I rarely used to prime them at all. I would transfer the beer to the pin when it was ready, usually from a secondary fermenter, and dispense by gravity...simply pour the beer through the tap and allow the pin to collapse as it empties.Coach_R said:Question for the ppl that use these regularly.
If/When you prime them and leave for a few weeks do you vent the Co2 out on a regular basis or is it just once it's full don't touch again until serving?
I'd love to here how this goes. If it works I'll be making a trip to the shops. :beer:Coach_R said:Just put a random quick 15L K&K brew down this morning purely to see how the SCA bags go.. if anyone has any info on how much sugar i should use to prime one of these bad boys that'd be great!
Thanks Dennis that helps a lot, so what is your preferred serving temperature?DennisKing said:My procedure is very simple, I want my beer to be as an English real ale, light natural carbonation. I normally rack into pin around a gravity 1012 no priming sugar and leave somewhere slightly warm. The pin will expand a little after 4-5 days so I move to my garage which at the moment is around 12c and even in summer rarely go's above 20c. If it does get too warm a wet towel will bring it down, in the UK we don't get the temperatures you do. I like to let it condition for 2-3 weeks although you can drink younger. By serving through the hand pump the action of the pump gives me just the amount of life I want. Before I got the hand pump I would prime with 80gms of sugar and serve by gravity. The beer stays fresh for at least 2-3 weeks, to be honest they normally drank within that time. My pins are 20ltr and are aprox. 13" x 11"x 11".
My garage tends to be around 14c to 18c range.AndrewQLD said:Thanks Dennis that helps a lot, so what is your preferred serving temperature?
I use the collapsible water containers from BCF. $12 each. I CC the beer in secondary, then transfer to the bag. The beer then matures for a week before serving. I dont prime the bag either. I tend to store the full bags at 10C in the fridge. When its serving time, put the bag into one of those 50-can cooler bags, and connect to the hand pump. Works a treat, and there are no vinyl/plastic flavours in the beer either.Wolfy said:Unfortunately the poly pins that they use in the UK are difficult or expensive to find locally.
I have one of the camping type ones, however I don't think it seals near as well and TBH it smells of vinyl so I've not been inclined to use it.
At the minute i don't have anything to cold condition my beers (or anywhere) so my plan was to bulk prime and like you say for a few days once the headspace increases and then whacking it in the fridge.black_labb said:I've been using some polypins for a month or so now with my newly aquired handpump. i got some 4L "cubitainers" as they seem like a good idea, I don't want to be drinking the same beer for 20L straight. Currently I've been priming with about 1.5g/L after cold conditioning, though a bit less could be fine. All you need is to make the difference between the solubility of co2 at fermenting temps and serving temps, which is about .25 volumes. the polypin isn't there to hold pressure, just as an airlock, though they can hold some pressure if you get it wrong. I hope I don't find out their upper limit but I haven't yet
I've been leaving my pins at 20ish for a couple days (until you see the headspace starting to increase from co2 production) then I move them into the fridge at 12*c where they wait to be served.
it's only been in the bag for 24 hours, it was pretty firm so i vented for maybe 2 secs at the most. better to be on the safe side i guess..Cosmic Bertie said:Just keep an eye on the bag. If it swells up too much you may have to bleed some of the gas out of it to stop it from exploding
I've been venting twice daily (am/pm) i'm probably doing it too much but just to be safe for this first run. I'm going to leave it at room temperature until the weekend and then pop it in the fridge until the following weekend.Cosmic Bertie said:I'd keep venting it so that the bag doesnt feel so hard. Do this for a week, to let it mature, then drink it :
Those firkins/pins look ok, but you'd have to tap them to allow air (or a gas) in when you draw the beer out. This is fine if you're going to be drinking it reasonably quickly, but could be an issue if its left over a longer period.Coach_R said:I've been venting twice daily (am/pm) i'm probably doing it too much but just to be safe for this first run. I'm going to leave it at room temperature until the weekend and then pop it in the fridge until the following weekend.
Also in the last week or so been researching other alternatives... and came across these plastic firkins and pins http://real-ale.com.au/?page_id=71 i've asked for a quote on one of the pins and shipping from Sydney to Adelaide. If anyone else is interested i'll let ya know how much they are once i find out.
Or you can use very low pressure co2, but that upsets the good folk at CAMRACosmic Bertie said:Those firkins/pins look ok, but you'd have to tap them to allow air (or a gas) in when you draw the beer out. This is fine if you're going to be drinking it reasonably quickly, but could be an issue if its left over a longer period.
I have those pins and firkins. They are ok but for home use I find it simpler to use cubes as casks.Coach_R said:I've been venting twice daily (am/pm) i'm probably doing it too much but just to be safe for this first run. I'm going to leave it at room temperature until the weekend and then pop it in the fridge until the following weekend.
Also in the last week or so been researching other alternatives... and came across these plastic firkins and pins http://real-ale.com.au/?page_id=71 i've asked for a quote on one of the pins and shipping from Sydney to Adelaide. If anyone else is interested i'll let ya know how much they are once i find out.
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