Anyone rocking a Firkin?

[Jako]

some part of me wants to buy a Firkin. anyone using one? or has everyone gone to kegs for this?

 

[cyberbackpacker]

I have and use a pin for 5g batches, but I also use cubitainers for 1g dispensing and 10L kegs for half batches. They all have a place in my brewery.

That said, I really do enjoy having my pin. A firkin at ~10 gallons would be a lot for me to get through though...

 

[rmr9]

I have a pin as well and I really enjoy it. Dispensing using a cask widge and beer engine so I can stand it on end in my fridge without the traditional stillage. I second what cyberbackpacker said, a 10.8 gallon firkin is a lot to go through on my own even with a cask breather to extend shelf life.

 

[NGD]

Good god! When I first saw the thread title I thought it said “Anyone rockin a Merkin”. I may need glasses while reading my phone.

 

[rmr9]

Ha! Maybe a merkin for the firkin for added temperature control

 

[Jako]

I am a rookie to all this. What is a pin.

 

[Jako]

Good god! When I first saw the thread title I thought it said “Anyone rockin a Merkin”. I may need glasses while reading my phone.

I hate to admit I had to Google merkin, needless to say I laughed super hard.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I'm totally lost. Cap?

 

[Kickass]

Well now your destiny is to buy a firkin and name and subtitle it; My big Merkin, the yeasty curtain.

 

[Jako]

Well now your destiny is to buy a firkin and name and subtitle it; My big Merkin, the yeasty curtain.

Hah! This is too good. Sounds like a retro kink film name.

Some things in life you get to choose, then some things choose you.

 

[Jako]

Google a cask pin. Is it possible to transfer from a cask to kegs to keep it from going bad? Or is the beauty of it all serving from the cask. Something I would love to experience one day.

 

[madscientist451]

You can just use a corny keg on its side:

https://beerandbrewing.com/using-a-cornelius-keg-for-cask-ale/

 

[rmr9]

The beauty of it all is serving from the cask. The smoother feel from the lower carbonation is really great for a lot of beer styles. I enjoy the process from filling, fining and venting. It takes a little more work and there’s a bit more to learn (I am still learning as I go and am by no means an expert) but to me that makes it more worthwhile.

 

[Pappers_]

I have a pin cask that I use for parties. It's great fun, because it's different. Also great for adding hops to it or other specialty ingredients. I like serving an Irish Stout from it, also.

 

[Pappers_]

I enjoy the process from filling, fining and venting.

Would you share your fining process, please?

 

[Pappers_]

I am a rookie to all this. What is a pin.

Casks come in two sizes - the larger is a firkin, the smaller is a pin. The only difference is size, 10 or 5 gallons.

 

[rmr9]

Would you share your fining process, please?

For this last batch a picked up a packet of LD Carlson isinglass. It’s one of those small packets that says it’s enough for 6 gallons of wine so I’m hoping it’ll work for beer as well. I can’t see why it wouldn’t. Haven’t tapped the cask yet so I can’t say how well it worked. Will update when I have the results.

 

[Jako]

You can just use a corny keg on its side:

https://beerandbrewing.com/using-a-cornelius-keg-for-cask-ale/

Going to check this out. Might give this a run and if i like the results invest in the real deal.

 

[madscientist451]

If you can get the same results with a used corny that you can get for $35, why not just stop there?

 

[Jako]

If you can get the same results with a used corny that you can get for $35, why not just stop there?

great point, in my head it would only be for looks and to be more authentic. But lately i am looking to expand my own brew process so i can increase volume for less brew days or just to make 10G vs 5G of something i like.

looking into buying a handful of kegs so i can ferment then transfer to empty kegs. more or less turning 2 kegs into a 9G fermenter over the 5G conical i use now.

 

[madscientist451]

I have a bunch of extra kegs and I've wanted to go to keg fermentation/closed transfers for some time now, but just haven't gotten around to it.

 

[rmr9]

Bear in mind the shelf life of cask ales especially when not using a cask breather. Even with a keg turned on it’s side you’ll draw in air so you’ll eventually get oxidized or sour beer. If you don’t want to go the real deal breather I’ve seen threads about using propane regulators to bring in CO2 under very low pressure to keep a blanket on top of the beer.

Like I said in my previous post, I enjoy the process. But I will say a corny on it’s side takes up a lot of floor space which is hard to accommodate in many kegerators. While I agree $35 is hard to beat, I got my pin cask brand new for $75 plus shipping which ain’t bad as far as I’m concerned!

 

[Jako]

used kegs in my area sell for 50$.. so something for me to think about for sure.

 

[crazyjake19]

The beauty of it all is serving from the cask. The smoother feel from the lower carbonation is really great for a lot of beer styles. I enjoy the process from filling, fining and venting. It takes a little more work and there’s a bit more to learn (I am still learning as I go and am by no means an expert) but to me that makes it more worthwhile.

