second firmentation

tell

Hi have not done any home brew for about 20 year .Have now got a magnums pear on the go and want to keg after firmentation has finished. do i need to put suger in keg to make it fizzy. As i will be using co 2 bulbs as well

HBO_Staff

Hi tell, you do need to put the sugar in the keg when you transfer it, as this is what causes the secondary fermentation and is what gives the cider its carbonation, without it the cider will be still. The CO2 bulbs help to pressurise the keg and give the cider some extra fizz as it is poured from the tap, as it forces the cider out under pressure, but they don't work in the way of a 'sodastream' type device to actually carbonate the drink by injecting bubbles through the drink, they simply provide additional pressure inside the barrel to force the contents out, which can make it a bit more 'lively' as it comes out of the tap. You can vary the level of carbonation by adjusting the sugar quantity, but if you over do it there will be too much pressure, and the barrel will just keep venting it out