Cask and Hand-pump

[S.E]

Wow!! I did open up a can of worms methinks... :blink: haha

Totally understand the logistics and the why of the beer engine. And why they aren't really needed if you can gravity feed the tap. But... I don't want a syringe hanging around my bar to add head to the beer when the engine will do that and look good to. I guess I'm a bit nostalgic and having spent a good chunk of the last two years in the ol' boozer in Leeds and London I've want to serve my ale the same way cause I like it and think it adds a certain mouthfeel a syringe won't impart. Simple.

Will defo explore using cubes as a cask Sean, sounds like a good idea. And much more practical to keeping it in the fridge when not having a session. And I'm not too worried about them expanding. they will never explode with extreme amounts of force anyway and i can vent if really required. I like to tinker so would always keep and eye on them. The cask I want is purely for parties and festivals, weddings and anything a f*#k-ton of people will drink at.

CO2 to replace the headspace is something i was already thinking about so good to have that idea confirmed too. And although I want to keep to 'real ale/CAMRA' standards as much as possible things like replacing the headspace with co2 just make sense and i don't see why it shouldn't be used.

:super:

I didn’t mean a syringe with a needle attached, :huh: Just the plunger and barrel part. Sorry I should have been clearer about that.

Guinness brought out 6 pack bottles of draft Guinness and supplied a syringe like plunger with each pack a few years before the smooth flow widget was invented.

Hand pumps don’t force a beer up the line and into the glass, they pull the beer up the line the only forcing is from the piston through the swan neck. And through the sparkler if one is fitted.

Cheers
sean

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Bugger, you missed out on the the next pour MXD poured 2 since that last post, don't give up on the English Bitter.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Missed out the cube photo's

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Going to New York and Boston in June and was looking for any beer festivals which may be happening, found this cask beer festival
in New York, you will notice the Valtera rocket pumps mentioned by spOrk which are being used to dispense the beer.
With a sparkler fitted they are as good as a beer engine.
http://blip.tv/beer-nation/get-real-ny-cask-ale-festival-5535788

 

[Rambo]

Bunnings sparkler

What exactly are you using as your sparkler? I thought I saw you post elsewhere (which I can't find anymore) that it was a tap airator. Went to bunnings today and couldn't find any that I thought could be adapted successfully.

Also, what kind of line are you using between the cube and pump? Is this just silicone hose?

Cheers (and thanks for all your previous posts on this subject, you have convinced me its worth the effort)

 

[wide eyed and legless]

The sparkler for my home made hand pump I got from the plumbing section in Bunnings, and yes it was a tap aerator, I used silicone hose and submersed the hose in hot water to expand it and inserted the aerator into the hose (I will probably be going into Bunnings tomorrow I will check out which one I got and let you know) I remember there were 2 aerators in the packet.

I believe it was 10mm hose from the tap on the cube to the hand pump, which hand pump have you got?

 

[Rambo]

Cheers mate, I'll have to get one and give it a go. If you can check though that would be great and will save me some trial and error.

I have the same pump as you I think, the Valterra one from amazon. Can't wait to get it going, brewing a mild tomorrow to christen it.

Thanks again!

 

[wide eyed and legless]

The aerator I used was a (Kinetic, brand name) there are 2 aerator's in the packet and I used the large grey one in the chrome housing checked how I had fitted it this morning and is as follows 10 mm tubing at the end of the tube a small piece of 12 mm tube and on to that 16 mm tube the chrome fitting has a threaded end and if you soak the 16 mm tube in the hot water you will be able to force it on to the threaded part of the aerator.
Make sure you have enough tube coming off the end of your pump to reach the bottom of the pint glass and pour from the bottom.

 

[Rambo]

Great, thanks for that. One more question I promise! Where did you get silicone hose at those sizes?

 

[Beertard]

My neighbour was just telling me yesterday the Breakfast creek hotel still serves cask beer http://www.breakfastcreekhotel.com/beer_glorious_beer.html might be worth a visit

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Got the clear silicone hose from Bunnings in the irrigation section. I haven't had a drink for 3 weeks now and I can taste that mild of yours, you are going to be really impressed with your beers, you will only want to drink beer drawn from a pump.

 

[Rambo]

Legend, cheers mate! Almost finished the boil now, the last mild I made tasted better out of the fermenter than the keg so I can't wait for it also. Thanks so much for your help.

 

[black_labb]

I got a handpump instead of a keg setup 18 months ago. The setup ends up cheaper than a keg system and is more versatile. Kegs require difficult sized fridges which isn't always easy to accomodate. The polypin/cubitainers I use are 4.5L and great to use http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=31619&catid=816

I've reused them multiple times and only have had one start to leak a little bit when under pressure (only noticeable as there was a stout coloured liquid found when I lifted it up). That cubitainer was sitting on top of a bottle bomb carbonating before putting it into the fridge. Pretty sturdy for most uses.

It's a pretty easy system and results in great cask ale. The "polypin" system is great as it doesn't impact the beer's shelf life like traditional casks do by letting in oxygen and bacteria. I haven't found any oxygen or age issues in any "polypin" casked ales thoughI haven't had a cask sit around untapped for more than about 2 months (it is refrigerated once carbed). I haven't had any shelf life issues with the beer once tapped but it doesn't usually last more than a week at 4.5L.

I prime the 4.5L polypin with a heaped teaspoon of white sugar and let it carb up under the house where I keep the bottle conditioned bottles. Once they're swollen I'll put them in the beerfridge/cold conditioning fridge which sits at about 10*c. If they seem very swollen I'll let a bit of pressure out as a precaution but it isn't usually a concern.

One of the added bonuses is portability. Rock up to camping or a party simply by unclamping it from the bench top at home and throwing over a kegs worth of beer in a normal esky and hooking it up in 2 minutes at the other end once you find the right place to clamp the pump down. No mucking about with co2, balancing pressure/temperature or finding an esky to carry the tall narrow kegs.




An American IPA settling after pouring, still settling from the pour.


An empty 4.5L polypin as used.

 

[Bribie G]

My neighbour was just telling me yesterday the Breakfast creek hotel still serves cask beer http://www.breakfastcreekhotel.com/beer_glorious_beer.html might be worth a visit

It's served from the wooden barrel, but isn't "real ale" in the UK sense. It has been filtered to bright condition then racked into the cask and sent out to the pub to be served by gravity.

So it's different to the UK version where the beer is still fermenting and the yeast then settles to the bottom of the cask and naturally carbonates the beer to provide a slight sparkle on serving.

The Breakfast Creek version of XXXX is just taken off the production line before it gets pasteurised, but is indeed far more tasty and fresher than the keg or bottled version and well worth a session.

This is really how lagers were delivered to bars in Europe, America and Australia before metal kegs were introduced in the 1950s. I've seen wooden casks in use in Austria when I was younger.

 

[lael]

Try gcspublishing.com/newsletter/homemadebeerengine.pdf
This is a good read with details on how to build your own.
Cheers....spog...

Link now goes to group builder....

Can you repost it / drop box? I'm very interested in trying a hand pump set up.

 

[sp0rk]

Check the BYO link i posted, it's basically the same thing only less pretty

 

[lael]

Thanks, will do. Black lab, can make you post some pica of how the poly pins hook up to the beer pump? Did you order them off the website you linked?

 

[lael]

Came across this, http://www.abgbrew.com/Cask%20conditioning...pdf

Now wants a login

 

[wide eyed and legless]

http://byo.com/stories/item/594-enjoy-the-real-thing-cask-conditioned-ale

Is any good to you lael

 

[lael]

Brilliant! Thanks!