How cask beer goes bad my early observations

[simon12]

I opened 2 casks on Tuesday last week 360 degrees NZ pale and pig and porter american amber the next day the shive on Nelsons brewery revenge had blown out over night so I hammered it back in and opened that and during that day the shive on Larkins pale blew out but I was standing next to it and hammered it straight back in and opened it the next day. All beers were still tasted great on Saturday though the NZ pale was a bit flat. I was closed on Sunday but on Monday the Nelsons tasted disgusting and the NZ pale was past its best but still nice but the Amercan amber and Larkins are both still good, the next day (today) the american amber is past its best aswell but the Larkins is still good.
The shives blowing out was an issue with a cooler that broke (I am using chilled cask jackets) which likely doesn't help the beer life either and the larkins seems to have a huge amount of CO2 compared to the others which I guess helps it. I just put hard spiles in when closed and soft when open and all are gravity dispensed straight from the casks.
Can any one say if this sounds about normal or have any tips?

 

[Sadfield]

Ideally you should be aiming to have it all consumed in 3 days.

https://cellarcraftuk.com/ten-rights-cask-beer

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[simon12]

Cheers for the link, i'm going to sleep so will check it out tomorrow.

 

[ACBEV]

Sadfield provided a very useful link. Assuming everything is done correctly (including temp. control), as Sadfield said 3 days is optimum for finishing a cask, longer depends on the condition of the beer.

You can eek out a few more days with an auto vent...
https://www.harrymasons.com/product/cask-breather-autovent/
These give much better control of venting. Then you also have the option of using a CO2 spigot, which will extend shelf life further.

Another option is to use a smaller cask (pin), if your using a firkin.

 

[dan125]

So your micropub is open now?

 

[simon12]

Sadfield provided a very useful link. Assuming everything is done correctly (including temp. control), as Sadfield said 3 days is optimum for finishing a cask, longer depends on the condition of the beer.

You can eek out a few more days with an auto vent...
https://www.harrymasons.com/product/cask-breather-autovent/
These give much better control of venting. Then you also have the option of using a CO2 spigot, which will extend shelf life further.

Another option is to use a smaller cask (pin), if your using a firkin.

Cheers, obviously I am still learning but I think the 3 days is kind of beer is almost guaranteed to be good (with good practise handling) but it can be good for 5 maybe 6 days you just need to check it. The cask breather in that link in my opinion (possibly wrong) should only be used to replace a soft spile as it doesn't stop CO2 leaving at all while a hard spile does, I always notice a large amount of CO2 leaving when I change from hard to soft and I am assuming keeping more CO2 in protects the beer from the air/oxygen, I have also read these can stop you releasing the last 5 or so pints from the beer as theres not enough weight to pull enough air in. As for pins the few breweries that can supply them seem to only fill them to order otherwise I would have got them.

 

[simon12]

Ideally you should be aiming to have it all consumed in 3 days.

https://cellarcraftuk.com/ten-rights-cask-beer

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Points 4 & 5 don't seem correct to me, ie venting the cask does not start secondary fermentation and the 10 days in 5 I think are after the cask if filled not after its vented. At least this is what others seem to think and so does CAMRA's cellermanship book.

 

[simon12]

So your micropub is open now?

Yes the big opening is this Saturday £2.50 a pint but I opened last Wednesday and will be open with short hours until Saturday after which I will be open 12:00-23:00 mon-Sat and 14:00-22:00 Sunday.

 

[BeerCat]

Congratulations Simon and best of luck. I am reading with interest as i am clueless on this subject.

 

[Sadfield]

Points 4 & 5 don't seem correct to me, ie venting the cask does not start secondary fermentation and the 10 days in 5 I think are after the cask if filled not after its vented. At least this is what others seem to think and so does CAMRA's cellermanship book.

Possibly. I think some breweries secondary condition at the brewery, some don't. This is probably written from the perspective of the latter. That's my understanding.

Your original post reads like you are tapping before venting?

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[simon12]

I am venting then immediately tapping as soon as beer stops coming out the top. But wherever the beer has its secondary fermentation it doesn't need venting 1st, I had 1 cask delivered that the driver said was only filled that day so should not be tapped for 10 days.

 

[ACBEV]

The cask breather in that link in my opinion (possibly wrong) should only be used to replace a soft spile as it doesn't stop CO2 leaving at all while a hard spile does,

Watch the video on the page I linked to, it will become clearer and it gives all the options available.

 

[dan125]

Yes the big opening is this Saturday £2.50 a pint but I opened last Wednesday and will be open with short hours until Saturday after which I will be open 12:00-23:00 mon-Sat and 14:00-22:00 Sunday.

Great stuff and well done for getting it off the ground :thumb::hat:
Sorry for going a bit off topic, but what name did you go for in the end?

 

[simon12]

Great stuff and well done for getting it off the ground :thumb::hat:
Sorry for going a bit off topic, but what name did you go for in the end?

Secret cask the last update was here https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...denbridge-quietly-opening-on-wednesday.78121/

 

[peebee]

Hello Simon. There is nothing in the following link that can be applied in a commercial setting (unless you don't mind being tarred and feathered on the lamp-post outside by the local CAMRA activists). But you might find some of the stuff useful knowledge? It's really for homebrewers and I put a fair bit of time into figuring it out (which included a forum based public "savaging" by a rather well known CAMRA activist):

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwzEv5tRM-5EQUhZbDNPdmV1bWc

 

[simon12]

Cheers for the link, I had a quick read through but am not quite awake enough for it at the moment.