Ale Storage Advice

[Chiplover]

I’m a fairly new brewer and have only done kits so far. I most enjoy traditional British bitter and recently got hold of a hand pull. I’m not likely to polish off 20litres in a month so storage is fairly important to me.
The question is about how best to store my brew for easy use in a hand pull. These are my thoughts:
1.King keg with co2 - I believe this will keep the beer in fairly good condition and a combo of conditioning and co2 can be used to account for the handpull drawing liquid to replace the air.
2.rack to several small volume bag in a box- much easier dispensing setup with no worries about replacing air and 3-5litres would easily get used over a weekend/week, However how long is a bag going to last unopened if it ends up being a few months?

is a combination of the two better for longer term storage? Could I store in a pressure barrel and dispense to a bag a few days before drinking and would I need to prime the bag?

is there any other small volume options for real ale like a mini keg with a vitop tap?.

sorry for all the questions. As more of a sipper I’m worried about wasting my precious brews and want to get it right before I move on to extract brewing

 

[An Ankoù]

I think you should bottle.

 

[Chiplover]

I think you should bottle.

Completely understand why I should, but I’m keen to be able to dispense even if it’s only a pint a night

 

[Mavroz]

If you only want a pint a night, as said bottling is the way for you to go.

Using a handpull, drawing through and cleaning after your pint each night will probably waste more beer, need more time and need more cleaning than what it is worth....

 

[Chiplover]

If you only want a pint a night, as said bottling is the way for you to go.

Using a handpull, drawing through and cleaning after your pint each night will probably waste more beer, need more time and need more cleaning than what it is worth....

Maybe a mix of bottles and save the tap for a session then

 

[Clint]

20 litres in a month...I've managed that in my last 12 days of holiday...I blame the hot weather.

 

[Chiplover]

20 litres in a month...I've managed that in my last 12 days of holiday...I blame the hot weather.

We’ve all had a week like that on holiday!

 

[Galena]

Or you could use a 5L minikeg

 

[marshbrewer]

Your best bet is to get into Corny kegs then follow @peebee 's guide to 'almost' cask real ale using low pressure regulators and demand valves and stuff.

 

[Chiplover]

Or you could use a 5L minikeg
View attachment 31064

If I could get these with a Vitop tap it would be perfect

 

[Chiplover]

Your best bet is to get into Corny kegs then follow @peebee 's guide to 'almost' cask real ale using low pressure regulators and demand valves and stuff.

Yes I believe I can do something similar with the barrel so think that might be the best way

 

[terrym]

How about this low tech solution.....
Bottle your beer but lightly carb it. On opening inject air into it using a Calpol type syringe. That displaces dissolved CO2, you get a good head on the beer and less of the CO2 bite you get with bottled beers.
And it will cost next to nothing to try out

 

[Mavroz]

I have been using bags in boxes, 18 pints at a time. They don't let oxygen in, they don't need venting, they don't need a Co2 setup and the beer seems to keep well in them but obviously I use them for more than a pint at a time. I probably use a box per weekend when I put the pump on with friends and family around.

 

[Chiplover]

I have been using bags in boxes, 18 pints at a time. They don't let oxygen in, they don't need venting, they don't need a Co2 setup and the beer seems to keep well in them but obviously I use them for more than a pint at a time. I probably use a box per weekend when I put the pump on with friends and family around.

I’ve seen you can get 3, 5 and 10 litres which is why I’m keen. Do you prime the bag?
Out of interest do you ever store them for more than a few weeks before opening?

 

[Galena]

If I could get these with a Vitop tap it would be perfect

Well you can get THESE

 

[Chiplover]

Well you can get THESE

View attachment 31083

Interesting! Similar to the growler type setup think I need to do a lot more googling

 

[Mavroz]

I’ve seen you can get 3, 5 and 10 litres which is why I’m keen. Do you prime the bag?
Out of interest do you ever store them for more than a few weeks before opening?

Yes, you can get 36 pint bags also but they are bulky to.mive around and store.

I have primed with small amounts of dextrose solution over the last few brews, yes. I am still experimenting with this .Depending on how much you use, the bags have to be vented to stop them expanding too much.

Yes, they are stored for a while before opening. I am building a stock now of boxes, along side the many bottles I have made for Xmas.

 

[An Ankoù]

I recall that @Coffin Dodger has a very ingenious and inexpensive system for collecting the fermentation gas in a balloon which gradually deflates as you draw off the beer. You might look up some of his earlier threads.
When I finally get the shelf space to rig this up, I'm going to have a go myself.

 

[Chiplover]

Yes, you can get 36 pint bags also but they are bulky to.mive around and store.

I have primed with small amounts of dextrose solution over the last few brews, yes. I am still experimenting with this .Depending on how much you use, the bags have to be vented to stop them expanding too much.

Yes, they are stored for a while before opening. I am building a stock now of boxes, along side the many bottles I have made for Xmas.

Sounds like the bags work very well I’ll give it a try

 

[Chiplover]

I recall that @Coffin Dodger has a very ingenious and inexpensive system for collecting the fermentation gas in a balloon which gradually deflates as you draw off the beer. You might look up some of his earlier threads.
When I finally get the shelf space to rig this up, I'm going to have a go myself.

Yes he has! I’ve thought about it a lot and I think I could do a similar system by just adding co2 to the barrel, it’s only when drinking a lot in a short time it would cause a problem which is why I wondered about transferring from barrel to bags.

Seems like there’s a lot of ingenious ways I’ll get my thinking cap on