OK home brewers, you have me hooked
Discussion
Looking at kits and I think I will get a Woodfords. Is a Cornelius keg worth the money? I thought real ale was flat and pumped out of kegs. Nothing I can see mentions this, with CO2 being added to pressurise the beer out of the tap. My vision is a nice looking keg, sat on its side on a worktop with a turn tap and gravity flow. Is this just a romantic notion or am I looking at the wrong kits.
Anyone local to Chipping Norton do this stuff?
Cheers guys
Anyone local to Chipping Norton do this stuff?
Cheers guys
Ales are not usually flat but will have a light head from being naturally carbonated by the yeast
most cheap c02 kegs will just push the beer out whilst keeping air away from the beer (and provide a presurised environment where the beer will more easily absorb c02 produced during priming). your beer needs to be in an airtight container with as little air as possible around the beer as that will cause it to oxidise and go off and will also release any c02 that has been absorbed by the beer. If you use a sealed keg without co2 the beer will glug out and it will suck air up through the tap oxidising the beer. you can get around this by releasing the seal while you pour but this will still draw air in- not a problem if you plan to drink the whole keg in one sitting though.
I think the cornelius keg has the ability to pressurise the beer with c02 to higher pressures where the beer will absorb the c02 that you are pressurising it with. this will result in a much more carbonated beer. (not a traditional english ale)
You might be better off looking at beer boxes to start with (think that is what they are called) the beer is held in a flexible plastic bag inside a box and it collapses as the beer comes out.
I personally bottle most of my beer as i like to keep it a bit longer and it is nice to be able to transport it and also give some away to freinds/ family. I have got the entire bottling process down to an hour now (including washing sterilising rinsing priming bottling and capping) so its not really that bad.
most cheap c02 kegs will just push the beer out whilst keeping air away from the beer (and provide a presurised environment where the beer will more easily absorb c02 produced during priming). your beer needs to be in an airtight container with as little air as possible around the beer as that will cause it to oxidise and go off and will also release any c02 that has been absorbed by the beer. If you use a sealed keg without co2 the beer will glug out and it will suck air up through the tap oxidising the beer. you can get around this by releasing the seal while you pour but this will still draw air in- not a problem if you plan to drink the whole keg in one sitting though.
I think the cornelius keg has the ability to pressurise the beer with c02 to higher pressures where the beer will absorb the c02 that you are pressurising it with. this will result in a much more carbonated beer. (not a traditional english ale)
You might be better off looking at beer boxes to start with (think that is what they are called) the beer is held in a flexible plastic bag inside a box and it collapses as the beer comes out.
I personally bottle most of my beer as i like to keep it a bit longer and it is nice to be able to transport it and also give some away to freinds/ family. I have got the entire bottling process down to an hour now (including washing sterilising rinsing priming bottling and capping) so its not really that bad.
Edited by Pete Franklin on Tuesday 2nd August 10:36
I use the generic plastic pressure kegs with a CO2 injection valve in the cap, like this:
You can get ones with just a pressure cap (ie no way to add extra CO2) or pay a few pounds more for a cap with a valve on it. They either use little metal 'bulbs' or you can get some that can hook up to the larger cylinders.
What I've been finding is that the natural carbonation in the beer is usually enough to get between 1/3 and 1/2 out of the barrel without any extra help, beyond that you need to inject some extra CO2 to stop oxygen from glugging in and spoiling it. The only exception is if you pour a few pints in quick succession. Another option is to bottle (which I'll be trying with my next batch so that I can store it for longer), but if you're going to be drinking it yourself then it can sometimes just be an extra hassle.
You can get ones with just a pressure cap (ie no way to add extra CO2) or pay a few pounds more for a cap with a valve on it. They either use little metal 'bulbs' or you can get some that can hook up to the larger cylinders.
What I've been finding is that the natural carbonation in the beer is usually enough to get between 1/3 and 1/2 out of the barrel without any extra help, beyond that you need to inject some extra CO2 to stop oxygen from glugging in and spoiling it. The only exception is if you pour a few pints in quick succession. Another option is to bottle (which I'll be trying with my next batch so that I can store it for longer), but if you're going to be drinking it yourself then it can sometimes just be an extra hassle.
chard said:
I use kegs. I've tried bottling but prefer keg beer so I keep 2 on the go. One drinking one conditioning.
I agree that beer that has been in a keg seems to taste a bit better- cant think why that would be though? whenever i have done a keg it has been for a party so the beer has been drunk in the space of about 8hrs. do you know how long it will keep for with infrequent use? i think it would normally take me about a month and a half to get through a 5 gal batch.Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff