Bottom tap KK

[crookedeyeboy]

Ive just made a very pale brew for a friend at work so he can take it to a party for NYE.

To save alot of hassle I was going to bang it into my bottom tap KK once its all fermented and fined.

I have lost a brew in this keg and am a little wary of it although Im pretty sure it was some unsterilised sugar that went into thekeg that caused the harm.

Has anyone got any tips on getting this into a good condition for my friend by NYE.

Was going to boil up 70g of sugar and add it. Maybe a couple of squirts a week of CO2. is this enough so it will be nice for him???

Thanks

[wetdog]

if it were me I wouldn't put any sugar in it at all, just use injection bulbs on the night. The sugar will start the fermentation again and the beer may not clear in time but if thats not a problem then do that

[crookedeyeboy]

I wouldnt have thought the beer will be that cloudy, Im fining it for 24 hours before it goes into the keg which usually makes the beer brilliantly bright. This tends to leave just enough yeast in solution to create some secondary conditioning.
I usually bottle so I was going to employ the same method with the keg but just up the amount of sugar obviously.

[OldSpeckledBadger]

If you're using something like S-04 or Nottingham, it should be fine by new year without needing finings.

[crookedeyeboy]

Yeah but I am used to this routine now and it makes the process lovely and quick. I made it on Sat and can have it in keg for my mate by Thursday.

The big problem is getting him to leave it alone till NYE!

[OldSpeckledBadger]

Yeah but I am used to this routine now and it makes the process lovely and quick. I made it on Sat and can have it in keg for my mate by Thursday.

What's the big rush?. Homebrewing isn't a race. Give it 10 days in primary and then keg it.

The big problem is getting him to leave it alone till NYE!

Easy, don't give him it until 31st December.

[crookedeyeboy]

Theres no rush, Im just getting great results doing it this way. Why wait for the yeast to drop out on its own when I can get it dropped in 24hours.
I can then get it bottled and conditioned quicker too.

Maybe there is some element of impatience but hey, who can blame me? its home made beer! Stops me going to the pub and drinking rubbish

[OldSpeckledBadger]

Theres no rush, Im just getting great results doing it this way. Why wait for the yeast to drop out on its own when I can get it dropped in 24hours.

Because letting the yeast drop out naturally allows it to finish up properly.

I can then get it bottled and conditioned quicker too.

And get a less stable sediment due to the finings. Conditioning takes whatever time it takes. Finings won't speed that up.

Maybe there is some element of impatience but hey, who can blame me? its home made beer! Stops me going to the pub and drinking rubbish

Once you've got a stock built up the impatience factor is nullified.

[Lillywhite]

Stops me going to the pub and drinking rubbish

If you drink it too early then you will be drinking rubbish.

[Stonechat]

Straight off I'll say that each AG brewer has his/her own ways of getting from some grain&hops to a beer ready for drinking.

I would endorse what OSBadger is saying.

If you have created a full grain beer there should be enough fermentable matter left in the barrel to make priming sugar not necessary.

With bottled beer a quarter tsp of priming sugar should be enough to give a good level of carbonation and a decent head in the glass.

I only ever use copper finings and take the view that other finings have their place in the commercial beer world for reasons relating to time, money and customer expectations, I'd rather do without them.

As OSB says build up a bigger stock of bottles and treat yourself to some more barrels and let your beers mature naturally for a little longer.

Cheers.

[crookedeyeboy]

You said exactly what I was thinking....Everyone does it differently.

Again I think this thread has gone off topic...I only wanted to know about the KK conditiong as I havent used it properly before.

I can get free finings from work and yes they are common in the commmercial world but I am getting great results with this method as I have already mentioned.

I dont expect comments like 'if you drink rushed beer youll be drinking rubbish anyway' if you would like to taste my beer then I would be happy to post you some as I have had some great comments from friends and family.

Again everyone does it differently. Sometimes this forum just feels like somewhere that people can vent their way of doing things without respecting what others do. Its the one side of this hobby I have found to be slightly off putting sometimes.

Rant over.

[OldSpeckledBadger]

I dont expect comments like 'if you drink rushed beer youll be drinking rubbish anyway'

Who's said that?

[trucker5774]

Straight off I'll say that each AG brewer has his/her own ways of getting from some grain&hops to a beer ready for drinking.

I would endorse what OSBadger is saying.

If you have created a full grain beer there should be enough fermentable matter left in the barrel to make priming sugar not necessary.

If you have finished primary fermentation, then surely the yeast has done all it can with the sugar. I don't understand how it is going to start fermenting again

With bottled beer a quarter tsp of priming sugar should be enough to give a good level of carbonation and a decent head in the glass.

I only ever use copper finings and take the view that other finings have their place in the commercial beer world for reasons relating to time, money and customer expectations, I'd rather do without them.

As OSB says build up a bigger stock of bottles and treat yourself to some more barrels and let your beers mature naturally for a little longer.

Cheers.

[TC2642]

Stops me going to the pub and drinking rubbish

If you drink it too early then you will be drinking rubbish.

I would have to disagree, I usually start drinking my beers within a couple of weeks from kegging. It does depend on your tastes of course but I really like the hop freshness that I get with certain types of hops that generally get lost once you leave it for a month or so. Again, this is a personal preference and only works with certain types of ale.

[Stonechat]

Have re-read your original post. After thinking about the KK going to a party I still think that it's best not to use finings or primings.

Assuming that the full barrel will be emptied at the party there is no need to keep the cap tightly on once the barrel has been positioned on its serving spot. Advise him to crack it open enough for a gravity dispense once it has settled for an hour or so after travelling(even better if it could be delivered the day before).

Using primings and extra CO2 will probably cause gushing and resulting glasses full of foam.

There is still plenty of time for your beer to condition on its own before NYE.

Hope my earlier comments were not too dogmatic. They were only meant as advice. I realise that with you working at Murphys you have access to a cornucopia of brewing goodies, but as an experiment try a brew without secondary finings.

Cheers.