balloon fantasy a reality:

Tank Size	Number of balloons
	9″	10″	11″	12″	14″
50 cu. ft.	170	150	100	85	50
80 cu. ft.	280	150	130	95	80
120 cu. ft.	390	370	240	225	120
195cu. ft.	721	650	390	375	195
213cu. ft.	788	710	426	409	213
242cu. ft.	895	806	484	465	242
285cu. ft.	1,054	995	570	548	285

We rent helium tank accessories, too

Need more than just a helium tank? No problem! We also rent mylar balloon regulators, helium tank protective covers, and other helium tank accessories. Contact us for details.

Spread the love with helium balloons this Valentine’s Day! Contact us today for anything you need in helium tank rental within our Buffalo or Rochester service areas.

The holiday season – especially New Year’s Eve – is a huge night for a restaurant or bar owner. It’s a time of year when you definitely need a “Plan B” – or even a Plan C – if your beer line goes down or your run out of bulk CO2.

At Irish Carbonic, we’ve got the alphabet covered.

We pride ourselves in protecting your reputation by keeping your taps up and running right. A healthy bar means happy customers, which means more money in your pocket (who doesn’t want that?).

As we push through the holiday season and into 2018, remember that you’re always a phone call away from a local, family-owned business that specializes in round-the-clock service for your bar or restaurant (or any other business that needs bulk CO2, dry ice, or any of our other products or services).

Best of all, you’ll get a live person 24/7/365 when you call our emergency number, so you can rest easy knowing that your downtime will be minimal.

Get peace of mind with there whenever you need us service from Irish Carbonic. Operators are standing by 24/7/365 for your bulk CO2 refills, beer line service and more – Contact us today to learn more.

Industrial cleaning is a dirty job – but someone’s gotta do it. As long as that someone uses dry ice blasting.

Dry ice blasting – a method of cleaning equipment that uses dry ice pellets delivered at high speed to lift contaminants from your gear – is ideal for just about any kind of industrial cleaning application. From rust, adhesives and syrups to oils, powders, mold and bacteria, dry ice blasting will get it all.

Dry ice blasting is not only effective, it also enjoys significant advantages over other cleaning methods like sand and soda blasting, water cleaning, and chemical cleanup.

Consider these 10 reasons to choose dry ice blasting for your industrial cleaning chores:

• It cleans better – Dry ice blasting simply does a better of job of cleaning equipment, both visually and at the microbe level.
• It doesn’t contaminate your equipment – Dry ice blasting leaves behind no water or chemical residue – which means no additional cleanup is needed.
• It gets everywhere – Dry ice blasting makes it easier to get into hard to reach nooks and crannies.
• It works quickly – Dry ice blasting works faster than other cleaning methods, which means less downtime.
• No disassembly required – With dry ice blasting, your equipment can remain built and in place, which saves time and allows more frequent cleaning.
• It produces no secondary waste – With dry ice blasting, all you will need to clean is what you are trying to remove.
• It won’t damage substrates – Dry ice blasting is non-abrasive, non-flammable, and non-conductive, which means it won’t abrade, wear, pit, or erode equipment surfaces. Control panels, glass, electrical wiring, and other delicate surfaces can all be safely cleaned with dry ice.
• It’s eco-friendly – Dry ice blasting meets USDA, FDA and EPA guidelines and eliminates the expense of environmental cleanup.
• It’s safe – With dry ice blasting, cleanup crews won’t be exposed to chemicals or grit media.
• It’s efficient – Dry ice blasting is not as labor intensive as cleaning with water, media, or chemicals.

Whether you need to clean food processing equipment, electronics, electric motors, or just about any other type of industrial equipment, dry ice will do the job faster, safer, and more completely than just about any other method. Why not give it a try?

Need dry ice pellets for your dry ice blasting? Irish Carbonic has them. Contact us today to learn more or place an order!

There’s nothing quite like a holiday feast featuring freshly prepared food from a loved one – the only problem in this busy world we live in is that sometimes we can’t manage to get together to enjoy it.

But the meal must go on, whether or not the cook is around to enjoy it – and it will, with the help of dry ice from Irish Carbonic!

Dry ice is the perfect way to send perishable foods by mail this holiday season – but shipping with it does require some special care if you want your precious cargo to arrive safe and fresh.

