Pressure Barrel Headspace

[Raize]

Does the headspace that you leave in a pressure barrel have any effect on the amount of Co2 absorbed by the beer, all other things being equal?

[adamzworld]

I've wondered the same thing myself. I usually give a newly filled barrel a blast of Co2 in the hope that having a blanket of Co2 on top of the beer will help to displace any oxygen, which should then prolong the life of the beer. Doing this also has the added benefit of alerting me to any leaks around the seals.

[simon12]

I don't think the head space itself makes much difference (obvioslt there is more space to fill to get to the pressure you want but I think this is only a slight difference) but I have no idea if when you say add 80g of sugar to a 23L batch that 80g produces the amount of CO2 needed to pressurise the barrel ie you add 80g to the keg regardless of the beer amount or if Xg per XL is how it works. I think its xg sugar to XL of beer but I can't quite get my head round it. Sorry to make it even more complicated.

[AnthonyUK]

The more headspace you have the more the compressible area is which does have an effect but how much would be hard to say.
I would only increase the priming sugar by 5-10% max.