I'm glad you mentioned that, I feel the same way about casks. I really enjoy the process and the involvement required compared to my "normal" brewing which is somewhat of a finely tuned process for me that I tend to forget to appreciate the subtle nuances sometimes.

The cask process makes you feel a bit more connected to your beers, and it makes you really appreciate traditional cask serving and the role of a cellarman. Plus, it's just too damn cool to tap and serve a cask at a party.

 

[crazyjake19]

Google a cask pin. Is it possible to transfer from a cask to kegs to keep it from going bad? Or is the beauty of it all serving from the cask. Something I would love to experience one day.

I think the beauty really lies in cask serving. You feel a bit more connected to the whole process, and it really makes you appreciate the history of cask filling and serving. As far as stopping it from going bad too fast, I've seen ways to connect CO2 to the cask at a very low pressure to replace the beer being drawn with CO2 at low enough pressure to not add additional carbonation to the beer.

I use a pin cask myself. I saw a lot of firkins at decent prices but I never brew more than 5 gallons anyway (usually 4.5 gallon batches), so I waited on a good deal for a pin cask. I managed to get one on ebay for $100 (brand new) with a tap, and a few extras. I'd never be able to get through a firkin myself, and probably not even with a small crowd of friends.

Paul Pendyck of UK Brewing Supplies is a great source of supplies and knowledge on casks. It looks like he's out of stock on both used and new pin casks at the moment. I would've bought my pin from him but he was also out of stock when I found mine. I do like to get my cask parts from him.

 

[Jako]

I think the beauty really lies in cask serving. You feel a bit more connected to the whole process, and it really makes you appreciate the history of cask filling and serving. As far as stopping it from going bad too fast, I've seen ways to connect CO2 to the cask at a very low pressure to replace the beer being drawn with CO2 at low enough pressure to not add additional carbonation to the beer.

I use a pin cask myself. I saw a lot of firkins at decent prices but I never brew more than 5 gallons anyway (usually 4.5 gallon batches), so I waited on a good deal for a pin cask. I managed to get one on ebay for $100 (brand new) with a tap, and a few extras. I'd never be able to get through a firkin myself, and probably not even with a small crowd of friends.

Paul Pendyck of UK Brewing Supplies is a great source of supplies and knowledge on casks. It looks like he's out of stock on both used and new pin casks at the moment. I would've bought my pin from him but he was also out of stock when I found mine. I do like to get my cask parts from him.

Awesome information. Are you located in the UK?

 

[bwible]

For this last batch a picked up a packet of LD Carlson isinglass. It’s one of those small packets that says it’s enough for 6 gallons of wine so I’m hoping it’ll work for beer as well. I can’t see why it wouldn’t. Haven’t tapped the cask yet so I can’t say how well it worked. Will update when I have the results.

I used one ounce of isinglass in my last 3 gallon batch of English IPA. Didn’t do anything special, just added it to the keg after I filled it. Cleared really well.

 

[Pappers_]

Does anyone know if isinglass requires cold temps to clarify the beer (like gelatin finings), or can you add them when you fill and prime the keg and hold it at 65F+?

 

[bwible]

some part of me wants to buy a Firkin. anyone using one? or has everyone gone to kegs for this?

The challenge to cask ale is that it has to be consumed fairly quickly once tapped. Like around 3 days or less. Since casks are either gravity drawn or handpump drawn and air enters the cask. As stated, a firkin is over 10 gallons and a pin is around 5 gallons. I can’t speak for others but I don’t go through that much beer that quickly.

They make CO2 cask breathers that replace the air with low pressure CO2, but as others said, this doesn’t extend the life indefinitely either.

I’ve seen articles where people are switching the internal tubes on their corny kegs - putting the liquid tube on the gas side and the gas tube on the liquid side then laying the keg on its side to make a sort-of cask. If you want to be authentic, you prime in the keg and don’t carbonate with CO2.

You can’t put any CO2 pressure on a cask or a corny keg being used as a cask for dispense, especially if you’re using a handpump. Any pressure at all will force beer through the handpump without even pulling the handle and could possibly damage your hanpump. They have glass cylinders inside.

For this reason, casks or corny kegs being used as casks MUST be vented prior to attaching it to your handpump. Casks are vented by driving soft wood spiles into a hole at the top of the cask, often for days before the cask will be served. You can vent a corny keg by just locking open the gas release. Since air will be drawn into the keg as beer is pumped out, you have to leave the gas vent open to allow the air to replace the beer.

It’s definitely an art when done properly.

 

[Pappers_]

You certainly can hook it up to beer engine or hand pump, but there is a cool factor in setting your cask out on its little stand at a party and then pounding the tap in with a mallet and letting everyone come up and serve themselves with the gravity fed tap. It feels authentic and old school for folks and adds fun to the event.