Cask Ale Conditioning and Finnings

[Zanian]

Hey everyone,
so I just got a hold of a pin cask and beer engine and am going to start brewing my own cask-conditioned ale. I just have a few questions about conditioning and finnings. From everything I've read, while you can use priming sugar, the traditional way is to rack to secondary before primary fermentation is finished. Does anybody have any experience with cask ale and could tell me around when would be a good time to rack? I'll be starting with a Bitter of about 3.8 ABV. I know that some UK brewers prime their casks at least partially if not fully. For consistency's sake, I'm willing to at least go half way but I definitely want to make sure that the beer has that cask ale mouthfeel to it.

For clarity's sake, how should I use the finnings? I have Whirfloc tablets. Should I throw one in the boiler and then one in the cask after racking? I also have an insulating jacket with ice quilts to condition it for a few days while it settles in the cask before serving. I'd rather not have to use my fermentation chamber for the task because then it will be unusable for other batches until it's done.

Lastly, the brewery I work for has tasked me with brewing the cask ale that we'll be serving at our bar. Since I'll be using my homebrew setup for the whole process, the cask will have to be transported to our taproom (10 minute drive). Is there anything else I should consider when brewing for them? Should we condition it in the pub cellar or at my place beforehand? The problem is they will be gravity pouring, so the cask will sit at the bar where it is well above ideal cask ale temperature. With an insulating jacket and ice quilts it'll be fine for serving but for the conditioning it might be harder.

Also, if anyone in Berlin is missing cask ale, don't hesitate to let me know!

Thanks in advance!

 

[MHBT]

Hey everyone,
so I just got a hold of a pin cask and beer engine and am going to start brewing my own cask-conditioned ale. I just have a few questions about conditioning and finnings. From everything I've read, while you can use priming sugar, the traditional way is to rack to secondary before primary fermentation is finished. Does anybody have any experience with cask ale and could tell me around when would be a good time to rack? I'll be starting with a Bitter of about 3.8 ABV. I know that some UK brewers prime their casks at least partially if not fully. For consistency's sake, I'm willing to at least go half way but I definitely want to make sure that the beer has that cask ale mouthfeel to it.

For clarity's sake, how should I use the finnings? I have Whirfloc tablets. Should I throw one in the boiler and then one in the cask after racking? I also have an insulating jacket with ice quilts to condition it for a few days while it settles in the cask before serving. I'd rather not have to use my fermentation chamber for the task because then it will be unusable for other batches until it's done.

Lastly, the brewery I work for has tasked me with brewing the cask ale that we'll be serving at our bar. Since I'll be using my homebrew setup for the whole process, the cask will have to be transported to our taproom (10 minute drive). Is there anything else I should consider when brewing for them? Should we condition it in the pub cellar or at my place beforehand? The problem is they will be gravity pouring, so the cask will sit at the bar where it is well above ideal cask ale temperature. With an insulating jacket and ice quilts it'll be fine for serving but for the conditioning it might be harder.

Also, if anyone in Berlin is missing cask ale, don't hesitate to let me know!

Thanks in advance!

should be some useful info in this video

 

[Zanian]

Yeah, I ran through the video but the problem is there isn't any answer there for my questions. The guy even admits that in the US you have to make adjustments to do cask ale as breweries were not designed for it. The brewer threw a mini beer in the cask to get secondary fermentation going and have enough carbonation but I'm guessing that he did that because the majority of the beer in those conicals are destined for kegs or bottles. I don't have anything against those methods but it'll be more difficult for me to do it like that anyway. I also don't much care about getting it exactly right for my own events at home but I want it to be right for the pub. Thanks for the video though, interesting to see the American take on cask ale (even if the guy isn't American)