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Ginsoak

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Hi, thanks for letting me sign up.

I am pretty new to brewing, I've got a Young's Homebrew Kit complete with pressure barrel and currently have a Young's American IPA on the go. I followed all the instructions and kept it in the primary at room temperature for four weeks - ensuring the specific gravity was correct - before adding the hops, transferring to the pressure barrel and moving to a fridge (2 degrees celsius). I tried it for the first time last week (after a week in the fridge) - it was cloudy but had a good head and was drinkable. I then left it another week before trying it again. When I did a very loud noise - sounded like it was going to explode - came from the barrel when the tap was turned before the beer came out completely flat. I'm assuming that was air rushing in through the tap. I was very careful prior to transferring to the pressure barrel - not over tightening the tap or cap and ensuring they were both coated with vaseline. Does anyone have any thoughts on what has been done wrong or what can be done to fix it? I have ordered some co2 bulbs but have never force carbonated before so am unsure if it will resolve the issue and how often this is required. I'm planning on investing in a corny keg for my next batch but am really hoping I can save this one as it would be pretty heartbreaking having to ditch 40 pints after getting this far.

Thanks so much,

Jon
 
Did you prime the keg with sugar? Most plastic kegs need fettling to hold pressure...

Hi, thanks for getting back so quickly - yeah I primed it with the sugar provided in the kit.
 
You say you filled the keg and moved it to the fridge at 2 degrees ..?
It hasn't had time or temperature for the priming sugar to work...the sugar enables a secondary,smaller fermentation in the keg,producing c02,which carbonates the beer.
The sugar should still be there so I'd take it out the fridge and leave it somewhere warm for a week or so.
Usually we leave the keg or bottles a couple of weeks for this to happen...then chill.
 
Clint is correct, when you add priming sugar you will need to leave it at room temperature for a couple of weeks, then somewhere cool, like a fridge if it will fit, to condition.
 
Hi, sorry I was writing in haste & got my times wrong. I did leave the beer in the pressure barrel at room temperature for two weeks after priming before transferring it to the fridge. It then spent a week in the fridge before I tried it. Do you think taking it out of the fridge would be a good idea? Thanks for all the help. Jon
 
Sadly you are one of a number of members new to brewing who are having issues with their new shiny PB, almost on a daily basis. You either love 'em or hate 'em. I have one remaining that works out of four, I think they are a pita.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/guide-to-a-standard-home-brew-pressure-barrel.67042/Your PB sound to me like it has small leak from somewhere. Opening the tap when there is zero or negative pressure in there will just allow air to be sucked into the PB through the tap to balance the pressure. If it has done that avoid doing it again or your beer might spoil.
All you can do is to try to see if the PB is leak tight by repressurising and going round all the joints with soapy water. But I would allow the PB to warm up before I did that.
And your PB is not really intended to hold a highly carbed beer like an AIPA, fine for ales and stouts though.
Hope you sort it out.
 
Sadly you are one of a number of members new to brewing who are having issues with their new shiny PB, almost on a daily basis. You either love 'em or hate 'em. I have one remaining that works out of four, I think they are a pita.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/guide-to-a-standard-home-brew-pressure-barrel.67042/Your PB sound to me like it has small leak from somewhere. Opening the tap when there is zero or negative pressure in there will just allow air to be sucked into the PB through the tap to balance the pressure. If it has done that avoid doing it again or your beer might spoil.
All you can do is to try to see if the PB is leak tight by repressurising and going round all the joints with soapy water. But I would allow the PB to warm up before I did that.
And your PB is not really intended to hold a highly carbed beer like an AIPA, fine for ales and stouts though.
Hope you sort it out.

Thanks, it sounds like I still have a lot to learn. Without sounding like a complete idiot what is the best way to repressurise? Would it be a case of adding more sugar? I've taken it out of the fridge so fingers crossed it can be salvaged.
 
Thanks, it sounds like I still have a lot to learn. Without sounding like a complete idiot what is the best way to repressurise? Would it be a case of adding more sugar? I've taken it out of the fridge so fingers crossed it can be salvaged.
 
@Ginsoak
You can reprime, but it will need to come out of the fridge and be left to warm up for 24 hours or so, so that the yeast wakes up again.. The disadvantage of that is that carbonation is slow, and if the leak, if you have one, is small you might struggle to find it.
If you have gas bulbs it might be worth using one of them.
But if you are using a cylinder that might be best because you can control how much gas you put into the PB, and how much pressure (until the PRV vents).
And its not your fault you might have a leaky PB. No-one at the point of sale will tell you what you have to do to make sure it is ready to put beer in, or indeed that they are only really suitable for some style of beers.
 
Last edited:
@Ginsoak
You can reprime, but it will need to come out of the fridge and be left to warm up for 24 hours or so, so that the yeast wakes up again.. The disadvantage of that is that carbonation is slow, and if the leak, if you have one, is small you might struggle to find it.
If you have gas bulbs it might be worth using one of them.
But if you are using a cylinder that might be best because you can control how much gas you put into the PB, and how much pressure (until the PRV vents).
And its not your fault you might have a leaky PB. No-one at the point of sale will tell you what you have to do to make sure it is ready to put beer in, or indeed that they are only really suitable for some style of beers.
 
Thanks, it does sound like the PB is the weak link. A friend of mine said he had similar issues and suggested the possibility of transferring it to a corny keg - do you think that would work if I were to track one down quickly? Thanks again. Jon
 
@Ginsoak
If you can't find a corny and you can't easily fix your PB buy some 2 litre bottles of cheap supermarket fizzy water and transfer your beer into them. You will have to reprime and recarb and maybe use a jug at serving time but if you dont want to drink all of your 2 litres at one go it will usually keep for a couple of days after opening. That would then allow you to properly fix your PB, without getting concerned about your beer inside the PB.
 
I'm pleased to say that taking the PB out of the fridge has made a vast improvement - it's now got a really good head & I've tasted far worse - it's very drinkable. Hopefully it stays like this. Thanks for all your help. Jon
 

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