Pressure barell brewing only - stout.

[goob2000]

Hi folks, good forum. I'm a total, total beginner at this, and as a spur of the moment act decide I'd start my own while the girlfriend made the mistake of taking me into a shop that sold brewing kits and equipment ;-) (she will regret that haha)

Anyway, I got myself a Coppery bitter kit 1 KG of brewing sugar, sterilisation equipment and a 40 pint pressure barell to start this off with. As I knew very little about this, (should have done research) but as this was a spur purchase, I thought this could start my foray into Beer making.

Steralized the keg and equipment, added the Coppery bitter kit, sugar, 3.5L of boiling water, and 19.5L of cold water as recomended, mixed, then added the yeast it came with - all to the pressure barell, and mixed again.

On hindsight, it looks like I should have used a proper fermenter container rather than the pressure barrel at the start, then transferred to the pressure barrell after 6 days or so.

Now I'm a bit worried I've screwed this up!

- Have I screwed up going direct to the pressure barell?
- If not, is it best to keep this air-tight (ie not take the lid off to check progress)?
- How long would this stuff 'keep' for once brewed (provided I've not already destroyed it!!?)

Sorry for the noob questions, would appreciate any input!

Thanks

G

 

[frazier]

The keg is not for fermenting! You need to provide a vent of some sort for the CO2 created during fermentation. Typically, people use either a large 6 gallon jug, or a bucket with a hole in the lid. An airlock provides the vent without letting outside air back in, to maintain a sterile environment. Better get back to that brew shop!

 

[goob2000]

Thanks for the input Frazier. I had a feeling that I'd end up back at square one, guess I'll hit the store again in a couple of days!! Need to get some supplies anyway, so I'll buy the proper gear this time when I have more time to check this out properly.

I'm guess there's no chance that the keg stuff will somehow come good, despite the screw ups????

 

[bioguy]

It looks like you could loosen the cap to allow gas to escape while fermenting.

When fermentation is over (you'll need a hydrometer to tell), draw the sediment off the bottom using the tap.

Add the carbonating sugar, screw the lid on tight and it should carbonate in a few days.

 

[goob2000]

Thanks Bioguy, I was not going to give up on it quite yet! Do you mean to keep the cap loosened off until fermentation is over, or just unscrew at regular intervals (ie once a day to release pressure)?

I do have a hydrometer that I can check it with.

 

[freisste]

Keep it loose. If you tighten it and forget about it, you could have a very messy or very dangerous (seriously) situation.

I would think about replacing the lid with a piece of sterilized foil or plastic wrap, but that's just me. Keeping the lid loose would probably be fine.

 

[goob2000]

Awesome friesste, that's exactly what I'll do. I think the type has a basic pressure valve on the cap so it might let off some of the presure in the meantime ...at least I damn well hope so, i don't get off work for a few hours and it's sitting in the closet next to my girlfriends best clothes, so if the worst happens......well, lets not think about what she'll do.....

Doh. :-(

 

[freisste]

Awesome friesste, that's exactly what I'll do. I think the type has a basic pressure valve on the cap so it might let off some of the presure in the meantime ...at least I damn well hope so, i don't get off work for a few hours and it's sitting in the closet next to my girlfriends best clothes, so if the worst happens......well, lets not think about what she'll do.....

Doh. :-(

Yeah. I'd hate for this to be your first and last attempt at homebrewing.

 

[bioguy]

Thanks Bioguy, I was not going to give up on it quite yet! Do you mean to keep the cap loosened off until fermentation is over, or just unscrew at regular intervals (ie once a day to release pressure)?
.

Keep it loose like freisste said.

How are the girlfriend's clothes? I had a mead blow its cork in the bathroom once, about 18 years ago. It made a mess on the ceiling and attracted ants. I'm _still_ hearing about it. I can't imagine if it had gotten over her good clothes. Oh, and the mead turned out great.

 

[goob2000]

Cheers guys.

Well, she was not happy about my choice of storage location, and the fact she arrived home before me and found out that she would have to release pressure on the barell. When she realized what could have happened to her clothes, well.. she was not best pleased, it was like facing an angry rottweiller. Queue the angry phonecall to her sister for an hour...

