king keg bottom tap

littledevil

hi recently made some youngs nothern ale the beer is in my king keg, tastes good i think the problem is after 10 pints the pressure runs out ?? so far i had to use one of the 9 grams co2, today it run out again?? is this normal ? how many of the catridges will i need to finish the barell was also thinking getting an other from this site but this time top tap

HBO_Staff

The barrels can vary on how much if any CO2 needs adding, it depends on a few things such as temperature, the brew inside the keg, how much you draw off at once, and how much is in the keg. Barrels dispense based on the pressure inside them, the amount of pressure varies depending on what brew is inside and how much they are carbonating, as they all carbonate at different speeds. As a brew continues to secondary ferment and produce CO2 it will naturally re-pressurise the barrel, but this may take a while. If you draw off several pints at a time it doesn't always get chance to re-pressurise, which is when extra CO2 needs injecting in. If it is a bit cooler this may slow it down too, and also the lower the level of liquid in the barrel, the more void there is that needs filling with CO2 and the less beer there is inside to do it. Some brews if just a pint or two is taken at a time will pressurise themselves and not need any CO2, others may need topping up with CO2 a few times to help pressurise them. It is important to keep up the pressure so air is not sucked in through the tap, as this will shorten the shelf life of the brew once air comes into contact with the contents. For the last few pints you can crack the lid open to allow air in and help it dispense more quickly if you will be drinking it quickly, and this will save on having to add another cartridge.

The King Keg Top Taps are a good barrel and popular, with the advantage of you are drawing the beer from the top of the keg where it is clean and well away from the sediment. The beer will not dispense out of the keg without pressure though, so it must be topped up with CO2 as needed to force it out of the tap. With the bottom tap version this is not as vital as the weight of the beer above can help force it out