Floating widget
Floating widget is a filling method for canned beer that is supposed to create foam like freshly tapped draft beers .
The widget is an approx. 3 cm large, hollow plastic ball with two holes. Through the larger hole, the ball is filled with nitrogen under high pressure during the manufacturing process and then sealed into the can. The can itself is also provided with a slight overpressure compared to the normal atmosphere during the filling process . The smaller hole in the widget now represents a predetermined breaking point, which is dimensioned in such a way that it releases the nitrogen as soon as the entire can is opened, but still holds tight as long as the can is closed and has a little more pressure than the normal atmosphere.
When the can is opened, the pressure in the can drops, the predetermined breaking point on the widget opens, and the nitrogen escapes within a few seconds from the small hole in the widget, which now moves through the can. This produces a lot of creamy foam. The beer should be poured into a glass immediately after opening, otherwise it will easily overflow due to the foam formation.
Floating widgets can mainly be found in cans of the Irish brands Guinness and Kilkenny , but also in many other cans of Irish, British or French production.
Rocket widgets are available for bottled beers to achieve a comparable effect.
literature
- Charles W. Bamforth , Inge Russel, Graham Stewart (Eds.): Beer: A Quality Perspective . Academic Press, San Diego 2008, ISBN 978-0-12-669201-3 .