Pro's and Con's of a Firkin Barrel

[Wonderful-Wino]

Hi all, the landlord of my local has offered to supply me a real ale firkin barrel can anyone give me the pro's and con's of using this type of barrel. Thanks in advance Wonderful-Wino

[jamesb]

Firstly, it probably belongs to a brewery and they won't be happy about losing it. They're bloody expensive.

Secondly, how fast are you going to drink 72 pints? You can use a cask breather to extend the life of the beer but if you choose not to use one the beer will only taste good for about a week before oxidisation makes it unbearable.

[Wonderful-Wino]

Hi jamesb thanks for you reply, Yes your right it probably does belong to a brewery but I can't be sure but he seems happy to supply one. Could you tell me what a cask breather is and how it works and how long it will extend the life of the beer?

[jamesb]

A cask breather attaches to the spile hole of the cask and gives a protective low pressure blanket of carbon dioxide to the beer to prevent oxidisation as the beer is drawn off. In normal circumstances, the volume of the beer drawn off is replaced by air as during serving hours the cask is open to the air. The breather plugs the hole and replaces it with CO2 from a cylinder instead. Most decent pubs don't use cask breathers (note to others, I'm not looking to start a debate on the pros and cons of them).

This will allow the beer to last longer after venting and tapping (opening the cask). I can't say for sure how much longer it will make the beer last as this depends on all sorts of factors, but you can sensibly say two to three weeks if not more.

To dispense from the cask, you can either use a gravity tap (a la beer festivals), a pump and normal tap (a la keg taps) or a beer engine (a la real ale!).

Personally, I'd rather go for the cornie route. I do have a firkin I can use if I want (actually, I've got 60 of them ) but for personal use rather then bulk dispense, cornies and HB barrels are a lot easier.

And I know the landlord may be happy to give it to you, but it probably isn't his to give. Having said that, if it's from a long defunct brewery I wouldn't worry. I have one in my shed.

[Wonderful-Wino]

Thanks jamesb, i'm just about to do my first AG brew and thought this would save me money by not having to buy king keg barrels but from what you say I don't think it's worth the hassle, but I will have a word with the landlord to find out weather the firkin belongs to a brewery or not and maybe still have it for party's where it will be drunk quickly. Thanks again for your help Wonderful-wino

[Wonderful-Wino]

Just found this on the Barley Bottom web site

http://www.barleybottom.com/menu/product/&ID=175

Maybe best to go for one of these for partys as there would be no dispute of ownership

[subsub]

I use firkins and love the bastards, so do the beer circle. I haven't unleashed the hogsheads yet but summer is coming and it's time for honey ale Much to Chris's dismay Take the firkin and use it man!

[jim williams]

I use firkins and love the bastards, so do the beer circle. I haven't unleashed the hogsheads yet but summer is coming and it's time for honey ale Much to Chris's dismay Take the firkin and use it man!

Agreed. I've been using cornies for 15 years or so. They've been available in the states to homebrewers for years, so, I know both, and, they both have their place. If what you want is real ale, a corny doesn't work quite as well, and, they're harder to clean with all the nooks and crannies.
I have a firkin and a pin. With a breather and one pump, I generally have one on gravity and one on the pump. Now, if you want to make other euro/american styles, the corny is better, since it holds more pressure, and, can give higher c02, so, I guess that's the question, what type of beer do you want to make?

[Wonderful-Wino]

The beers I will be make are british real ales, i've decided to go with pressure barrels for now but could you tell me how long your beers last in a firkin with a breather?