From Barrel to Bottle

Ale_Lover

I normally keep my beer in a barrel. However I'll be going away for a few days next month and what to take some with me.

If I transfer some to bottles from the barrel is it a good idea to put some sugar into the bottles despite the fact that all fermentation has finished?  

HBO_Staff

It is best to go from the fermenting vessel to either bottles or a barrel, wherever it will be kept, but if transferring afterwards into bottles from a barrel, we can't say for certain, but as a guide if it has been in the barrel a little while and was primed at the time, when you fill a few bottles add a little sugar to each and that should give it some carbonation. If it was only recently put in the barrel then the priming sugar may still be working so it may not need re-priming, you don't want to prime it twice or it will over-carbonate. Presuming it has been in the barrel a while we would suggest priming with say half a teaspoon of sugar per 500ml bottle and store somewhere out of the way, this may do the trick

Ale_Lover

Thank you so much for the information. It will have been in the barrel for a while so I'll go with the half teaspoon idea.

I did think of just filling say coke bottles but I think it would be totally flat before I drunk it.

Again thank you. 

HBO_Staff

No problem, if you did just fill a few bottles these should be OK for a day or two, but they will act in the same way as if you opened a bought bottle of beer, and then sealed it up again, it would be OK for a bit and then go flat. By adding a little priming sugar this should secondary ferment again and make some pressure and carbonation inside the bottles, if using PET plastic bottles you will feel them go hard to the touch as the carbonation develops after a few days or so