Now I have capacity, casking ales?

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herms bay
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Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by herms bay » Thu Nov 11, 2021 11:09 am

I have a beer engine and now have some capacity to make enough ale to fill a firkin but would struggle to use that much ale in the 3-5 days. I'm thinking of trying pin size cask but don't know which type and where to source, does anyone know where you would source one of these. Otherwise its a firkin and beer givaway for anyone passing through Cartmel.... :D
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Eric
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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by Eric » Thu Nov 11, 2021 8:59 pm

Congratulations, good luck in sourcing some pins. Because cask ale is usually dispensed within just a few days, it doesn't mean it cannot last for longer.

I think a major reason for cask ale falling out of fashion was a lack of will or ability of publicans to properly look after their beers. Obviously, dealing with a live beer is harder than dealing with a pasteurised inert flavoured alcoholic beverage served under gas pressure via a chiller. With dedication, which your endeavors suggest you have aplenty, it is possible to significantly extend the life of cask beer.

With due sanitation and good care, still lurks an enemy, oxygen, a paradox that brings cask beer to its best. While live, beer continues to generate CO2 to maintains carbonation and surplus provides a shield to the beer. Obviously this shield won't necessarily be perfect, but some dissolved oxygen can potentially be ingested by yeast so deterioration may not be as rapid as oft believed. I've had a pin last more than 3 weeks while once a firkin was gone in 5 hours and the reason takes no explanation. This beer below, poured today, is from a pin vented a week ago. The first pint pulled the following day and the cask now about a third way through, the beer still improving.
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Get yourself organised without assuming your beer won't get drank in time.
Without patience, life becomes difficult and the sooner it's finished, the better.

drjim
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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by drjim » Thu Nov 11, 2021 10:48 pm

I use 25L plastic jerrycans, now with a corny gas post through the cap with a floating dip tube on the bottom, and a 6mm hydraulic tube fitting screwed in next to it connected to gas purge. That gets you near enough real ale without crazy volumes or stupid expenditure (jerrycans were 30 quid for 6).

I have some steel kegs as well using for pressure ferment and just stuck 45L of bitter in one as it was already carbed up from the FV.

I need to work out how to post pics here!

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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by drjim » Thu Nov 11, 2021 10:53 pm

OK this is a side by side of newly kegged bitter with an almost identical recipe hand pulled one from my jerrycan next to it...
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Handpull has a nicer head.



And that's the hand pulled one again, or rather a refill!

Biggest problem with the CO2 purge handful is remembering to turn the gas off, although my current system is less leak prone. I have a gas solenoid and timer board to connect up to make that bit pushbutton.
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Last edited by drjim on Thu Nov 11, 2021 10:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

drjim
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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by drjim » Thu Nov 11, 2021 10:56 pm

Pics sort of working!

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Trefoyl
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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by Trefoyl » Fri Nov 12, 2021 12:57 am

I have a stainless pin I’ve had for quite awhile but never used. Now that Winter is i-cumin in https://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/can ... arody.html
it will be the perfect temp in my basement and it’s time I finally use it.
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MashBag
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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by MashBag » Fri Nov 12, 2021 9:25 am

Why not just bottle it?

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Eric
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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by Eric » Fri Nov 12, 2021 2:43 pm

There's no wrong in bottling, it simply can't match the revelation from good live beer, hand pulled by a beer engine.
Without patience, life becomes difficult and the sooner it's finished, the better.

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Mashman
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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by Mashman » Fri Nov 12, 2021 2:58 pm

Eric wrote:
Fri Nov 12, 2021 2:43 pm
There's no wrong in bottling, it simply can't match the revelation from good live beer, hand pulled by a beer engine.
Amen to that
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WalesAles
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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by WalesAles » Fri Nov 12, 2021 9:54 pm

Mashman wrote:
Fri Nov 12, 2021 2:58 pm

Amen to that
Mash,
Awoman to that! He/Him/It/Them/You/Me/Cat/Dog/Her/We,etc,etc

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Dads_Ale
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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by Dads_Ale » Sun Nov 14, 2021 2:20 pm

Can't help with sourcing a Pin (maybe a local brewery would be able to help) but I use a corny keg connected to a cask breather and the beer lasts for several weeks (I drink it before it goes off or flat). I do leave a few psi overpressure when not serving to maintain the lid seal, this is vented before serving (I have a bypass around the cask breather and a shut off tap on the beer line)

herms bay
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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by herms bay » Tue Nov 16, 2021 1:06 am

I have invested in a pressure cask from Wilko https://www.wilko.com/wilko-pressure-ba ... lsrc=aw.ds
and have butchered the top so that I have a 5/16" hose fitting into a JG inline isolator. Have then put in 25l of light bitter to condition. When ready will vent the cask for a day then put aspirator on top to isolator and try the beer engine from that.
I have 5 taps in two fridges dispensing lager, pilsner cider and also a grapefruit IPA but want the real ale experience through the pump.

I have a bitter I already put into a corney and conditioned @ about 1.5 volumes co2 then poured 3l into a jug and left with cling film on top and cloaked in CO2 for 24 hours. Hand pumped that the next day and was pleasantly surprised how it came out.

If it works may get another or use one and bottle the rest.
Honestly love, I haven't bought any more brewing gear!

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PeeBee
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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by PeeBee » Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:00 am

I use a method of "emulating" cask conditioned beer out of Corny kegs or any suitable container that takes a tiny bit of pressure, to get around the time limits of actual cask beer (i.e. the limit of; you need to drink it in 3-5 days). But you need one of >these< to handle the very low pressures (which is impossible manually or with "ordinary" regulators). They need 2-3 extra bits to connect to the BSP ports (easily available and can be the popular John Guest fittings, the cost with regulator being about £15). Assumes you have "kegging" facilities (CO2 cylinder, regulator, etc.).

Reasoning in my "treatise" linked below (signature).
Cask-conditioned style ale out of a keg/Cornie (the "treatise"): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwzEv5 ... rDKRMjcO1g
Water report demystified (the "Defuddler"; removes the nonsense!): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

herms bay
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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by herms bay » Tue Nov 16, 2021 1:59 pm

I was thinking of using said regulator so when not in use I can keep 1.1v/v (2psi) and then switching to the aspirator (so not pressurised) when actually using the beer engine. End of the day switch back to regulator and keep storing. This way I should never introduce any oxygen and keep beer from going "flat" so prolonging life.
Honestly love, I haven't bought any more brewing gear!

herms bay
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Re: Now I have capacity, casking ales?

Post by herms bay » Tue Nov 23, 2021 1:30 am

Image
This is to keep at 2 psi and then when ready to drink isolate 2 psi line, vent quickly then seal again and open breather for the evenings events. Then isolate breater and switch to 2 psi for the storage again, thoughts?
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Honestly love, I haven't bought any more brewing gear!

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