Storage options

[Moley]

At the moment all of my beer is bottle conditioned. I tend to wash and sterilise my bottles in batches in advance and keep them in a state of readiness so it's not too much of a pain. They will keep for many months and I currently have a choice of 7 brews. It's not a problem if I want to transport a mixed crate a short distance to the boat, but they aren't portable if I wanted to take a crate any distance to a party or to one of our boaters' get-togethers. Bottles are free and opinion seems to be that bottle is best.

Next option would be a pressure barrel, which seem to cost in the region of £25 - £40 but may have a limited service life. Beer is still primed and barrel conditioned, so again they aren't portable. Is it possible to clear your beer and then force carbonate in a pressure barrel, or does that require more pressure than they can withstand? Am I right in thinking that once you start on a barrel you've got to drink the lot within a month or so?

Posh option would seem to be Cornies, initial cost in the region of £120 for a pair plus gas/regulator plus tap and plumbing ??? Set-up costs are higher but service life is longer. Beer is cleared before kegging and then artificially fizzed up. Storage life is longer than pressure barrel and Cornies could be very popular at a party or Boaters' Banter, even if that's a couple of hours' drive away. Is the beer as good though? It strikes me that with bottle or barrel your beer's still a living thing, with keg it's dead.


I'm on the horns of a dilemma, any comments would be welcomed, or please pick holes in my ‘thinking aloud’.

 

[jamesb]

The beer in a cornie is by no means a dead beer. It carries on conditioning just like any other method. You don't necessarily have to force carbonate in a cornie either, you can add priming sugar in the same way that you'd use a keg. They're only a stainless keg. There are method of getting the beer out without using gas* but that is the easiest way.

You might as well get them now and save going through everything else

* Does anyone remember that one on ebay where someone had drilled a hole in one and fitted a barrel tap?

 

[tubby_shaw]

There are method of getting the beer out without using gas* but that is the easiest way.

As James says a corny is just a posh keg :thumb:
Although I have the regular corny set up, when it's time to take a corny "visiting" I have some fitted with S30 valves like this

and a picnic tap, cheap and easy :thumb:

* Does anyone remember that one on ebay where someone had drilled a hole in one and fitted a barrel tap?

Yes I remember what a waste of a corny

 

[evanvine]

Moley
If it's any reassurance I've used the same "Beer Sphere" pressure keg for over 20 years!