Pressure Barrel Basics

[Grantbeeston]

Finally got around to buying myself a pressure barrel after doings about 7 kits and getting sick of bottling!

£20 delivered off Ebay so not expecting too much!

Anyway couple of questions, firstly what exactly does the c02 do? Just protect your beer from going off or does it add any carbonation?

Do I just batch prime as I would have before? Just by adding 80g of dissolved sugar straight to the keg?

Lastly is their any difference in the c02 cartridges? Is it worth buying the more expensive ones or all they all the same? And roughly how long do they last? It's a 25litre keg and will be full of Stout which will be drank over roughly a month.

Any help much appreciated!

[TC2642]

Finally got around to buying myself a pressure barrel after doings about 7 kits and getting sick of bottling!

£20 delivered off Ebay so not expecting too much!

Anyway couple of questions, firstly what exactly does the c02 do? Just protect your beer from going off or does it add any carbonation?

It will do both.

Do I just batch prime as I would have before? Just by adding 80g of dissolved sugar straight to the keg?

Yeah, I usually add some priming sugar and let it carbonate naturally then top up with gas once I need more carbonation

Lastly is their any difference in the c02 cartridges? Is it worth buying the more expensive ones or all they all the same? And roughly how long do they last? It's a 25litre keg and will be full of Stout which will be drank over roughly a month.

I usually go for the Hambleton bard cylinders but CO2 is going to be CO2, go for the larger models so that you don't pour money away on smaller ones.

[Grantbeeston]

Thanks for the reply TC, how much carbonation does it add, is it worth cutting down to 50g instead of my usual 80?

[rpt]

I don't have a pressure barrel (I use polykegs with a pub CO2 cylinder) but my understanding has always been that trying to force carbonate is not a good plan. The CO2 cartridges are expensive and with the S30 cylinder you can only do a quick burst of gas before it freezes. So I'd prime as normal. Top up with CO2 as you drink the beer and the pressure drops. Do this before air starts being drawn in through the tap.