Bottling after Cask Conditioning?

[whinton]

Last month I brewed a Summer Ale from Greg Hughes's book. Its the first time I've used a recipe from this book so the result is something I'm looking forward to.
I shall be tapping my cask on Thursday ready for (what I hope will be) a merry weekend :)

I'm toying with bottling about 12 bottles once I tap the cask so that I can take something camping next month. Any thoughts from anyone? The beer has been conditioning in the cask for 4 and a half weeks now. Has anyone bottled after cask conditioning? I haven't bottled beer before and just want to keep some for about 4 weeks.
Thanks in advance :thumb:
Wayne.

 

[Halfacrem]

I'd be interested to hear your views on the Summer Ale. I have one in Primary at the moment.

As for bottling after cask conditioning. I'm not sure. I'm sure it can be done, but not certain if there would be any negative consequences. The one thing I can think of straight away is if you draw 12 bottles off a cask, you will lose your pressure and will probably have to re prime what's left in the barrel. Also, not sure how long the beer would stay fresh in the bottle as effectively you are pouring a pint (bottle) and leaving it to sit around (albeit sealed)

If you got your skates on your might be able to get a Wheat Beer on and ready before you go away? :whistle:

 

[whinton]

Will let you know how it comes out. Each time I brew I jot down lessons learned from last time.
The Summer Ale is a session beer and I was a bit concerned about the ABV. Mine is 3.7%. If the hops aren't available I usually try an alternative. With the Summer Ale I couldn't get Progress so used Fuggle. If I've tinkered with the recipe I allow myself to change the name :). Mine is called Summer Quaffer :lol:
I usually use Graham Wheelers's book and regard it as my bible as I haven't had a bad beer yet.
Regarding pressure, I condition in a Pin then dispense via Beer Engine. If I know that its not all going to go in a weekend I put some CO2 in via an aspirator which puts a blanket of CO2 on top of the beer and it's good for two weekends. :thumb:

My Skates are already on and I have an "Alternative" Black Sheep Ale fermenting and next weekend will brew a Cotleigh Barn Owl!

Thanks for the input :thumb:

 

[peebee]

I cask in "Cornies". I use a "thief" (beer gun, or wand) to fill PET bottles directly from the "Corny". The "thief" keeps froth to a minimum by filling slowly below the surface of the beer and not splashing it about so I can fill the bottle to the brim and limit the loss of condition (because there isn't much room for CO2 to go to if it comes out of solution). But I do use very low carbonation (<2psi) for serving from a hand-pump normally which means I don't suffer from too much froth anyway. Never tried to see how long it will last bottled like this, but seems to work well for the few days I have had some so bottled. No reason why it shouldn't keep much longer.

I suppose carbonator caps on the PET bottles will better help prevent loss of carbonation but they are expensive (used to be able to get cheap ones from Widget World and have lots, but no more it seems). Getting everything (beer, wand, bottles) as cold as possible before bottling will limit froth and loss of carbonation, not that I bother to do this.

 

[whinton]

Thanks Peebee,

Looks like I will give it a go. I have a bottle wand so will try a couple and see how it goes.
I will add the outcome to my lessons learned :) which is getting longer each time I brew!

 

[Crystal_Ball]

I have just bottled the Greg Hughes summer ale as I didn't have an empty keg. If you were to go for a wheat beer as suggested above I did the Greg Hughes Rye Wheat beer from his book. Conditioned for about 3 weeks max before a bbq and it was lovely! It was my first all grain though so a little biased.

 

[whinton]

Crystal_Ball, thanks for the Wheat Beer info. I've not brewed a wheat beer so might look to that in the coming months.

Halfacrem - Tapped the Summer Ale (Well my version of it - Summer Quaffer) tonight. Nice release of gas and my clarity tester shows a nice clear ale. Initial taste is good. More a bitter ale than something hoppy. I brewed it as a session beer and that's just how it tastes. Will be downing a few tomorrow with invited guests to get some opinions. Will keep you posted :thumb:

 

[Halfacrem]

Crystal_Ball, thanks for the Wheat Beer info. I've not brewed a wheat beer so might look to that in the coming months.

Halfacrem - Tapped the Summer Ale (Well my version of it - Summer Quaffer) tonight. Nice release of gas and my clarity tester shows a nice clear ale. Initial taste is good. More a bitter ale than something hoppy. I brewed it as a session beer and that's just how it tastes. Will be downing a few tomorrow with invited guests to get some opinions. Will keep you posted :thumb:

I'll be interested to hear how it tastes :thumb:

 

[whinton]

Halfacrem, my Summer Quaffer scored an average of 74 out of 100. There was a nice bitter taste but I could have done with tasting more hops. Very drinkable non-the-less. I don't think it is something I am going to brew again soon but as a session ale it went down well.

A few problems with the current fermentation but I will post that in another thread!

Cheers

Wayne.