from a barrel to a bottle

[oliverm]

Hi chaps,

I have another batch of ale on the brew and I'm about to move it from the first stage fermenter to the barrel to finish off. Now, i like keeping things in the barrel as it keeps the mess down, requires less bits around the place etc. However, it does mean that I can't take any ale to peoples houses (lugging a 40 pint barrel around ain't fun).

Is there any reason why I can't poor ale from the barrel in to steralised bottles, cap them with the capper I have, and then give those to people? That is, to finish the ferminting in the barrel but to give out bottles of it to people rather than to have them come to my place to try it.

What do you think ?

Olly

[crafty john]

Hi chaps,

I have another batch of ale on the brew and I'm about to move it from the first stage fermenter to the barrel to finish off. Now, i like keeping things in the barrel as it keeps the mess down, requires less bits around the place etc. However, it does mean that I can't take any ale to peoples houses (lugging a 40 pint barrel around ain't fun).

Is there any reason why I can't poor ale from the barrel in to steralised bottles, cap them with the capper I have, and then give those to people? That is, to finish the ferminting in the barrel but to give out bottles of it to people rather than to have them come to my place to try it.

What do you think ?

Olly

You can pour from keg to bottle but the beer will lose a lot of its carbonation and wont taste half as good as it does straight from the keg, I always bottle 6 or 8 bottles from every brew and keg the rest so I have always got a few bottle to give to mates or take on holiday with me

[Ditch]

I'd imagine it really boils down to the tie scales involved. If ye mean, 'Can ye decant into a gallon (Spring Water, eg.) bottle and trot round ye mates for the evening? Sure. That's what I do. The beer's down the neck inside four or five hours and none the worse for it.

If ye meant bottling some off and giving it away to be stored in a fridge, till such time as ye mate fancies drinking one? No. I wouldn't do that. No way would I expect him to be experiencing what I'd brewed, a week down the line. Not that way.

[chris_reboot]

bottle at same time as kegging.

what I do is syphon into a second Fv when primary is finished, with all my priming sugar at the bottom, so the beer dissolves it as it goes in.

My lil' bottler is attached, so run off a few bottles worth as giveaways for mates, then syphon back out again into the keg what remains.
all is evenly primed without faffing about 1/2 teaspoon this and that.
all secondary and condition in the same places for the same times.
eg 1 week in house for secondary, then out t'shed.