Difference between revisions of "Spunding"

Home brewing spunding valve in action!

Don't forget to check out Poindexter's Spunding Valve Video in this link.

Definition:

To spund is German for bung, meaning to close up or seal. Spunding in brewing refers to the act of closing off a vessel containing beer or wort and allowing pressure to build inside the liquid. This is useful in the natural carbonation of a beverage such as beer. The spunding valve is a device consisting basically of a pressure gauge to show vessel pressure, and some way to release overly wanted pressure from that vessel. Normally something such as a adjustable back-pressure relief valve is used to control a set pressure, venting any excess gas out of the vessel. In this picture a simple on/off valve is used when venting, so there can be many variations on the broad idea.

Use in brewing:

Spunding valves help the brewer by allowing natural carbonation to build up. This happens inside a fermenting beverage when the vessel is sealed up toward the end of primary fermentation, or after the beverage is transfered to another vessel containing more fermentable sugar for carbonation during a secondary fermentation. Transferring or racking into another vessel containing fermentables after primary fermentation is complete is known as priming. This, is a really good article on spunding I found on the web while doing my research. Here, is a really good article where Kaiser talks about transferring or racking beer from one keg to another under pressure or "counter-pressure".

Links to some brewers who use this technique:

WortMonger, Poindexter, Kaiser

If you or someone you know uses a valve like this, please feel free to edit yourself into the Wiki. This is a spot where the more the merrier really counts.

--By WortMonger, member of HBT.com 15:38, 13 August 2008 (CDT)