Here are some basics to shipping with dry ice:

• Purchase quality dry ice – Buy your dry ice from a reputable supplier (Irish Carbonic has all the dry ice you need, available for pickup at one of our convenient locations).
• Use quality packing materials – Quality corrugated cardboard, plastic, or wooden boxes will protect your shipment, and it will prevent the dry ice bags from rupturing (we have great packing materials, too).
• Add Styrofoam – Add a Styrofoam layer to your shipping box – an inexpensive cooler, for example, can be placed inside.
• Take precautions when handling dry ice – Always follow dry ice safe handling precautions!
• Pack the box. Wrap food in plastic or paper bags prior to packing. Pack the food and dry ice together tightly, using newspaper or cellulose to minimize gaps and provide insulation. Packs of dry ice should be on the bottom, followed by food items. Alternate between dry ice and food items, filling in gaps with bubble wrap and newspaper until the box is full. If you’re using a Styrofoam cooler, do not seal it completely as this can prevent the package from releasing pressure.
• Check your shipping address – This is always important, but particularly when you’re shipping perishable items.
• Mark the package correctly – Dry ice is considered hazardous material, so it needs to be marked properly prior to shipment. Ask for the following labels at your post office or from your courier:
  • A label that says “Dry Ice” or “Carbon Dioxide Solid.”
  • A label that reads UN 1845 (indicates hazardous materials).
  • A label that indicates the net worth of dry ice in your container (keep track of how much dry ice you use!)
  • A Class 9 label – This indicates that the package contains dry ice – they’re free at most post offices and from your courier. Put the Class 9 label on the same side of the package that contains the UN 1845 label.
• Complete all paperwork – Ask your post office or shipping professional for the proper paperwork, which could include a shipper’s declaration (a slip that includes basic information about yourself and the recipient).
• Other considerations – Dry ice lasts a maximum of about three days; overnight shipping is usually best, especially when shipping items like meat. However, if meat is vacuum packed, two day shipping may be enough. Do not choose options that take more than two days to ship. And be prepared for extra regulatory costs – Call your local post office or courier for details.

Irish Carbonic sells quantities of dry ice ranging from individual portions of dry ice rice pellets to massive 10,000-pound commercial deliveries in block form – available for pickup or convenient delivery to your location. Contact us to learn more – or stop by one of our convenient locations to get some for your holiday goodies today!

At Irish Carbonic and Irish Propane, we are always grateful to the loyal customers and neighbors who have kept our family businesses up and running since 1932 – and for the opportunity to serve new customers as they join the Irish family.

But this week – Thanksgiving week – we are particularly grateful.

We are grateful that you put your faith in Irish Companies year after year to keep your home warm and your business up, running and productive – and we are grateful that you choose to support our certified Women’s Business Enterprise as we strive to make a difference in our Buffalo, Rochester, and Ohio communities.

We couldn’t succeed without your loyalty – and we hope to continue to reward that loyalty with quality service, fair and honest prices, and unmatched service. Whether you choose Irish as an bulk CO2 provider for your bar or restaurant, a propane supplier for your home heating, or for any other reason, we will work hard to earn your business in the months and years ahead.

As the winter heads our way, we hope you’ll rest easy knowing that Irish Carbonic and Irish Propane have you covered, no matter what your home or business demands of you – or us.

Thanks for choosing Irish Carbonic and Irish Propane – Happy Thanksgiving!

You probably know dry ice as the cool stuff you add to a drink or bowl to create creepy Halloween fog – or the stuff that helps you ship fresh food overnight, or keep frozen things frozen for a camping trip. But did you know dry ice can be used to make wine?

Now you do!

The fact is, dry ice is used in several aspects of the wine making process. First and foremost, it is used to cool down bunches of grapes immediately after picking to inhibit spontaneous fermentation from wild yeasts (those yeasts ruin all the fun). Why use dry ice over water ice? Because dry ice doesn’t melt – it sublimates (turns straight from a solid to a gas). That means dry ice cools grapes without adding water to the mix; more water means a lower sugar concentration in the grape must (freshly crushed grapes), which means a lower alcohol concentration in the finished wine (and we wouldn’t want to do THAT now, would we?).

Dry ice is also used during the cold soak phase of the wine making process to keep grapes cool (“cold soaking” is pre-fermentation process used to extract color and flavor from grape skins; this extraction also occurs during fermentation, but many winemakers feel cold soaking brings out different, and beneficial, aspects of the grapes).

Lastly, carbon dioxide is used to create a hypoxic environment during carbonic maceration – a wine making process in which grapes are fermented prior to, rather than after, crushing (Beaujolais wines are made this way).

Just another reason to raise a glass to the many amazing uses for dry ice!

Need dry ice for your project or hobby? Irish Carbonic has it in all shapes and sizes. Come visit one of our convenient locations to pick up some dry ice today!

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!