Polypin / bag in a box with hand pump

[Tucker220]

Hi all,

Long time lurker on here but am now looking for advice having scoured through pages of threads.

I have recently acquired an Angram CQ hand pump and wanting to get it set up so that I can enjoy hand pulled beers. The final aim is probably to get a corny keg and low pressure CO2 regulator but am looking for a lower cost / less space consuming set up to start with.

My main concern is the length of time the beer will last. Depending on various factors I could only consume 5 or 6 pints on a weekend so 40 pints could last 2 months. Has anybody kept beer this long using polypins or bag in a box?

From what I can gather the differences are:

Polypin
Stronger - can be used more times before replacing and can take a bit more secondary pressure (not that I want much)
More expensive - probably negated by reuse
Gas permeable - may not last as long

Bag in a box
Weaker - can't take much pressure so possibly need to vent more if primed
Cheaper - cost means they can be considered disposable
Gas tight outer layer - beer may last longer but some people have had issues with gas trapped between inner and outer layers

Cheers,

Tom

[Kev888]

Hello Tom, and welcome!

The length of time that the beer stays fresh in a BiB varies (depending on things like gravity, style, temperature etc.) so it is hard to give an exact time limit. However IMO you would likely encounter problems with your two month aspirations - especially as that will likely be two months from being ready to consume rather than from filling the bag.

Using the Jigsaw BiBs (with their 'barrier'), for me and my fairly robust British styles of beer, they typically last up to around five weeks 'from filling' before my taste buds start to notice any staling. But that includes some settling and maturing time first; it is only being consumed over two or three weeks. Slower rates of consumption (which leave the bag less full for longer) are likely to suffer more for a given time scale. Though you could improve matters by chilling the bag, mine were kept at room temperature.

For what you want to do then smaller (say 10L) bags would likely be better, if you could brew smaller batches more frequently in order to improve turnover. For larger batches though, you would really benefit from some more properly impervious means of storing the beer. Either to decant to a BiB for dispensing, or to couple your beer engine to directly with a CO2 aspirator. In the past I used cornies and have now moved to sankey style kegs as they are better for low/no pressure use when dispensing - the beer will keep for many months with no oxidation problems even when only partially full.

[Bunglebrewsbeer]

I'm after a hand pump soon. Saw this on eBay as an option to run beer from.




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[Tucker220]

£132 without the hand pump, barrel or CO2 source is the kind of expenditure I'm trying to avoid.

I have a temperature controlled fridge for brewing in so could keep the bags at cellar temperature to maybe extend the life a bit. It does look like I'll have to change the plan to brew smaller amounts (not overly keen on the extra time this will require), stick some money into a proper sankey/cornie set up or drink faster!

[vacant]

It does look like I'll have to change the plan to brew smaller amounts (not overly keen on the extra time this will require

Are you an AG brewer? Using a bit of lateral thinking, why not do a bit of research into no-chill cubes? I sometimes use this method myself. Instead of chilling your entire brew in a 25 ltr cube, you could pour your wort into several 10 ltr cubes. Various sources say these keep just fine for months on end. Just ferment out the next cube when required, maybe even using the previous cube's yeast (200ml of slurry kept in the fridge).

[Jim]

I've served from a hand pump for 2 months or more. The only way I've found to achieve that is to use a cask breather with a HB barrel (though as standard pub pin also works) and recharge the keg after each session; if you don't do this it will go flat before it's all drunk.

[rpt]

I used to use polypins with a hand pump. It worked fine but the beer was starting to oxidise after a few weeks. It certainly wouldn't last 2 months. I now use Sankey kegs at low pressure.

[Tucker220]

[quote="vacant"]

Are you an AG brewer? Using a bit of lateral thinking, why not do a bit of research into no-chill cubes? I sometimes use this method myself. Instead of chilling your entire brew in a 25 ltr cube, you could pour your wort into several 10 ltr cubes. Various sources say these keep just fine for months on end. Just ferment out the next cube when required, maybe even using the previous cube's yeast (200ml of slurry kept in the fridge).[/quote]

I've only done kits so far but getting the gear together for all grain. No-chill cubes sound interesting so will look into them.

Thanks for the advice everyone - I'm now leaning towards sankey kegs and the unavoidable cost!