Troubleshooting

Be sure to attach the plastic tube with the slit end down towards the liquid/coffee, or your faucet will not dispense properly

If you remembered to attach the plastic straw to the bottom of the top piece with the slit end down and no liquid is flowing, then there is a small particle (i.e. coffee grounds) clogging the tapping system. See video:

First, when the tap handle is closed, unscrew the stout faucet tip and test to see if liquid flows out the faucet when the stout tip is removed.

If liquid flows out of the faucet after the stout tip is removed, then the stout tip is clogged.

Clean out the internal pieces of the stout tip and then screw back on to the faucet. This can be done while the keg is still pressurized, as long as the tap handle is closed. Use the small brush to poke thru the bottom of the faucet tip and to dislodge the internal pieces of the tip, popping out the o ring, silver plate and white plastic piece. Thoroughly clean and scrub the plate with the brush and make sure all five holes are not blocked, afterwards holding the plate up to a light and making sure you can see thru all 5 holes.   

If nothing flows out of the faucet when the stout tip is removed, then it means the spear is clogged.

Pull the pressure release valve, located on the top of the spear, to release the gas inside the keg.

Next remove the tapping system from the mini keg and rinse thoroughly with water to dislodge any small particles or chunks that may be blocking the flow of the liquid.  

To check for spear clogs, blow into the spear attachment that is on the top of the keg, and listen or put your hand on the bottom of the spear, to check if you hear or feel the air passing through the spear.

You can also attach the hose and place it in a container of liquid to see if your blowing into the spear creates bubbles. If it does, you are clog-free! 

If the nozzle is stuck, put the faucet into a freezer or bowl of ice water, and then begin boiling a pot of water. When the water boils, remove the faucet and place the full tip of the faucet down into the boiling water. Now using gloves, attempt to remove the tip with your hands, and if necessary you can use pliers (with a cloth to prevent scratching -- preferably lock jaw pliers). The expansion of metal from the cold/hot should help detach the assembly.

This image shows a diagram of how to reinsert the parts that go inside the faucet, and the order is the same for all stout faucets that we carry:

Forward sealing faucet

Regarding a loose spear, please use the provided wrench to tighten the nut underneath the spear/valve top piece (the nut where the plastic hose connects, remove the plastic hose when doing this). Once you have the top piece aligned properly away from the pressure valve, tighten with the provided wrench. This needs to be done periodically, as depending on your grip strength, the nut loosens over time.

Note: You don't need to over-tighten the top, you can tighten it to a comfortable position and that will help the nut stay in place. If you tighten it very tight onto the top of the keg with full force, it causes the nut to loosen. Tightening it on too tight makes it harder to remove the top of each batch, and loosens the nut faster, as you take it on and off. The O RING on the inset of this piece does the rest.

If the top piece is stuck, put the entire keg into a freezer or put the top half of the keg in a pot of ice water, and then begin boiling a pot of water. When the water boils, place the top half of the keg down into the boiling water. Now using gloves, attempt to remove the valve with your hands, and if necessary you can use jaw locking pliers (with a cloth to prevent scratching). The expansion of metal from the cold/hot should help detach the assembly.

Tip: For future batches, don't screw the top piece on the keg so tight, it has an O Ring and will seal, it does not need to be 'death grip' tightened onto the keg!

The answer is you need to adjust the faucet middle section by watching this video. This will reconfigure the faucet's off and on functionality in sync with the knob position. Be sure to test this over a sink. You can also remove the faucet and test it under a running faucet checking flow thru the spout as you adjust the middle portion of the faucet. See video:

Tap your glass on the edge of the stout faucet tip after you've closed the tap handle or lightly shake the keg forward to get the remaining coffee to flow out of the tip. Use our included tap plug to close off the faucet tip.

Note: After you close the tap handle there is still excess foam in the stout faucet tip and there is no pressure from the keg (because the tap is closed) to force the remaining foam out of the stout faucet tip. Once the foam starts to settle, it then leaks out of the end of the faucet tip. This occurs with most tapping systems, especially nitro taps with a stout spigot. The keg itself isn't actually leaking, it's a matter of getting all of the foam out of the faucet tip after you've closed the tap.

