Chilling beer in a pressure barrel

[davidgrace]

A friend of mine has recently started brewing beer. He decided to use a pressure barrel rather than bottles, but now with warmer weather he has a problem chilling the beer for drinking. Any ideas about how he can chill his beer? I’m also interested as I was considering a pressure barrel or corny keg myself.

 

[Rodcx500z]

A dedicated fridge is really the only way and definatly with cornys as you need gas as well to seal the lid

 

[Graz]

Many ways to achieve this some more effective than others. Obviously having it in a fridge is the best solution.

The more low tech stuff, keep it somewhere cool to begin with, a wet towel wrapped around it will cool it a bit as the water evaporates, or somehow fixing ice packs around the outside of it. Another method is the "jockey box" (Google it), where the dispensed beer is passed through a coil of pipe in an ice box to cool it. The ready made examples of these always struck me as being a bit expensive but if you're not averse to a bit of DIY...

 

[Bevvied]

A frozen pint glass can help a little bit.

 

[kelper]

Easy, transfer some to bottles and put in the fridge! I often transfer this way, especially if I want to give beer away. I let some foam overflow the bottle so I know I have purged all the air since the bubbles contain just CO2. If you are in a hurry, put the bottles in a handwash basin with the plug OUT and cover with ice cubes. The beer will be really cold within ten minutes.

I also transfer from PB to mini keg very successfully. I have 2L and 5L kegs, with taps, in the domestic fridge in the kitchen. I also have an understanding wife - the best accessory I ever purchased investment I ever made.

 

[davidgrace]

Easy, transfer some to bottles and put in the fridge! I often transfer this way, especially if I want to give beer away. I let some foam overflow the bottle so I know I have purged all the air since the bubbles contain just CO2. If you are in a hurry, put the bottles in a handwash basin with the plug OUT and cover with ice cubes. The beer will be really cold within ten minutes.

I also transfer from PB to mini keg very successfully. I have 2L and 5L kegs, with taps, in the domestic fridge in the kitchen. I also have an understanding wife - the best accessory I ever purchased investment I ever made.

I’m interested to know how beer from a pressure barrel compares with beer from bottles. Is pressure barreled beer a little more like draught beer than bottled? Or would you say pressure barreled beer and bottled are identical?

 

[terrym]

I’m interested to know how beer from a pressure barrel compares with beer from bottles. Is pressure barreled beer a little more like draught beer than bottled? Or would you say pressure barreled beer and bottled are identical?

The beer is the same. It is the method of dispensing that differentiates it. Beer poured from a bottle is likely to have more carbonation in it. Beer served from a tap on a PB loses dissolved CO2 as it flows through the tap and some of that appears as a head on the beer. When a PB is fully pressurised the dispensed beer from the tap can be like a pint of stout at the pub.

 

[kelper]

I dispense from a PB into a jug and then pour into a pint glass - this way I can limit the amount of foam in the glass. Then it tastes and feels very like draught beer. I do the same when dispensing from a cold mini keg.

 

[davidgrace]

I usually brew 11.5L of beer. What would be the right size PB for that volume?

 

[kelper]

15L