Storage of beer

[turbo 2011]

Here is my question . I've got 5 budget barrels and I'm sick of losing carbonation out of them , screwed the lid on to tight to slack I've had two taps break resulting in beer lose bla bla bla . So this is my thinking ,make my beer in fv then rack into barrel add finings get star bright but do not carbonate just add some co2 into barrel via the s30 valve to get shot of air. Now leave to condition like this ,
Now when I'm ready to drink rack to corny keg and force carbonate .
Also this means that I've not got 4 barrels all under pressure in the spare bedroom .
1 Can this be done
2 how long will it keep in the budget barrel un-carbonated before I rack to corny keg .
3 corny key regulator and co2 supply sorted corny arrives tomorrow lol I guess I should of asked this question first but that's me all over feet first .

[Fil]

i dont see why not as long as the pbs are o2 free and not in sunlight..
But PBs are awkward to store and move if needed, have you considered polykegs?? asd iirc has sold some and i think has more now, just keg and condition in the keg and sit conditioned till needed..

if you have the set up for corny kegs already all u need is a sankey coupler for each tap and the kegs which are less than a tenner iirc

[turbo 2011]

Thanks mate I will defo look into this in the future get one at a time just I've not got the cash as I've just handed over £140 for all the bits and pieces to get the corny keg system going so I will just have to make do with the barrels for now .
Pleased to here this will work if Ive forced co2 into barrel then I'm guessing it will push all the oxygen out .
Plus the little lady won't be to pleased 5 barrels at what £30 a shot plus s30 valves leave them out for the skip then buy a load more, I that be right I can hear her now lol .
Can you force carbonate poly kegs ?

[MashTim]

Have you tried food grade lube (or even just vaseline) on the rubber washers? You get a good seal without having to screw tight.

Try it with water - fill, carb and see what happens.

[Fil]

yes the polykegs take ample pressure to condition , just remember to vent the pb,s after injecting and leaving to settle to remove the o2 from above the co2..

[turbo 2011]

Have you tried food grade lube (or even just vaseline) on the rubber washers? You get a good seal without having to screw tight.

Try it with water - fill, carb and see what happens.

Yes mate Vaseline every time just a bit pissed off now I've checked it after 5 days lovely and carbonated leave it for two weeks to condition go back flat as a fart it's corny kegs for me mate.

[turbo 2011]

yes the polykegs take ample pressure to condition , just remember to vent the pb,s after injecting and leaving to settle to remove the o2 from above the co2..

Cheers for the good advice I'm going to fill pd,s with co2 until it comes out of pressure release valve then store for conditioning until I'm ready to drink it then force carb in corny . As co2 is heavier than O2 I'm guessing any 02 left in pd,s will sit at top of pd,s how's that sound fil

[Fil]

sounds reasonable as long as the things stay static , a significant nudge could create a splash high enough to mix with any o2 left inside (slight risk), a lil vent off after its been left to settle, perhaps a slight loosening of the lid for a milisecond to let a hiss out should suffice. or if a rubber band seal a lil pinch of that could vent enough any o2 should be both at the top and also compressed with the pressure.

[turbo 2011]

sounds reasonable as long as the things stay static , a significant nudge could create a splash high enough to mix with any o2 left inside (slight risk), a lil vent off after its been left to settle, perhaps a slight loosening of the lid for a milisecond to let a hiss out should suffice. or if a rubber band seal a lil pinch of that could vent enough any o2 should be both at the top and also compressed with the pressure.

That sounds like a plan when it's conditioning it will not be moved and I will vent off by slight loosening of lid great thanks again .

[aamcle]

I've been thinking of dispensing from flat beer only because getting anything bigger than a bottle into the fridge won't happen. I'll be OK in winter the beer is in the garage.

What I did was make a carbonator cap for a two litre bottle.

Fill the bottle flat/partially carbed beer is fine, seal pressurise, shake and drop into the freezer for a bit.

It works BUT controlling the amount of fizz just isn't viable.

I'll be mainly bottle conditioning for summer drinking unless I can get one of those little fridges very cheap!

atb. Aamcle

[turbo 2011]

What I did was make a carbonator cap for a two litre bottle.

Fill the bottle flat/partially carbed beer is fine, seal pressurise, shake and drop into the freezer for a bit.

It works BUT controlling the amount of fizz just isn't viable.

I was thinking the same as I brew 23 litres corny only takes 19 litres was going to look at drilling a hole in the top of a pop bottle and insert a s30 into hole , then I changed my mind I had visions of pop bottle going bang by me over carbonating with co2 Pleased to hear it works bugger it mite still do it .