Collapsible Cube For Beer Engine?

[absinthe]

i found these at bunnings today...

$8 or so, 20ltr LDPE water drum i am testing it for any leaching at the moment (as you see in the pic, i filled with hot water and will leave it for a few days), i just thought they would work well as they would collapse as i pulled up the beer and stop and air contact but also remove the need for co2



anyone else used these?

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Now thats pretty thinking! Good idea.

 

[BjornJ]

If you want to use them as a "goon bag" I think it will work, but won't even really low carbonation be too much pressure for it?
It doesn't look very sturdy.
I have played a little with cask conditioning in 15 litre fresh wort cubes, and they burst or leak due to the high pressure of the carbonation.
I have used too much dextrose when testing even for normal homebrew, so a beer engine with Real Ale would have less pressure.
Interested in hearing how it goes though!

thanks
Bjorn

 

[troopa]

hows about for CCing?
takes the issue of burning you knees on the bloody things trying to squeeze the life out of em LOL

Tom

 

[absinthe]

i dont think carbonation will be a problem as you dont carbonate when useing a beer engine i thought i could condition in a cask and then transfer into the goon bag for serving, or even make a kind of PRV so it will carb to a point then start to relece..

any way im going to have a play as sofar filled with hot water they dont seem to have a plastic taste

 

[jayse]

I recall drinking some scotch ale straight from one of these from another member and it worked a treat. I think for PRV it would be enough to check it out everyday and pour some and check it, if it was geting too high then it means you have to have a session right way

 

[Pennywise]

That'd be an awesome piece of kit for someone like me who will soon be doing 10L AG batches and no-chilling. Hope it works well

 

[Tim]

These are pretty common in the UK and are known as polypins (do a google search, and look at images). Basically you don't carbonate your ale above the natural carbonation level you would get at your dispense temp, so about 1 atm or the amount left in solution after cold conditioning. You can buy these full of beer from most breweries and they usually put them in a branded box, so its like goon, but with real ale. When you run them through a beer engine you introduce the real ale mouthfeel and texture by agination. It's weird but real ale served straiught from the barrel or a polypin lacks mouthfeel and condition. Anyhow I picked up two of these a few weeks ago for use with my two beer engines.

 

[marlow_coates]

Interesting find.

How hot was the water you put in there?

For no-chilling would need to test with near boiling water, and I would be worried about a break in the material (depending on how strong it is).
If is holds the heat fine, and doesn't leach any flavours from the plastic then they would be great.

Marlow

 

[Bribie G]

Hull breweries in Yorkshire used to serve their beer out of such cubes way back in the 70s except imagine a bag the size of a bar fridge inside a stout cardboard outer. Polypins are a descendent of them. Ideal for hand pumps I would reckon.

 

[absinthe]

These are pretty common in the UK and are known as polypins (do a google search, and look at images). Basically you don't carbonate your ale above the natural carbonation level you would get at your dispense temp, so about 1 atm or the amount left in solution after cold conditioning. You can buy these full of beer from most breweries and they usually put them in a branded box, so its like goon, but with real ale. When you run them through a beer engine you introduce the real ale mouthfeel and texture by agination. It's weird but real ale served straiught from the barrel or a polypin lacks mouthfeel and condition. Anyhow I picked up two of these a few weeks ago for use with my two beer engines.

well thats good to know... i now have a nice dry stout (all made with home malted barely) conditioning, although next time i use one i will charge the cask with CO2 as removeing all the air is a bitch due to foam etc




filling:

full (notice the air and foam ):

 

[Tim]

I checked and you can take off the tap and use a large juice bottle oztop there. You could avoid the air issues by adding a little sugar and then letting it ferment/carb up to minimal pressure with the oztop before refitting teh tap.

 

[Jez]

I checked and you can take off the tap and use a large juice bottle oztop there. You could avoid the air issues by adding a little sugar and then letting it ferment/carb up to minimal pressure with the oztop before refitting teh tap.

where did you get your oztops from Tim? From their website?

and the Large juice bottle ones are the "low" ones I take it?

Jez

 

[absinthe]

well i couldn't wait for it to condition so I'm testing my new engine and the cube seems to work well...

the temporary set up:

 

[joecast]

nice one. hope it goes well.
you gotta love the trouble we go through just for a decent (or different) beer drinking experience. cheers to the ingenuity of brewers!

 

[Kodos]

So pumped to see this thread now - I've got a 10L container just like this waiting for a trial with the ESB I've got in the fermenter as I type. Was about to chuck out my old OzTops too, but reckon they'll make a perfect one-way "spline" of sorts.

I'll probably take the tap off to fill it, hopefully that'll avoid a bit of foaming.

Thanks for putting your trial run up for us to see!

 

[Fourstar]

I checked and you can take off the tap and use a large juice bottle oztop there. You could avoid the air issues by adding a little sugar and then letting it ferment/carb up to minimal pressure with the oztop before refitting teh tap.

Personally id purge the sucker with co2 before filling and reducing oxidation as you fill. You will have some oxygen in the vessel post fill from the hose but i guess you can always limit that by prefilling the hose with beer before connecting it up to the cube.

I do like the idea of doing a little conditioning in the vessel. Atleast the yeast will scavenge any excessive O2 and replace it with CO2. Just dont forget to vent!

 

[Tim]

Personally id purge the sucker with co2 before filling and reducing oxidation as you fill. You will have some oxygen in the vessel post fill from the hose but i guess you can always limit that by prefilling the hose with beer before connecting it up to the cube.

I do like the idea of doing a little conditioning in the vessel. Atleast the yeast will scavenge any excessive O2 and replace it with CO2. Just dont forget to vent!

It'd vent just fine when you take the oztop off and screw the tap back on. The low pressure Oztops don't hold a lot of pressure behind them anyway.

I can't remember where I got my Oztops from, I think I mail ordered them years ago.

 

[Jez]

No worries Tim. The manufacturer I think sells them on eaby.

Can't wait to give it a go.

Jez

 

[reviled]

Some brewerys in NZ are actually using these in replace of kegs as it brings the transit cost down...

Not sure if theyre exactly the same, but the ones theyre using over here are holding 1.5 Volumes and being served through hand pump :icon_drool2:

Man, I want a hand pump real bad <_<