cask conditioning woes

[barleyfreak]

I have hit a lack of carbonation wall. I am trying to get a cask conditioned ale program going and I can’t get not just enough carbonation, but any carbonation. My first effort was taking a fully attenuated ale from an FV, at ~ 61 degrees, fill cask (actually a 5 gallon pin), add 32oz of actively fermenting beer from another FV 24 hrs into its fermentation(at 66 degrees) . I left it in a corner of the brewery. 2+ weeks later, tap it, zero carbonation. Ok, so I thought, it may have been too cool where it was located on the brewery floor (around 55 degrees). Next effort, found a better location (65-68 degrees), repeat procedure. 2 weeks later, no carbonation, no joy. I thought maybe I need to leave more (any) headspace, so third attempt, 32oz actively fermenting beer added, along with 3oz dextrose, left some headspace, moved to 68 degrees for 12 days…nothing. I am perplexed. What am I doing wrong here? I know there are other techniques to cask condition, but this one is supposed to work, from what I have read and heard.

[dick murton]

What sort of level are you trying to achieve? Cask beer CO2 levels are as low as 2 grams / litre (1 vol), but more typically around 3 grams / litre or 1.5 vols.

Two weeks conditioning is too long if using traditional casks (steel or wood) as the CO2 will escape by that time, leaving it very flat. Around 2 degrees SG residual fermentable sugars are the norm - less than that you get insufficient CO2, more than that you can get the shives popping out or large losses through the porous peg.

[barleyfreak]

Not trying to achieve much more than about 1.8. I am using a steel pin. Wooden shive and keystone. Did not know that 2 weeks was too much time. I seem to remember seeing that casks can be aged longer periods. Are you saying that any co2 generated is leaking out though either the shive or keystone? I store it on end, with the shive up. Have not seen any liquid leaking. When I drive in a spile, I get no foam at all. Nothing.

[dick murton]

Because cask beer relays on a natural process for clarification rather than filtration it is important to have careful control of the brewing and fermenting stages as well as maintaining excellent microbiology.
To be ready for racking a beer must have:

• Between 2 and 3 degrees SG of fermentable residue
• A homogenous yeast count between 1 and 3 x 10⁶ cells/ ml
• Be at a suitable temperature to give a controlled secondary fermentation

Method of operation
Ideally, check the attenuation limit of each brew by fully fermenting a sample of wort with yeast
Allow beer to ferment out and check PG
[FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Calibri]Normally the PG will be 2

[dick murton]

my apologies. I didn't check the previous response properly. this is the rest of the notes as an attachment as copy & paste won't work