first cask beer

[tzettler87]

Hello! I'm pretty new to this hobby of making beer and I'm getting ready to transfer my beer from the primary fermenter to the cask in the next few days. I'm relatively lost on how to make sure I add enough priming sugar that it carbonates in the cask but doesn't overcarbonate. Is there a rule of thumb or a chart to this? Is it based on the type of beer? The particular beer I'm making is a brown ale in the 4-5abv range. I appreciate any and all responses. Thanks!

 

[Kent88]

You're new to this and already doing a cask beer? You don't do anything halfway do you?

I can't tell you about cask beer, but I think a lot of people reference this when they bottle their beer, maybe even when they keg: NB's priming calculator.

It can be based on the type of beer, as there are recommendations for certain types, but it is really up to the brewer. Not sure how to adjust for cask. It might be worthwhile for you to get in touch with your cask supplier and ask them about it. I don't know, but I'd assume that any paperwork you got with the cask might have a recommendation for what kind of CO2 volume and pressure level is ok.

Unless someone more experienced in casks happens to see this or you luck out on google, you might be stuck just going with a few test batches while you dial it in.

 

[JKaranka]

You need a lot less than when bottling to get the same carbonation. Last time I used around 40g and that was close to over carbing 5 imperial gallons. About one table spoon per imperial gallon is probably close to right.

 

[JKaranka]

Btw, it's funny casking it's seen as advanced. Here kegging and boottling are the ones you get into with time. Casks are dead simple until you get into soft spiles.

 

[tzettler87]

You're new to this and already doing a cask beer? You don't do anything halfway do you?

I can't tell you about cask beer, but I think a lot of people reference this when they bottle their beer, maybe even when they keg: NB's priming calculator.

It can be based on the type of beer, as there are recommendations for certain types, but it is really up to the brewer. Not sure how to adjust for cask. It might be worthwhile for you to get in touch with your cask supplier and ask them about it. I don't know, but I'd assume that any paperwork you got with the cask might have a recommendation for what kind of CO2 volume and pressure level is ok.

Unless someone more experienced in casks happens to see this or you luck out on google, you might be stuck just going with a few test batches while you dial it in.

Yea, I'm generally that way will new hobbies lol. Well to be honest my desire to brew beer at all is sort of ceneed around brewing cask beer. That is about the only kind of beer I really enjoy that I cannot already get Locally. It is Definately no rush tho, if I have to make a few batchest to get it dialed in, it will still be better than having to driving out of town to get the cask beer. Thanks for the link.

 

[tzettler87]

Yea, I'm going to get a few numbers and then just try to dial it in over my first few casks. I knew it was much less than normal beer but I just needed anyone's moderately successful numbers as a starting point to save me a little headache in the beginning. Thanks!