Shelf life

Jason

i have just brewed a real Ale which has gone into a pressure barrel can anyone tell me how long that will last, I am aware it will last longer if you keep the pressure up with co2, but is it a week two weeks or three etc.

HBO_Staff

Once transfereed to your barrel and primed with sugar, it needs to be left in there for a few weeks to condition, clear and carbonate, the longer the better for the flavours to fully develop. From a storage point of view it is fine in there for at least 6 months, usually up to a year, as long as it is kept sealed and under pressure, it must be airtight once in the barrel. You will find that most brews keep the level of pressure up in a barrel, as they continue to produce CO2, but if it is a bit cooler, or you draw a few pints off at once, especially as the contents get lower and there is more air void to fill, the brew cannot always re-pressurise in time, so this is when adding additional CO2 in using an injector valve and CO2 bulbs is needed, such as this;

http://home-brew-online.myshopify.com/collections/all/products/co2-injector-barrel-cap-with-2-x-8gm-bulbs-holder

Jason

Thankyou very helpful.

taylorslandlord

just done a brew and drawn off about 6 pints not 100clear yet but tastes nice,dont like using co2 proposing transfering half the brew into another container to draw off with handpump, will the remainder of the barrel last long?

HBO_Staff

The important thing is to keep it airtight after it has been primed with sugar, as it keeps it carbonated and will enable it to be stored for quite a while. Ideally you move it to where it will stay after primary fermentation rather than moving it around again, this keeps the amount of air in it down to a minimum too. Any you leave in the barrel will be fine as long as it is airtight and under pressure. If the brew is already in the barrel it is probably best to leave it in there, and put your next batch straight into the sealed container for drawing off with a hand pump, rather than risking harming your brew if it is already primed and well on with clearing