What type of cold brew are you using? If making your own cold brew, it's possible your cold brew composition isn't interacting well with foam if it is too watery or too concentrated. Try buying a store-bought cold brew to test if the foam responds better with a different blend of cold brew. We recommend Starbucks cold brew or Stok cold brew in 48oz variety for example, available at local stores.

***Or*** you can brew your own cold brew following the below recipe, and/or pre-mix your own cold brew with some dairy or cream. We recommend the following ratio for making your own cold brew: 7 oz of Ground Coffee *to* 28 oz of water = yields = 16 ounces of coffee concentrate (since 12 oz of water basically gets absorbed by the coffee grounds). Then, add 32 ounces of water to the coffee concentrate, and you will have a perfect 48 ounces of cold brew in your 64 oz keg. Note: If gas escapes, use only 40 oz (or 80 oz for the 128 oz keg), this will leave extra room for the gas to form.

To make cold brew, you can use cheesecloth bags to soak your coffee grounds in a jar of water for 8-12 hours: https://amzn.to/2Jh0e2I Or you can use a product like this: https://amzn.to/2QIY5B4 To liven up the top layer of your pour, you can a few oz of cream in place of water. Please note most shops, such as Starbucks, do use cream in their cold brew before adding nitro, so this will help give you that same experience.

Make sure you are using 40-48 oz of liquid, if you use too much, the gas doesn't have space to form. Due to cartridge manufacturing variance, if gas escapes, use only 40 oz (or

80 oz for the 128 oz keg), this will leave extra room for the gas to form in case a cartridge is extra pressurized. You should also try Nitrous Oxide cartridges, instead of Nitrogen, if you want more foamy results.

For the foamiest results, be sure to shake the keg well after each cartridge and daily, before pouring the first pour of the day. Be sure to wait for a minimum of 5 minutes between adding each cartridge if using multiple cartridges, i.e let it sit for a few minutes to absorb gas from the 1st cartridge, then add the 2nd cartridge!

• Faucet body leakage: Using the included tool, tighten the four-hole nut connecting the faucet body to the spear.
• Spear cross-bar leakage: Tighten the nut under spear body. Located where the hose connects to the spear body.
• Tap handle leakage: Tighten the tap lock connector using fingers.
• Stout faucet tip leakage: Tighten the stout faucet tip onto the faucet body using fingers. Option: Replace stout tip o-ring (replacements included in o-ring assortment)

Tighten the cartridge holder in a quick and smooth motion. When the cartridge is tightened slowly, the tip of the N₂O charge is being punctured slowly. This results in the N₂O being slowly released into the keg and it can make a high-pitched whistling noise. Please be aware that there is nothing wrong with your keg and no harm is being done to the keg. We only want you to be aware of why/how this happens and not to worry should you hear it. All of the N₂O will still make it inside the keg and the end result with the beverage will be the same.

The mini keg is overfilled. Should you overfill the keg, you will notice that some of the N₂O will be released through the pressure release valve. This is perfectly normal and nothing to be alarmed by. There needs to be enough empty space in the keg for the N₂O and the beverage to mix. If gas escapes, use only 40 oz (or 80 oz for the 128 oz keg), this will leave extra room for the gas to form. Some cartridges contain more gas than advertised due to manufacturing variance, you can account for this by allowing for more space in your keg.

Use the wrench to tighten the nut under the spear body. Located where the hose connects to the spear body. Once you have the top piece aligned properly away from the pressure valve, please tighten with the provided wrench. This needs to be done periodically, as depending on your grip strength, the nut loosens over time.

When you add the top piece to the top of the keg, if you tighten it very tight onto the top of the keg with full force, it causes the nut to loosen. It doesn't need to be tightened onto the keg past a certain point because the large O RING on the inset of this piece does the rest.