It goes against the grain, but I've put myself under pressure to get a number of brews completed for a party in late July and my first is progressing a little slowly.
This beer is an English bitter which I plan to serve from a pressure barrel, so here's the dilemma:
Do I follow standard best practice and ferment out before adding priming sugar? Or do I save a few days by moving it to the PB 2-3 gravity points before predicted FG and allow it to complete fermentation and then condition?
Opinions please?
Thanks!
Secondary conditioning in Pressure Barrel
Secondary conditioning in Pressure Barrel
Fermenting: nowt
Conditioning: English IPA/Bretted English IPA
Drinking: Sunshine Marmalade, Festbier, Helles Bock, Smokey lagery beer, Irish Export StoutCascade APA (homegrown hops), Orval clone, Impy stout, Duvel clone, Conestoga (American Barley wine)
Planning: Dark Mild, Kozel dark (ish), Simmonds Bitter, Bitter, Citra PA and more!
Conditioning: English IPA/Bretted English IPA
Drinking: Sunshine Marmalade, Festbier, Helles Bock, Smokey lagery beer, Irish Export StoutCascade APA (homegrown hops), Orval clone, Impy stout, Duvel clone, Conestoga (American Barley wine)
Planning: Dark Mild, Kozel dark (ish), Simmonds Bitter, Bitter, Citra PA and more!
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Kev888
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Re: Secondary conditioning in Pressure Barrel
If you 'truly' know what the FG will be, or if you have a spunding valve, then you could move to the PB a couple of points early with little or no priming.
However if there is any doubt of exactly what the FG will be (and if you don't have a spunding valve) then this would run the risk if incorrect carbonation. So in that case letting it finish before measured priming would give much more predictable results.
In an ideal world I would personally move it to a secondary fermenter to let it finish and for the majority of yeast etc to drop out before moving to the pressure barrel for priming. Even then there would be a little sediment though, so you may want to think about that if the beer is to be transported shortly before the party.
However if there is any doubt of exactly what the FG will be (and if you don't have a spunding valve) then this would run the risk if incorrect carbonation. So in that case letting it finish before measured priming would give much more predictable results.
In an ideal world I would personally move it to a secondary fermenter to let it finish and for the majority of yeast etc to drop out before moving to the pressure barrel for priming. Even then there would be a little sediment though, so you may want to think about that if the beer is to be transported shortly before the party.
Kev
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Kev888
- So far gone I'm on the way back again!
- Posts: 7701
- Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2010 6:22 pm
- Location: Derbyshire, UK
Re: Secondary conditioning in Pressure Barrel
Leaving it until FG will let a little more yeast and sediment settle out before moving, but there will still be a lot to fall out unless you waited rather longer so perhaps not a huge difference really. Either way, there would be a fair bit of sediment settle out in the PB, so you may want to think about that if the beer is to be transported shortly before the party.
If you 'truly' know what the FG will be then you could move to the PB a couple of points before FG and seal - needing little or no priming. But you have to be really quite accurate with the FG predictions (unless you have a spunding valve) or else the carbonation will be wrong, potentially very wrong.
FWIW, my own preference would be to either leave it in the primary FV for longer or move it to a secondary FV to clear more, before racking to the pressure barrel. But I appreciate that might involve buying another fermenter if there isn't one spare, so may not be an option.
If you 'truly' know what the FG will be then you could move to the PB a couple of points before FG and seal - needing little or no priming. But you have to be really quite accurate with the FG predictions (unless you have a spunding valve) or else the carbonation will be wrong, potentially very wrong.
FWIW, my own preference would be to either leave it in the primary FV for longer or move it to a secondary FV to clear more, before racking to the pressure barrel. But I appreciate that might involve buying another fermenter if there isn't one spare, so may not be an option.
Kev