Argh! Utter, utter ****up! Save me from myself!

[math]

*Help*!

I've just done something really stupid. I bought a new fermentation vessel recently, one with a tap on the bottom (I know, fancy huh?), so I could keep the sediment at the bottom and get cleaner beer. Well, I've just gone to put it in the barrel, and of course my old syphon tube didn't fit the end of the tap. Genius that I am, I figured, "it's ok, I'll hold the barrel up in such a way that the beer will slide along the inside wall of the barrel, preventing oxydation". What actually happened was, the beer came splurting out at a great rate, gushing and frothing away merrily.

So, and ideas how I can save it? Or, what's the realistic chance that it's done for? It's right up near the brim of the barrel. I thought to myself, I could consider this a second ferment, let it finish, open the lid to let the excess air out and then add another 80grams of sugar - would that help? Or should I just start drinking it as fast as I can?

It was for a wedding too

[math]

Just had a thought, I do have co2 bulbs, maybe a well timed burst might help???

[Dr. Dextrin]

So the problem is you have a lot of froth in your barrel? And maybe the gas in the froth is partly air?

I'd say just leave it. You'll probably never notice the difference. If you've primed the beer the yeast will be quite active and will quickly absorb a little bit of oxygen. Beer's not nearly as sensitive at this stage as people make out.

[math]

Hmm I thought you had to be careful to not let air mix in at this stage, was that wrong?

[Ditch]

Beer's not nearly as sensitive at this stage as people make out.

Word!

Relax, Math. Ber's a whole lot harder to f**k up than a lot of people like to think. Personally? I'm always testing those boundaries. I don't f**k up

[Ditch]

Ber's a whole lot harder to f**k up than a lot of people like to think.

And, with that, I f**ked up " Beer ". Would that be a bitter irony?

[GARYSMIFF]

How do you Fcuk up a beer, the only way I see you can do this is not being Clean.

[orlando]

When's the wedding? The problem you are fearing is oxidation but that will only surface over time in storage. As you will probably neck the lot (with help I assume) this is an unlikely scenario. I agree with the rest, just get on with it as if nothing happened. If you can purge the headspace with a bit of CO2 then "burp" the barrel you will have done as much as you can.

[eddy31384]

How do you Fcuk up a beer, the only way I see you can do this is not being Clean.

or when it doesn't get you p###ed

[math]

Guys thank you so much - your reassurance is a massive relief.

Orlando, how do you 'burp the barrel'?

[orlando]

Orlando, how do you 'burp the barrel'?

Once the beer is in the barrel replace the cap as usual and give it the shortest squirt of CO2 you can, then slightly crack the lid open to let the gas out. CO2 is heavier than air so it expels it from the headspace. If there is still priming sugar in the beer then the yeast will scavenge any oxygen left over as it conditions the beer. This should give you a fighting chance of the remaining beer lasting longer.

[math]

I've got the 'sparklet' type bulbs, the little ones where you use a whole bulb in one go. Can I do that, or is that too much gas?

Sorry for all the questions! I normally bottle

[orlando]

Hate to say this but I'm at my knowledge limit here as I've never used them. I have King Kegs and if you over do the gas they have a valve that releases the excess so no harm done, I believe your barrels and caps are different so again, sorry don't know. Hopefully someone else with experience of sparklets can advise. You could just allow gas to build up over a day or so and then crack the cap to achieve the same thing, which is a safer option if no other advice rolls up. I think the take home message should be don't worry too much about this, you are intending to drink most of it, I think on the day, so staling is unlikely to be an issue.

[Ditch]

I've got the 'sparklet' type bulbs, the little ones where you use a whole bulb in one go. Can I do that, or is that too much gas?

Hateful little things. But, as ye only use them once in a blue moon ....? Yeah. Just fire one in and have done with. Ye can't fire half of one, look

Ye should find anyway that, given a day or two, the beer will naturally carbonate itself to some degree. (I think I just saw Orlando was explaining this to ye?) But, if ye worried, fire one in anyway. Some'll go into the beer. Any excess will come out the valve.

Trouble is, there is a tendency to 'all or nothing' with those things. One minute, a geyser of white foam. The next? Ye having to crack the cap open to get a pour.

My best advice? Go with the flow. Don't worry about it and let the Flavour do the talking

[TonySan]

I would advise a little caution, as you have very little headspace
A full cartridge may increase the pressure significantly, even possibly beyond the barrels limit, as it will not absorb immediately into the beer.
I would go along the line of maybe a little extra sugar and let the yeast eat the oxygen in the beer and then do the burp of the headspace oxygen and let the CO2 build up again so the beer isn't flat.