Hello...and opinions please

10 months ago | Spyke (Member)

Good morning everyone!

I am just starting out in the world of Home Brewing and like most newbies am pulling together all the bits of info that I can and need to ask for your collective wisdom and knowledge.

Like most I am starting with a Woodfordes Wherry kit which arrived this morning, can't wait to crack it open tonight and get started.

I would like some opinions on the bottling/barreling/transportation of the finished brew. I am currently collecting bottles and have the 5 gallon barrel which comes with the kit.

I would be looking to taking the beer (and future beer) to festivals and on camping trips. I also would like the ability to have a couple of brews conditioning at a time. Currently eyeing up the St.Peters kit deals....

So, to actually get to something resembling a point:

1 - The 2 gallon basic barrel - how is it for transporting? It says that it does not need to have a CO2 value given the small volume, anyone confirm this for me?

2 - Is there any point/problem with barreling (5 gallon) a whole batch then splitting it between bottles and a smaller barrel (2 gallon) after 2 weeks or so? Or would it be better to split the batch straight from the original fermenter?

3 - If I got a secondary fermentation bin to attach the little bottler to, can I prime that, syphon the beer into it then bottle and barrel the rest or is it best to prime the barrel seperately?

Lots of questions, though matched by my enthusiasm!

Cheers

Fermenting: Diddley Squat.
Conditioning: Wherry, Cherry Wine, Bottled Cherry Wheat Beer.
Planning: Wherry + mod, St Peter's Ruby
Drinking: Bought Crabbies, St Peter's (Tasty...and for the pretty bottles :D)

Read responses...

Responses

James-Dylan:

Posted 10 months ago by Member

Hello,

I think the main issue you'll have with transporting the barrel would be disturbing the sediment. The beer will need to sit in a cool place once conditioned to allow all the yeast to drop out to the bottom and leave you with a nice clear pint. Moving the barrel a large amount would disturb the yeast and make the beer cloudy again. Bottles would be the key to transporting the finished beer as there is minimal sediment and any disturbances will clear quick enough.

Can't help on the other barreling questions though I'm afraid as I predominantly bottle or keg my beers.

Hope this helps though.

Nath:

Posted 10 months ago by Moderator

Hello mate,

1 - I can be used without a co2 valve but its best to get one as once you get so far in the barrel (and depending if your getting though it quickly) then it will need re gassing sometime. Its only a couple of quid for the cap so I would grab one and a canister. You dont want to be at a festival and not be able to pour a pint!

2 - You can split when you want but you will have to re-prime the bottles if you leave it for 2 weeks in the barrel. Do this with 1/4-1/2 tsp sugar in the bottle. If you split the batch from the first fv then its just a case of splitting it.

3 - Yep. Batch priming is great. Get 200mls water boil it and add sugar (60-85g) then leave it to boil for 15mins or so. Sool it down add to the second fv (with the little bottler attached, then transfer the beer over and bottle/keg straight away. This makes sure you have an even amount of sugar where ever you put it.

Transferring beer in a keg will cause the sediment to stir up so moving it round will cause cloudy beer, but it wont be a problem, just a bit cloudy.

And yep get a "rolling stock" going. Theres nothing worse than waiting for a beer to ferment when you have no beer left!

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

saracen:

Posted 10 months ago by Moderator

Hello Spyke. Good to meet you.
You mention a 2 gallon barrel. If this not a typing error, the best advice I could give you is don't have anything to do with a 2 gallon barrel. They are known to be much weaker than the 5 gallon one and give problems with splitting, leaking, etc. Certainly don't consider injecting one with CO2.
I only transported beer once and that was 2 x 5 gallon barrels. I put the fermented brew in a barrel, primed it with about 50 gms of sugar because I only wanted the beer to clear and not over pressurise, but form a layer of CO2 over the beer to discourage nasties getting in. I left it for about 6 weeks, then took a second barrel with a CO2 injector cap, injected a cylinder of CO2, (again, the gas layer to protect the beer) left it an hour for the gas to settle to the bottom, carefully loosened the cap to let the pressurised air out, rigged a pipe securely between the taps of both barrels with the full one a lot higher than the other, turned the taps on and let the clear beer flow slowly across into the empty barrel so as not to lose all the CO2 in the beer. When full I screwed the CO2 cap on. When I got where I was going (camping weekend at Silverstone) we gassed both barrels (Yes, 2 barrels. There was 6 of us and we didn't want to run out!!) and drank lovely, clear beer.

If you're not living on the edge..... you're taking up too much space!!

Planning: - To get some more brews on now the weather's a bit cooler
Fermenting: - Ginger Beer experiment
Conditioning: - A normal bitter with Styrians
Drinking: - All of it!!

E-mail: arnyfris@gmail.com

Jules:

Posted 10 months ago by Member

Hi Saracen
One of my 5 gal barrels is destined for Silverstone next week - my son has earmarked one for him and friends though I am not going to go to the efforts you have made re gassing etc - if they nick my beer they can have it cloudy!

Drinking: Un-named 2 Can bitter, Doodlebug, Thunderbolt
Conditioning: LP Extract
Fermenting : Old Speckled Hen Extract
Planning: Thunderbolt again, Rocker APA and a wheat extract c/o Hamish!

