WoofdogABC
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Hi,
I am about to do my first cask-conditioned ale. I have spent time with a cellarman friend in scotland on the job and have some indirect familiarity with the cellar-side of things, but none with the brewing side. Have searched this forum for the word cask and read all 21 pages which related to the topic. Learned a lot, but a few questions stand out or had conflicting answers -
method of dispense will be gravity.
1) is isinglass the only fining I should use? for a 4.5 gal stainless pin, what quantity/dissolution should I put in? Under what circumstances should I use any priming? opinions seem to vary on this.
2) I have 2 frig's, 1 for fermentation and one at 55f for cellar/storage, plus one at ~40f for normal use with lots of space inside, so I could in theory crash cool the fermented beer before racking. Should I do this, and for how long and at what temperature? Once racked, should the cask stay at 55f from then on or spend any time at 68f or whatever?
3) is it necessary to pressurize the cask to seal it? are shives/keystones auto-sealing once placed in, or is an agent of some sort used with them for airtight-sealing?
4) Longevity - my experience is that while beer at 50f will never mature right and be green, I wonder if I let it condition at 55 for however long, and take down to 50 once I start using it, will I prolong the life of the cask any or notably? Obviously this is something a pub could never do, but since an individual isn't subject to the same logistic constraints, is it a viable idea? If not, should I go with a cask breather or a race cask ventilator (which one?)
5) sterilization of shives, keystones, spiles? soak in what possible sanitizers for how long?
6) cask sanitation - is there a reason a foaming sanitizer (e.g. star san) cannot or should not be used just prior to filling?
I am not in the UK much at all now but terribly miss real ale and am keen on trying to get something viable working on my end, but want to try to avoid the avoidable pitfalls before starting.
I am about to do my first cask-conditioned ale. I have spent time with a cellarman friend in scotland on the job and have some indirect familiarity with the cellar-side of things, but none with the brewing side. Have searched this forum for the word cask and read all 21 pages which related to the topic. Learned a lot, but a few questions stand out or had conflicting answers -
method of dispense will be gravity.
1) is isinglass the only fining I should use? for a 4.5 gal stainless pin, what quantity/dissolution should I put in? Under what circumstances should I use any priming? opinions seem to vary on this.
2) I have 2 frig's, 1 for fermentation and one at 55f for cellar/storage, plus one at ~40f for normal use with lots of space inside, so I could in theory crash cool the fermented beer before racking. Should I do this, and for how long and at what temperature? Once racked, should the cask stay at 55f from then on or spend any time at 68f or whatever?
3) is it necessary to pressurize the cask to seal it? are shives/keystones auto-sealing once placed in, or is an agent of some sort used with them for airtight-sealing?
4) Longevity - my experience is that while beer at 50f will never mature right and be green, I wonder if I let it condition at 55 for however long, and take down to 50 once I start using it, will I prolong the life of the cask any or notably? Obviously this is something a pub could never do, but since an individual isn't subject to the same logistic constraints, is it a viable idea? If not, should I go with a cask breather or a race cask ventilator (which one?)
5) sterilization of shives, keystones, spiles? soak in what possible sanitizers for how long?
6) cask sanitation - is there a reason a foaming sanitizer (e.g. star san) cannot or should not be used just prior to filling?
I am not in the UK much at all now but terribly miss real ale and am keen on trying to get something viable working on my end, but want to try to avoid the avoidable pitfalls before starting.
