Pressure barrel question.

[duvet]

Hello all, :hat: I'm new to both brewing and this forum and am calling on your collective knowlege :thumb:
I recently had success with my first attempt: Premier Razorback - very nice. My thoughts are turning to my next brew, Cooper's Stout which I will modify with treacle and brown sugar. My question to you all is, once I syphon into in my pressure barrel after fermentation and have primed with sugar, how long will it stay fresh for? I am thinking of starting sometime in the next few days, but want to 'crack' it open sometime around Christmas. I intend to keep the barrel in my conservatory, which I guess will be getting quite cold over the next few weeks, will the light affect the beer through the translucent barrel; Or should I just stick it in my cellar where it will be slightly warmer but a constant temperature? Thanks.

 

[jonewer]

The beer will last for a very long time, so long as you dont let any air get to it. Try and keep the barrel out of direct sun. :thumb:

 

[Baldbrewer]

Also you want it a bit warmer so the Co2 pressurises your barrel , personally I would go for the cellar if the temp isn't too high, what temp is your cellar?
You could then transfer to a cooler place for serving at Chrimbo :thumb:

 

[NickW]

I know that brown bottles help greatly in stopping the chemical reaction (which causes a skunky aroma) with hop oils and light. I am unsure if the particular particles of light can get through a pressure barrell. Even so, with a stout it's not something I would worry about

 

[Brewbob]

If you're worried about the light wrap something round it. Something dark like a stout develops and improves with age. I decided to bottle mine so I can have some this Xmas and hopefully put some away until next Xmas and see how it has changed. I'm not a big stout drinker so I should be able to do this.

Personally I'd go for the cellar and the constant temp, once syphoned keep in the warm for a week or so, then move it to a cool place, but don't move it after that. The only issue then is convenience, do you want to go to the cellar every time you want to fill up?

 

[duvet]

If you're worried about the light wrap something round it. Something dark like a stout develops and improves with age. I decided to bottle mine so I can have some this Xmas and hopefully put some away until next Xmas and see how it has changed. I'm not a big stout drinker so I should be able to do this.

Personally I'd go for the cellar and the constant temp, once syphoned keep in the warm for a week or so, then move it to a cool place, but don't move it after that. The only issue then is convenience, do you want to go to the cellar every time you want to fill up?

Thanks for the advice guys, really useful. Cellar temp is aprox 16 degrees, drops to about 12 in the depths of the winter season.

 

[RobWalker]

I always think you ideally want to drink it in 6 months because plastic is somewhat permeable and hop flavour dissipates after that, unless it's one of the beer types that only gets better with age (low hopped barley wine for example.)

but that's neither here nor there, and when it comes to home brewing most people are happy to tell you to piss off with guidelines like that...hey, mine usually go from boiler to glass in 3 weeks :lol: