Pressure Barrel Advice

[deano469]

1 1/2 weeks ago, i put my latest batch of cider (the ranges apple cider kit and very nice it is too!) in a pressure barrel and batch primed it with 180g of sugar. The problem is, its only lightly carbonated at the moment, the barrel is on a heat mat so has been kept at a constant 22 degrees which is usually plenty of time to carbonate. If i force pressurize it with a Co2 canister, will that carbonate the cider or is the Co2 just there to help get it out of the barrel?
Also, if the Co2 won't carbonate it, if i transfer it into bottles will i need to re-prime them as the original priming sugar has been used up in the barrel?

 

[deano469]

Has nobody got any advice? If anybody has, i could do with it sooner rather than later as i don't want to ruin my batch.....

 

[Simondo]

As far as I know, keep them warm for a couple of weeks for the CO2 to develop, them somewhere cold for another couple of weeks or more for the CO2 to be taken in by the liquid.

 

[mac.eightball]

you can charge it with a canister but this will only got to a pressure high enough to force the beer out, normal plastic pressure kegs have a blow off valve of around 15psi, in order to force carb you would need the temp down to around 30-40f and then a psi of 30-40psi, clearly this wont help cos your barrell wont hold this. If its as flat as a fart then its either a. your seal is shagged on the top of the barrell, b. insufficent yeast / sugar in the barrell to carb it. sounds like your temp is fine, how much sugar did you add in, how long was it in the primary ?

 

[Brewtrog]

I don't know a great deal about kegs, I bottle all my brews that need fizzing, but I imagine the same rule of thumbs apply. Everyone usually quotes 2 weeks warm 2 weeks cold on the theory that the warm gives time for the CO2 to form, the cold helps it dissolve into the brew. I've personally found that often as short as 10 days in bottle makes a drinkable brew, but it does improve with time. A bit of patience goes absolute miles in brewing.

 

[Will12283]

I don't think you will get enough pressure in the barrel for a cider, I always bottle mine or use a corny keg. I would re-prime and bottle

 

[deano469]

Cheers for the advice guys, i used 180g of sugar to prime the barrel and it was in primary for 2 weeks. Its had 2 weeks at a steady temp so far and its still flat so think im just gonna bite the bullet and reprime and bottle it.