My aim has always been to create British style beers similar to those served by the best ‘Real Ale’ pubs, if you will pardon the expression. They should be cool, not cold, clear not cloudy, and with just enough carbonation to give a nice tingle in the mouth, not gassy.
It is only possible to achieve this by using containers with a tap at the bottom, such as Ferkins, Pins or Pressure Barrels, and despite their shortcomings, I use the latter. Like the pub, I vent off any pressure built up through fermentation in the cask, and serve the beer at exactly atmospheric pressure, as I have developed a way of preventing air from replacing the beer as it is drawn off. In this I am probably unique, and most people simply squirt just enough CO2 in using an S30 cylinder to prevent air bubbling back through the tap.
You only have to use priming sugar if you have allowed the fermentation to finish, which is what most home brewers do. I gave up the practice after being taught how breweries operate in 1987, and fill my barrels just a week after brewing, with sufficient fermentable sugars left in it to condition the beer.
It is only possible to achieve this by using containers with a tap at the bottom, such as Ferkins, Pins or Pressure Barrels, and despite their shortcomings, I use the latter. Like the pub, I vent off any pressure built up through fermentation in the cask, and serve the beer at exactly atmospheric pressure, as I have developed a way of preventing air from replacing the beer as it is drawn off. In this I am probably unique, and most people simply squirt just enough CO2 in using an S30 cylinder to prevent air bubbling back through the tap.
You only have to use priming sugar if you have allowed the fermentation to finish, which is what most home brewers do. I gave up the practice after being taught how breweries operate in 1987, and fill my barrels just a week after brewing, with sufficient fermentable sugars left in it to condition the beer.
Cheers.
