First time brewer.

[BrettPreston]

Hi

For Christmas I got a starters kit to home brewing complete with everything I would need.

My first brew is... Woodfords sundew real ale. It is a malt tin kit. (Came with two tins)

So, last week, Christmas Eve in fact I started the process. I followed all instructions mix tins with correct amounts of boiling water then topped up with cold. Used bottles water for ease and to be sure. I've kept the tempi tee fault steady at the recommended temp (17-21). It's been nearly a week since starting and according to the instructions that when I should move it into the conditioning / pressure barrel I have. Am I right in thinking...

Take a few hydrometer readings and hope they are firstly below 1014 but also constant?

If that is the case and I have constant reading when I put it into the pressure barrel I have a couple of questions...

Do I add sugar? If so, roughly how much,

Does the pressure barrel need to be kept at the same temp as before? Or can it be kept cold?

Then roughly what is the amount of time it needs to be kept in the barrel before drinkable?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

 

[Apatride]

Pressured barrels are usually not that great, bottling might be an option.
Now for your questions:
-I would leave it more time in fermenter anyway. Even if your readings are stable, I tend to consider 2 weeks after the yeast has settled to be a good start. This usually means 3 weeks in total for most beers.
Now when you move it to the barrel, you have to carbonate it. Either by injecting CO2 (if your kit allows it but I doubt it) or by adding some fermentable (sugar). How much depends on different criteria, you might want to look for a carbonation calculator.
Natural carbonation (by adding sugar) follows the same principal as fermentation, it is actually fermenting under pressure so you want to do it at a temperature where your yeast is active so usually around 20 Celsius.
As for how long it takes to carbonate, in my experience it starts after about a week and is completed after 2 weeks or so. It can vary depending on how strong the beer is, the type of fermentable (sugar) used and the yeast and temperature. If you were bottling, I d recommend at least 3 weeks but I don t trust the barrels sold with the kits so you ll have to ask someone with experience about it.