Anyway, I did as you guys suggested and loosened the cap, seems to be working away nicely, so maybe its not all lost....even ig I get a 50% or less yield, I'll be happy (and drunk).. ;-)

 

[freisste]

I can't imagine all is lost. In fact, I doubt anything is lost. Not sure how much you expected to get out of the batch, but it will be most of what you put into your fermenter. You will lose a little to the trub, but that's about it. Now that it has been a little time, you can worry less and less about a blowout (but still keep the cap on loosely).

You're all good, no worries.

 

[Revvy]

On hindsight, it looks like I should have used a proper fermenter container rather than the pressure barrel at the start, then transferred to the pressure barrell after 6 days or so.

Now I'm a bit worried I've screwed this up!

- Have I screwed up going direct to the pressure barell?
- If not, is it best to keep this air-tight (ie not take the lid off to check progress)?
- How long would this stuff 'keep' for once brewed (provided I've not already destroyed it!!?)

Sorry for the noob questions, would appreciate any input!

Thanks

G

Why do you think this? Actually a "Pressure Barrel Fermenter" is just that, it is BOTH a fermenter and a serving vessel.

You have to realize something asking questions about that style fermenter on THIS AMERICAN SITE, is that 99.9% of the people don't know what the heck these things are. They are pretty rare in North America.

For the best info on brewing with these things, it's best to go to google, and look at the info on there, or on the Australian or English forums.....There's hardly anyone on here with any real experience on here.

I only know what these things are from searching when years ago, noone answered someone's question and I went to google to find out what the heck he was talking about.

Now to your questions...

Why do you think there's a problem, and that you should have used a different fermenter? A fermenter is a fermenter is a fermenter, the yeast don't care WHAT you put them in, and the pressure barrel is a pretty good one to be in...


This particular pressure barrel, from the picture, doesn't appear to have a hole for an airlock. That means then that during fermentation more than likely the lid needs only to be on loosely to relieve pressure. Some I have seen do indeed have an airlock, but it seems like a lot of them don't have them at all.

Remember, if CO2's getting out, nothing bad can get in....so if co2 is leaking around a loose lid, that's fine...NO FERMENTER IS EVER AIRTIGHT...there needs to be a way to release EXCESS pressure, or else your lid will bounce off the ceiling, followed by your beer.


That's all an airlock is anyway, it's a pressure release valve. A loose lid, some plastic wrap, a piece of plexiglass....ANYTHING can serve that purpose. It may very well be that on that PB the threaded part and the lid are somehow notched like on a MR BEER keg to let co2 out.

It's perfectly safe to "check the progress" by opening it up...In fact THE ONLY REAL WAY TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, is to open up the fermenter, draw a sample and take a hydrometer reading to gauge the progress of fermentation......And usually involves taking the lid off....though if it has a spigot, you could draw one that way too I guess.

A spray bottle of sanitizer is a good way of making sure things stay sanitized while doing all this.

I don't know what you mean by your third question..."How long can a beer keep once brewed." If it's properly contained in a keg with co2 or in a bottle in can lost a long time. People have drunk 100+ year old bottled beers.

It all depends on your brewing technique, and your sanitization regimine, how long a beer can stay good.

Anything else I can help you with?????

 

[goob2000]

Awesome stuff guys, thanks very much for the valuable info you've given especially seeing as you say those pressure barells are rare in the US.

You've helped put my mind at rest with this experiment - one of many I think, but I need to read up much more on this. Revvy, a spray bottle sanitizer seems like a good idea, do you mean just to spray around the lid while taking a hydrometer reading?


Once again, thanks for the info!!!!

 

[Revvy]

Awesome stuff guys, thanks very much for the valuable info you've given especially seeing as you say those pressure barells are rare in the US.

You've helped put my mind at rest with this experiment - one of many I think, but I need to read up much more on this. Revvy, a spray bottle sanitizer seems like a good idea, do you mean just to spray around the lid while taking a hydrometer reading?


Once again, thanks for the info!!!!

Spray everything down...the lid before and after, the top of the pressure barrel. Whatever you use to draw the sample.