Conditioning in a Polypin / mini cask

[Bad 'Ed]

I'm about to decant a beer into a Polypin and a mini cask for the first time. I usually follow the standard conditioning process of waiting until fermentation has completely finished, mixing the conditioning sugar in a bottling bucket, bottling and then leaving it to condition for another week or two.

Is that the same process one should follow for polypins? I plan on keeping the pressure to the same as cask ale, I assume there's nothing else I need to consider other than how much sugar to put in to get the required volume?

I know that real breweries don't ferment out and recondition. I'm assuming that's just because they're more confident in their processes and, perhaps more pertinently, need the vessel for the next brew already.

[Cobnut]

I've not used a polypin for beer before, but I have used 5L mini-kegs (re-used the ones from Adnams and the like).

Don't over-prime.

I've used 10-12g white sugar and that gives plenty of condition.

Note that I usually ferment out, rather than trying to stop a couple of points before predicted FG.

[Dennis King]

I use 20lt polypins. Most beers will I just leave for around 3 weeks and they beer will prime naturally as they condition. If the pin was not started to expand after 2 weeks I will add about 70gms of priming sugar.

[Bad 'Ed]

When do you put them in the pins Dennis? I assume you ferment somewhere else and then transfer into the pins when at or close to FG?

[Dennis King]

I tend to ferment for around 10 days and always check the gravity before transfering. Most seem to finish around 1.012 give or take the odd point.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

10g priming into the 5L casks, and maybe 20-40 into the polypin - dont overprime.

You can get a great pint of real ale that way, but its worth putting a rigid frame around the poly while it is conditioning.

[Lanky94]

These look good.

http://www.baginboxonline.co.uk/index.html