Aside from CO2 and N2, are any other gases used to "carbonate" beer?

Question

Obviously, most beers are carbonated with carbon dioxide, while some stouts/porters are "carbonated" with nitrogen.

I was curious if there has been any notable experimentation with other gasses to "carbonate" beer. If nitrogen can introduce a "creamy" texture to a beer, I would think that other gasses would also be able to introduce their own characteristics on beer. If any of these experiments have done, what characteristics do these other gases impart?

I'm sure cost would be an issue for certain gasses that would prohibit its use in beer, but for purposes of this question, cost is irrelevant.

As an aside, what is the correct term to use, as opposed to "carbonate", for a question of this nature?

Answer 1

Here's a list of some common gasses and their solubility in water at standard pressure and various temperatures.

CO₂ dissolves ca 3g per gas kg of water at 5°C. Nitrogen is 0.027g for the same conditions, so in round figures about 1/100th the solubility.

A carbonated beer is a supersaturated gas in solution, having more gas dissolved than would be normally possible for the temperature and standard pressure. (When kegging or bottling, the CO₂ is applied at much higher pressure than standard atmospheric pressure.) This means the gas is easily brought out of solution, such as by shaking or with nucleation points.

For other gasses to give any similar affect, they would have to be:

• soluble in reasonable quantities
• non-toxic (rule exempt for halloween-beers!)
• non-irritant
• non-flammable
• and for aesthetics and pleasurable beer, it should be odorless or smell pleasant.

Looking through the list, there are no other gasses that meet these criteria.

If we remove the need for high solubility, then that opens up to Nitrogen and Helium. Helium could be used in place of Nitrogen to create a mixed beer gas. I couldn't say ahead of time how the beer would taste, only that you might get a high-pitched voice that you find more and more amusing with each glass! :)

Answer 2

So I know this is old but I thought I'd comment. Not that mdma's great answer really needs any follow up but... I'm going to throw in my two cents.

Under sufficient pressure a small amount of co2 reacts with the water in beer and turns into carbonic acid. If you compare the slightly more tart taste of a beer compared to its flat counterpart you are tasting trace amounts of carbonic acid. Not necessarily a bad thing for most beers which are acidic anyway. However, porters are typically less acidic. some have pH's greater than 7. A gas that doesn't dissociate (inert) helps keep the pH up. N2 isn't the best choice, but it's a really good one. In gas analysis, such as mass spectroscopy where an inert gas is required. Nitrogen is the goto gas due to it's affordability. Helium is better.less soluble in anything since it can't dissociate. I would think it would work really well, for porters at least. Really expensive though.