Why is my beer going flat!!!

[mord]

Hello All

Well my first extract beer has been very very good, even if I do say so myself. :thumb:

The first few pints came out fantastic. Really good head. Nice. However, and I think I know what I am doing wrong, but I just want to check, the beer has gone flat.

I have tried bottling a few pints for friends, but now the beer in the keg is flat. I think it is because I am having to open the top to siphon a few pints out, and then do it up again. Do I need to bottle it all in one go or is there a trick to keeping it 'fizzy'.

Sort or related too, on my first brew, after taking out a few pints, the beer almost stopped flowing as a 'vacuum' was being created, so I had to open the top from time to time to let some air in to keep the beer flowing.

Can I have some advice please. As a foot note, the wife loves the beer to and is looking forward to more, except I need to make something she really like. I like the dark,strong beers, and she prefers the lighter,paler type. Good news though.

Thanks
Mord. :drink: :whistle:

 

[arthurbear]

If you open up the keg you will lose all carbonation and add air to the beer making it flat and it could also ruin it.The kegs tend to slow up if you have the tap open for a length of time,I have bottled many beers using the keg and have never had a problem were the beer stopped flowing all together.I am though still quite a newbie so i'm sure someone with more expertise will be along shortly to help more.

Good luck :thumb: :

 

[SouthSide]

Have you not got a CO2 cannister for the top of the keg?

Also - out of interest - what extract brew did you do?

 

[Parva]

As has been mentioned, air and beer is bad. You need to have some sort of C02 setup to replace the space in the barrel as the beer is being dispensed, opening the lid to let air in to dispense is a huge no, unless you and your friends can finish it off within a day or two of doing so.

Pour half of a 2 litre bottle of Coca Cola and return to it the next day, you have 1 litre of flat pop. This similarly applies to beer in a keg but it will also take on off-tastes as the beer reacts with 'air'. If you have a pressure barrel with no form of C02 injection then I would make it my mission to empty it in one weekend, any further beyond that and it's going to go stale and rapidly so. If you can keep it topped up with C02 it will last a long time.

 

[mord]

Also - out of interest - what extract brew did you do?[/quote]

I used Coopers Amber Malt Extract extract. It seemed ok, but it is the first one I have used.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts. Bugger. Might bottle the rest of it tonight and start again.

M

 

[Leglesstwot]

Also - out of interest - what extract brew did you do?

I used Coopers Amber Malt Extract extract. It seemed ok, but it is the first one I have used.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts. Bugger. Might bottle the rest of it tonight and start again.

M[/quote]
Bottling flat beer won't make any difference unless there is still yeast in there that you could add sugar to, to re-condition the beer. If I was you I would invest in a CO2 injector and try injecting the barrel with some CO2 as this will force the beer out of the barrel and give it some carbonation and will also ensure future kegged beer won't go flat and you won't need to undo the lid to force the beer out as the CO2 injector provides the force to move the beer out of the barrel and means no vacuum is caused.

Either do that with future brews or bottle them.

 

[The Seer]

With barrelling a Co2 injector is a must. I find if I draw off any more than four pints in a day, a vacuum occurs.

I'd recommend a split cannister of Co2 and nitrogen. Nitrogen is better for the beer than Co2, unlike Co2 (so I've been told) it won't affect the taste of the beer.

 

[ano]

I'd recommend a split cannister of Co2 and nitrogen. Nitrogen is better for the beer than Co2, unlike Co2 (so I've been told) it won't affect the taste of the beer.

Seems a little counterintuitive given that normally beer is saturated with CO2.

 

[jamesb]

I'd recommend a split cannister of Co2 and nitrogen. Nitrogen is better for the beer than Co2, unlike Co2 (so I've been told) it won't affect the taste of the beer.

Seems a little counterintuitive given that normally beer is saturated with CO2.

Depends. If you use all CO2, you can end up overcarbonating the beer. N needs a higher pressure to dissolve into the beer so used at regular pressure it won't affect the beer.

 

[Parva]

I'd recommend a split cannister of Co2 and nitrogen. Nitrogen is better for the beer than Co2, unlike Co2 (so I've been told) it won't affect the taste of the beer.

Seems a little counterintuitive given that normally beer is saturated with CO2.

Depends. If you use all CO2, you can end up overcarbonating the beer. N needs a higher pressure to dissolve into the beer so used at regular pressure it won't affect the beer.

True, but in a plastic keg this is unlikely to happen since the maximum is around 10PSI. :)

 

[mord]

So, 1 year on almost and I am doing another brew. (lots going on in my life, all good, and I have not had time to make beer). My current brew is inthe fermentation bucket and doing very well after 48 hours, so I am getting ready to put it in the barrel in the next few days. When do I add the co2 cannister. When the beer goes in, or when I start to drink it, or some time inbetween.

Thanks again.

Mord. :thumb:

 

[tubby_shaw]

Don't be in too much of a rush to get the beer in the barrel
Give it at least 10 days in the fermentation vessel to allow most of the yeast to drop out of suspension.
Then add your priming sugars when you add the beer to the keg.
You should only need to add gas when the pressure drops in the keg and the beer is slow to come out :thumb: