Air into Pressure Barrel

[ChopperHarris]

Hi all,

My first brew - a wherry kit - has been sat happily in my garage for a few weeks now and is about half full.

I came to pour a pint tonight and, maybe because of the cold weather, rather than beer coming out, air went into the barrel.

I've had to had a few CO2 bulbs already and I immediately screwed a new one in, so the air contact should be minimal (if the business about CO2 being heavier than air is correct), but I'm wondering what damage has been done and how long the beer will last.

Any advice very welcome!

Thanks
Stu

[Swiller]

I take it that air bubbled up through the tap? If you don't use CO2 it usually means you should use the beer in about 2 weeks or so I would think the same applies so to be on the safe side and as you only have half a keg left......................

J

[Barm]

Chances are it'll be fine - assuming you closed the tap pretty sharply, the amount of air that got in will be minimal. And you've done the right thing by adding CO2.
This problem is often worse in the cold because the solubility of CO2 increases with low termperatures, so the headspace pressure is lessened as gas dissolves into the beer.

[ChopperHarris]

Thanks for the responses - Barm, you are right in that I turned the tap off quickly so I'm hopeful that not too much damage has been done. However, to be on the safe side I'll make sure it gets drunk pretty swiftly... life's hard sometimes

[Zatoichi]

Dont worry its happened to me many times and i've never had any problems............... mind you my kegs never last longer than 2 weeks