Spyke:

Posted 10 months ago by Member

Many thanks to all you guys for the welcome and the advice, it is much appreciated.

James - Do you use the mini-kegs or the Cornelius? The mini kegs are tempting what do you think of them. The Cornelius looks great but that is a little out of my budget at the moment.

Nath - Batch priming sounds the way to go! Do you use the 2 gallon barrels?

Saracen - Are the 2 gallon barrels really that bad? From what you say I really don't want to take the chance with 2 gallons of the good stuff. Or even my mediocre first attempt stuff!

I like your method of transfering from 5 gallon to 5 gallon barrel, but am a little worried that they will be a bit cumbersome for camping and festivals.

Also, I am a bit limited on space at the moment, a smaller container seems easier to deal with.

James-Dylan:

Posted 10 months ago by Member

I use Corny's, I have 2 of them but I tend to use them with my lower alcohol session brews as I drink through them too quickly.. They're great but a bit of a pain in terms of storing them somewhere appropriate.

I've been tempted in the past by mini kegs but doubt i'd ever take that route but that's just personal choice.

saracen:

Posted 10 months ago by Moderator

Hi Jules. It was the World Series by Renault at Silverstone we went to. Second biggest meeting of the year and one big advantage over the GP.... it's FREE!!! Think I'll do a post about it.

Spyke. The 2 gallon barrels can be used, but you need to treat them with respect. Simply using them as a conditioning and priming vessel is dodgy. If you transfer the beer in the way I said and fitted a CO2 pressure cap, you'll need to go for the S30 and a cylinder. The pin valve type where you use a whole Sparklets bulb could (Empahsise, could) prove too much. Have a go. When the beer is in the barrel, inject enough CO2 to raise the little stubby feet on the barrel about 1/4 inch off whatever surface it is standing on. If it starts to blow up like a balloon, back off!! Little and often.

Spyke:

Posted 10 months ago by Member

Thanks again guys, I value your experiences.

I think I might go for a 2 gallon barrel with the S30 cap, as you recommend Saracen and see how it fairs. I'll probably condition the beer in the 5 gal barrel that comes with the kit and then only syphon across to the little'n when it is going to be taken away for the weekend.

I am so excited about getting the kit going at the weekend.

saracen:

Posted 10 months ago by Moderator

Hi Spyke. I think you're going exactly the right way, but you mention 'syphon' across. Don't loosen the cap or you'll loose all the gas. Fit a tube beteween the taps, securely, and let the pressure in the big barrel, aided by gravity, push it across to the little one. Do it very slowly, or you'll end up with a barrel full of foam.

Spyke:

Posted 10 months ago by Member

Noted! Thanks saracen.

Hmmm, starting to think that I need another 5gal barrel for conditioning, if I want a rolling stock going.... Thank god it has just been pay day.

peter:

Posted 10 months ago by Member

well if its any help I went 1 FV and 1 keg to 3 FVs 3 kegs and 40+ bottles in 10 months

5 gal geordie bitter
5 gal St Peters Golden Ale as per tin
Youngs Harvest Mild
all a bit moded

Nath:

Posted 10 months ago by Moderator

I hear you peter - and it only gets worse!

Im upto 45 bottles, 4 cornie kegs, a kegerator, all the ag kit, chemicals comming out my ears, a shed, a garage and 4 fvs. (and thats the stuff I can remember!)

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

Loz:

Posted 9 months ago by Member

This forum is ace! This is just the thread I needed too.

I really like the keg to keg via tubing idea, I'll definitely be trying that for parties etc. How long would it be OK for once it gets into the second keg using this method?

Also on a smaller scale - if I wanted to take a few litres around to a friends house, i.e. straight from the keg into a few screw top bottles for drinking the same night, would there be any point in priming them? I don't know how long it takes for the sugar to start working.

Cheers!

Drinking - Youngs Brew Buddy Lager
Fermenting - Youngs Definitive Lager
- Edme German Lager
- Youngs Brew Buddy Lager

saracen:

Posted 9 months ago by Moderator

Hi Loz

How long would it be OK for once it gets into the second keg using this method?

Provided you inject CO2 into the barrel first and let it stand for at least half an hour for the CO2 to settle to the bottom, and don't introduce any nasties via crud on the tap, etc, it should last for ages. Rumour has it homebrew will last for up to a year, but I've never found anyone who can vouch for this.

if I wanted to take a few litres around to a friends house, i.e. straight from the keg into a few screw top bottles for drinking the same night, would there be any point in priming them?

No. It takes a couple of weeks for priming sugar to be used up and the sediment formed to settle. The only way you can get beer from a keg into bottles and still hold onto the fizz, is to cool the keg down to about 5°c and transfer the beer to the bottles. The low temperature helps the CO2 stay in the beer. The best way is to draw off 3 or 4 bottles from the keg immediately after you've kegged the beer. That way, you get beer in the bottle with the priming sugar dissolved in it. Before you know where you are, you've got a dozen or so bottle to take anywhere you like..... but remember there will be sediment in the bottle, so don't shake it up on the way.

Reply

You must log in to post.