Hi,
People who have connected up pressure gauges to their barrels often talk about liking to serve their beer at 3-5 PSI. Similarly, I understand that most pressure barrels will vent at about 10 PSI.
This doesn't make any sense to me as it implies that the headspace in the pressure barrel is *less* than atmospheric pressure (~14 PSI). How does this work? I thought one of the main reasons for topping up pressure in a barrel was to keep the beer pouring well. If the headspace pressure in a barrel is being kept below atmospheric pressure surely it provides less downwards pressure on the beer than the upwards pressure from the outside air at the tap.
Is this true? Is the pressure inside the barrel less than atmospheric pressure?
Note: I'm talking about cheap plastic pressure barrels (maybe with an S30 valve) here. Not corny kegs or similar.
People who have connected up pressure gauges to their barrels often talk about liking to serve their beer at 3-5 PSI. Similarly, I understand that most pressure barrels will vent at about 10 PSI.
This doesn't make any sense to me as it implies that the headspace in the pressure barrel is *less* than atmospheric pressure (~14 PSI). How does this work? I thought one of the main reasons for topping up pressure in a barrel was to keep the beer pouring well. If the headspace pressure in a barrel is being kept below atmospheric pressure surely it provides less downwards pressure on the beer than the upwards pressure from the outside air at the tap.
Is this true? Is the pressure inside the barrel less than atmospheric pressure?
Note: I'm talking about cheap plastic pressure barrels (maybe with an S30 valve) here. Not corny kegs or similar.