Understanding CO2 Quality

The podcast emphasizes the critical distinction between beverage-grade and food-grade CO2, highlighting that only beverage-grade CO2 meets FDA standards for purity without harmful pathogens. Beverage-grade CO2 is further refined to lower allowable levels of compounds like acetaldehyde, which can affect the flavor and aroma of the beer. Brewmasters share that even slight variations in CO2 quality can lead to off-flavors, such as a rubbery taste from contaminated CO2 delivery systems. These quality differences underscore the importance of sourcing high-grade CO2, as using inferior quality can result in significant negative outcomes in beer flavor and overall quality.