Brewing Master

Question:

A rephrase of an unaswered question- I am wondering how beer that is cask-conditioned and served from a hand pump is primed- I want my batch to be as un-fizzy as possible.. I have a pressure barrel (CO2 injector) that I would like to transfer my nearly finished batch of Bitter into, and I am keen to put the minimum amount of priming sugar in it to keep it from being too fizzy. Can anyone offer advice? What would you do if you were making a batch to be served from a traditional hand pump? Dan Beimborn

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A rephrase of an unaswered question- I am wondering how beer that is cask-conditioned and served from a hand pump is primed- I want my batch to be as un-fizzy as possible.. I have a pressure barrel (CO2 injector) that I would like to transfer my nearly finished batch of Bitter into, and I am keen to put the minimum amount of priming sugar in it to keep it from being too fizzy. Can anyone offer advice? What would you do if you were making a batch to be served from a traditional hand pump? Dan Beimborn

Well, If you want a very uncarbonated Ale, Don’t add any priming sugar at all! The only reason to add priming sugar is to make CO2 in the first place, so there is no requirement to add any…  I however would probably add a slight bit since TOTALLY flat beer isn’t appealing to my tastes, Even from a hand pump. Jay

Response:

A rephrase of an unaswered question- I am wondering how beer that is cask-conditioned and served from a hand pump is primed- I want my batch to be as un-fizzy as possible. <snip

Everything I’ve read and heard indicates that cask-conditioned ales are "primed" by the hand-pump unit itself at serving time.

Response:

A rephrase of an unaswered question- I am wondering how beer that is cask-conditioned and served from a hand pump is primed- I want my batch to be as un-fizzy as possible. <snip Everything I’ve read and heard indicates that cask-conditioned ales

are "primed" by the hand-pump unit itself at serving time.

Nah,, The beer is usualy racked slightly before the end of fermentation.  This enables the beer to finish its ferment in the barrel.  As homebrewers this isn’t always that easy to manage, so an amount of priming sugar (fresh wort) is recommended (by me:-)  ) Check out any of Graham Wheelers books for some detailed info on UK brewing habits, in particular I would read ‘The CAMRA guide to homebreweing’ by Wheeler.(Second edition)  But prepare yourself for a culture shock….there is NO mention of carboys, iodopher or even Charlie!!!! Dave…. —                               Dave Pickett                     NEWS INTERNATIONAL NEWSPAPERS LTD     –THE SUN–THE NEWS OF THE WORLD–THE TIMES–THE SUNDAY TIMES–QVC–                      Facilities Management Department

Response: