Advice needed for wedding plans

[Jimmy Ale]

Hi all,

I'm going to be getting married in a couple of months and intend to put a couple of barrels of my homebrew (an IPA and a sweet brown ale, both AG) on at the reception. I have bought a couple of barrels for this which are designed for a gas system, but since it'll all get drunk on the night then I'm just going to use air pressure by cracking open the lid a bit since it doesn't need to keep fresh. Anyhow, I normally always bottle my beers and so was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of advice regarding using the barrels please. I brewed the IPA last weekend and intend to leave it in the primary for a few more days, possible another week. I normally add a half teaspoon of sugar to each bottle for priming, but I know with a barrel it is much easier than this - i.e. just dissolve the full quantity of sugar in some boiled water and chuck it into the barrel first.

The main thing I'm worried about is whether to use finings, and if so which ones and how/when they should be added? I am going to take the barrels to the venue a few days in advance to give them time to settle a bit, but am still a bit worried that it might be a bit cloudy for other peoples' tastes (I never bother fining my bottled beers and they are usually crystal clear if I pour it carefully and throw away the last bit of the bottle). I've heard that the simplest option is just to add dissolved gelatine from the supermarket, but I'm not sure when to do this.

My second question is, once I've transported the barrels to the venue, how much can I move them about? By this I mean if they are stored in a store room and then moved up to the bar on the night then will this stir all the yeast up again?

Thanks very much in advance for any advice you can give me.

 

[Wolverine]

You can move them around when they are full with less risk of disturbing the sediment than say half empty. I would use finnings if you are gonna be serving it to people who are used to perfectly clear beer. wilko sell beer finnings in a sachet for a quid so why not splash out ha ha.. good luck with the wedding

 

[tubby_shaw]

If I were serving to the general public (family and friends) then I would fine in the secondary to get rid of as much yeast as possible then rack to the kegs and prime at 50g of sugar per keg.
This way there should still be enough yeast in suspension to give the beer a little life but not so much that it should be a problem to transport or serve :thumb:

 

[Jimmy Ale]

Thanks very much for the replies (sorry for not posting sooner, but I've been away all week).

If I rack to a secondary and add the finings then how long is it best to leave it for before kegging? I have some gelatine leaves and was wondering if they are appropriate?

My thoughts are to rack to the secondary, add a dissolved gelatine leaf, leave for 24 hours or so then siphon off to the primed barrel. Does this sound ok?

Also, this is a silly question, but how do you start a siphon without sucking on it (I usually do this to get it started and I've never had any problems)? I'm a little worried about getting an infection by adding the extra secondary stage to the process, especially since its not producing as much CO2 to form a protective blanket once I've exposed it to the air...

 

[graysalchemy]

Just don't do it.

(the wedding that is)

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Just don't do it.

(the wedding that is)

+1 on that, you'll regret it.

 

[graysalchemy]

I passed the ten year mark yesterday. Tin Anniversary, I did think of getting her a tin of baked beans but she doesn't like them.

Marriage is probably the most seriously legal contract you will ever sign and yet you get no legal advice, At least when you buy a house you get a solicitor to go through it, marriage no. I have a friend who is getting divorced because she was cheating on him and yet she is claiming 80% of the house

 

[Dronfieldbrewer]

I passed the ten year mark yesterday. Tin Anniversary, I did think of getting her a tin of baked beans but she doesn't like them.

Marriage is probably the most seriously legal contract you will ever sign and yet you get no legal advice, At least when you buy a house you get a solicitor to go through it, marriage no. I have a friend who is getting divorced because she was cheating on him and yet she is claiming 80% of the house

Not good, did they share the house equally? She got the inside, he got the outside

 

[Hollow Legs]

I passed the ten year mark yesterday. Tin Anniversary,

I have been happily married for five years now, but it was our twenty fifth anniversary last year :lol: :rofl: ahhhhhhh!! aint life sweet

 

[tubby_shaw]

To get back on topic
Gelatine is my preferred fining for ales :thumb:
If the beer has sat for a few days after fermentation has finished then rack it straight to the keg and add the gelatine and priming sugar at the same time :)

 

[mtvessel]

With hindsight i'd go for the Canadian blonde :lol:

 

[john_d]

Just don't do it.

(the wedding that is)

+1 on that, you'll regret it.

i enjoyed it so much ive done it twice! :party:

 

[graysalchemy]

With hindsight i'd go for the Canadian blonde :lol:

Does she have to be canadian or blonde for that matter. What about an irish red ? However I wouldn't go for a stout they all end up that way anyway.:)