Putting the fizz into a lager

motney · Nov 15, 2012

Hello
New guy so be gentle- just made a lovely cheap Wilko lager in a 5 gallon barrel. Came out much better than I thought however its cloudy and there is no fizz or carbonation to it? I primed the barrel and the brew tastes sweet and has a good lasting head so I presume the priming sugar has done its job.
Would it be wrong to add carbonation drops now? or is it a case of re pitching which I have never done? All help appreciated.

calumscott · Nov 15, 2012

just to be clear...

you brewed it in a barrel (keg)?
then added more sugar to the barrel (keg) to prime it?
I assume that the barrel has an airlock...?

Give us some more detail about how you did things and we'll be able to tell you what's happened. How long did it ferment for? How much sugar did you use to prime? How long was it in the keg? What temperatures was it at?

motney · Nov 15, 2012

Sorry yes more detail. Ita a standard Tom Caxton lager kit. Brewed in a fermenting bucket. 1 kg brewing sugar added. Made up to 36 pints. It fermented well with the kit yeast for 7 days then transfered to a barrel with a co2 cap if needed. 85gms of sugar added to barrel to prime. Two more days in the warm, then 15 days in cold.
As I say tastes nice but would be great with some sparkle.Has come out around 4 percent which is all I want. Its still cloudy and flat?

RobWalker · Nov 15, 2012

I assume it's too cold. Chill haze, and greater psi is needed to dispense fizzy at cooler temperatures, whereas these kegs can only handle about 10 psi.

It's not ideal, I bottle my fizzy beers in 2L PET's now. Very easy and loads of fizz. Can you warm it up to say 7c? Maybe give it a go at that temp.

calumscott · Nov 15, 2012

Ah, thanks for that.

Two days is nowhere near long enough to get a pressure up (which explains the sweetness too). Bring it back in to room temperature for at least a week. Then off to the cold again until it clears - I'm no expert on kegs, I've never owned one, but I would imagine that the first bit out will always be cloudy as a little yeast will settle in the tap, when you check it draw a little off, down it, then pour another and check that.

Remember though that a keg isn't going to get you the same kind of fizz you would expect from a commercial lager - they're just not up to the job. To get that you either need a corny keg (again, search the forum) or you need to bottle.

85g is going to get you a nice "ale" carbonation, so as you say a little sparkle rather than fizz.