needing firkin help

[boganll]

Just acquired a firkin. I know nothing about firkins so it's difficult for me to tell if this one is worth trying to clean and put to use, but if it can be refurbished then I'd like to do what I can to get some beer in it. If any one has any experience with firkins, especially refurbishing a neglected one, it'd be much appreciated.

I'll post pictures of whatever parts of the firkin someone needs to see, just let me know.

 

[brewshki]

No experience other than a brewing tv episode about them. I would love to see your progress with it though

 

[boganll]

No experience other than a brewing tv episode about them. I would love to see your progress with it though

All I know about them as of now is that they are used in the UK to condition beer in the same way you might cask-condition beer and that they have unique fittings.

I just got home from a trip and I'm going to my warehouse today so I'll take some pictures and post them this evening.

 

[day_trippr]

props for the title, still laughing...

Cheers!

 

[boganll]

Took some pictures of the firkin. I got it in the condition it is in, in these pictures. I haven't tampered with any ports or even bothered to clean it, so pardon the filth. Also my barn is not very well lit at night so the picture quality is lacking. If better pictures are needed I can provide them; I just snapped these with my phone in hurry yesterday evening.

 

[Calder]

I think a firkin is a volume measurement. What you have is a cask which holds a firkin.

 

[Hoppity]

I remember that as a standard "Gravity Keg" when I was a kid. You'll need a cork for the side port and old fittings to put gas in the top middle port (gas in) and bottom side (beer out) if you want to serve from it. Other options: fermentation vessel, HLT/BK (side cork could be an issue), bar stool, end table. Great piece from the past, definitely worth using somehow. Good luck with it.

Cleaning should be pretty straightforward, especially with side cork removed.

 

[sjbologno]

I don't have any personal experience with a cask, but I know there are two BTV episodes on the subject. Episode 36 and 38.

http://http://brewingtv.com/episodes/2011/5/2/brewing-tv-episode-36-gone-firkin.html

http://http://brewingtv.com/episodes/2011/6/1/brewing-tv-episode-38-none-more-cask.html

Good luck!

 

[Calder]

I remember that as a standard "Gravity Keg" when I was a kid. You'll need a cork for the side port and old fittings to put gas in the top middle port (gas in) and bottom side (beer out) if you want to serve from it. Other options: fermentation vessel, HLT/BK (side cork could be an issue), bar stool, end table. Great piece from the past, definitely worth using somehow. Good luck with it.

Cleaning should be pretty straightforward, especially with side cork removed.

There is no gas in. It is cask beer. You carbonate naturally, hammer in a tap, and vent occasionally from the top if pouring slow.

It is also 10 gallons, so better drink quick.

 

[Hoppity]

There is no gas in. It is cask beer. You carbonate naturally, hammer in a tap, and vent occasionally from the top if pouring slow.

It is also 10 gallons, so better drink quick.

When I used these as a kid, there was a hand pump fitting at the top to regulate the flow coming out of the bottom. Every bar I drank in at the time used the same casks and used CO2 to push the beer to the taps. Breweries didn't distribute two different keg designs to accommodate bars and backyard parties.

Early adoption of the 'new-fangled' Sanke system allegedly led to numerous frat boy deaths, as drunken keg changers leaning over kegs were struck by flying parts (urban legend).

Don't know if that is true, but I was always very careful when tapping a Sanke after growing up on casks.

 

[boganll]

Thanks for all the replies. I was aware that a "firkin" was a measurement of volume as well as a serving vessel for hand-pumped, cask-conditioned ales or "real ale".

If someone with hands-on experience with them can look at the pictures and tell me whether or not its salvageable, what the best cleaning method is, and where to find the taps, bungs, hand pumps, or whatever it is I'm going to need to make it functional, that is what I'm looking for.