Cask Filling from the Fermentor

[DeGarre]

Hello, I'd like to make our firkin filling from the FV a bit more user-friendly. Currently the hose used is a metre long inflexible and awkwardly bent piece of tubing, and the beer flow is controlled from a butterfly valve in the fermentor. So one stands next to the valve and keeps the casks moving to and from the front of the FV.

I'd like to have a longer flexible hose...Brewflex seems to fit the bill, perhaps the lite version? Anything similar but cheaper?

I'd wish to move from cask to cask with the hose so would like it to have a filling head with a valve. Looking into terminology, this is called "racking back", or holding vessel, and for bigger operators at least has two tubes, one for beer and one for air to come out, filling valve is counterweighted...

I don't need this complexity, at this stage a simple filling/racking wand with a valve might be a workable solution? Stick the wand into cask, fill up, move to another cask.

I have been browsing all morning, seems to me this wand idea is quite popular over the pond but I can't really see anything like it over here. So I wonder what kind of set-ups small breweries have in the UK, and who sells them.

Thanks! I find the cask racking one of the most fascinating aspects of brewing, that's when the best drink in the world goes into the best dispensing vessel ever invented, casks are closed and then the magic happens ie conditioning and part of it is up to the beer gods.

[Chug]

It sounds like you mean a bottling stick?

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/bot ... -p-55.html

[DeGarre]

It sounds like you mean a bottling stick?

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/bot ... -p-55.html

Or its possible big brother for a 9 gallon cask and fat big delivery hose.

[fordpopular]

This is what we use... a ball valve and various triclamp fittings

[DeGarre]

Thanks fordpopular, does the filling head bend down to the bottom of the cask? I could put together something similar myself I think.

So I think I need a narrow streamlined valve bit, an elbow and a straight pipe to the bottom of the cask.

[fordpopular]

yes it goes almost to the bottom of the cask so it doesn't foam found this site but there are loads more suppliers in the UK http://www.pharmahygieneproducts.com/tr ... -valve.php

[Rogermort]

Do you purge the casks with CO2 before filling in the same way we do with Cornys? Or is there a reason why that isn't necessary on a commercial operation?

[fordpopular]

not for casks as they are filled to the brim we also fill 1000 liter tanks to go off for bottling which are purged with CO2 first as there is a small amount of head space left

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

The yeast is healthy and has loads of sugar to help it mop up any O2