Hi folks, I posted a while ago about using pub casks. Some really useful info came back about stillage, opening, serving etc, but I am still a bit confused about how to clean, fill and seal them. I bought the Cellarmanship book, but it (understandably) doesn’t include detail of what happens in the brewery.
So, any tips on the following would be really appreciated:
1. Cleaning – how best to do this at home (i.e no fancy cask washer to hand)
2. Filling – just syphon from FV / conditioning tank? Fill to brim (with finings) or leave a gap?
3. Sealing – how hard to hammer in shive / keystone / spile etc?
4. Suppliers – where best to buy a limited quantity of all I need (I have two pins and a firk)?
Thanks in advance,
SB.
Filling and sealing casks
Re: Filling and sealing casks
This is what I do....
1. Pressure washer
2. Straight from FV after crashing down to 1c, careful not to add too much yeast.
3. HARD! They are a bugger if the casks are plastic. And you wanna make SURE it doesn't pop. The keystone is easy, the shive can be a nightmare. Get a rubber mallet and absolutely tonk it as hard as possible. Doing the spile is easy, you don't really need to hit them that hard.
4. 2nd hand 19l hand plastic ones?
And absolutely don't let them get too warm, its been hot this summer and one popped on me and made a right mess. Suffice to say I am no longer allowed to have them indoors.
If you want some advice, look at the beer in a bag setup....casks at home are a PITA to be honest.
Si
1. Pressure washer
2. Straight from FV after crashing down to 1c, careful not to add too much yeast.
3. HARD! They are a bugger if the casks are plastic. And you wanna make SURE it doesn't pop. The keystone is easy, the shive can be a nightmare. Get a rubber mallet and absolutely tonk it as hard as possible. Doing the spile is easy, you don't really need to hit them that hard.
4. 2nd hand 19l hand plastic ones?
And absolutely don't let them get too warm, its been hot this summer and one popped on me and made a right mess. Suffice to say I am no longer allowed to have them indoors.
If you want some advice, look at the beer in a bag setup....casks at home are a PITA to be honest.
Si