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Thanks - that’s pretty much what I’ve done. I do think CO2 is getting in there as the beer pours well but only for a short while (about a pint) hence the question about how long I’m supposed to open the valve for, and whether it’s right that I should hear/feel the CO2. The bronze outlet nut...

Probably a stupid question but I have to ask it. I have a King Keg with a 4" cap with the built-in CO2 inlet valve (see pic), bought from Ballihoo. But I'm not sure how I actually use the CO2 bulbs! I've assembled it as shown, screwed it onto the barrel cap, and the bulb into the socket. I've...

You might want to buy a second FV, one with a tap. You can use this as a bottling bucket. The advantages are that you can: - siphon the beer in FV1 off its sediment into it - add a priming sugar solution to the bucket instead of individual bottles - use a bottling wand eg 'little bottler' for...

I would leave them for a while. You bottled them just under 4 weeks ago. Forget what it says on the tin/box, my limited experience tells me that the longer you leave them, the better. In my case (after just 3 brews) about 12 weeks is getting towards optimum. What I don’t know is whether beer...

I'm no expert but for conditioning I would prefer cooler rather than room temperature.

Good advice, thanks. I'll do that.

I've no idea what this post is all about.

I've used a King Keg pressure barrel for storing the St Peter's Ruby Red. After 2 weeks fermentation + about 10 days carbonation at roughly room temp, I moved the keg to the garage where it's been ever since. It's cool in there at the best of times but for the last several weeks it's been...

The carbonation was really what I was getting at with my original question.

Thanks @YC, that’s useful, and a good tip re hopping. I’ll probably PB it. If it’s as good as everyone says, no doubt I’ll have a future opportunity to try it in bottles.

My next kit is Festival Razorback IPA, and I'm wondering how best to package it, when the time comes. I have a spare King Keg pressure barrel and I also have plenty of swing-top bottles available. Forgetting about the (in)convenience of one method over another, do people have opinions on how...

MJ Liberty Bell. No idea if that was a good idea or not but I thought I'd give it a go.

Update -- St Peter's Ruby Red tasted again a couple times this week and it's now very good IMO. This is after 12 weeks (with week 1 being the start of fermentation). I'm sure that it could be good before this but this is how it worked out for me. I used a different yeast from the one supplied...

Time for an end-of-term report. I've quite often seen posts like my original one, after which the poster seems to vanish, leaving me to wonder how it all turned out. So I thought I'd update the forum for the benefit, I hope, of current and future newbies. Like all good stories, this one started...

I've been using the Sainsbury Grolsch bottles at £1.65 each. I don’t mind the beer. It’s just straightforward, unremarkable lager. I probably lived too long in Germany but pilsner-style beer is drinkable to me. Often boring, yes, but drinkable. Worst thing about Grolsch is the annoying 45cl...

It is an excellent thread, yes, and encouraged me to buy two King Kegs in the summer. They’ve been 100% reliable, without even the PTFE tape. PSI readings have stayed rock solid. I’ve obviously read a lot of complaints about PBs but the 6 I know of in service, including my two, all seem to work...

Yes, I had the chance last night. It’s nearly ready but not quite. It still has a bit of that homebrew 'twang.' Not a lot but it’s there. I’ll leave it another couple of weeks and try again.

Dead right. I did a lot of online reading (much of it on this forum) + watched a ton of YouTube videos. I also asked several rudimentary questions here which you'll see if you search. And I still know very little. But I do know that my first two brews -- one in barrel, one in bottle -- are...

It’s a controversial topic but look up 'cold crashing'. Again, I’m a very new brewer so cant pretend to be an expert. But the idea is that a rapid drop in temperature for a day or two will draw the sediment to the bottom of the FV, thereby reducing the amount of residual gunk you transfer to...

My 3rd brew is St Peters Ruby Red too. I think it’s in Week 7 now (in plastic King Keg barrel), and I’ve not yet thought about sampling it. I fermented for 2 weeks, cold-crashed for 2 days, then barrelled with about 80g of priming sugar dissolved in a little warm water. After 2 weeks at room...