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Packaging

2 bytes removed, 15:22, 28 March 2016
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* '''Kegging''' - Kegging offers the benefit of being able to force carbonate or naturally carbonate with adding priming sugar and (optionally) re-yeasting. If force carbonating, follow the same procedures that you would for any other beer. Consider the [https://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/comments/hfzuh/how_to_properly_carbonate_your_homebrew_in_kegs/ "set and forget"] method of force carbonating, which requires 1-3 weeks. This will allow the beer to settle while also dialing in the carbonation level. Priming in the keg often produces great results with sour beers. Generally, use 1/2 of the priming sugar that you would normally use, or excessive foaming can occur <ref>[https://byo.com/hops/item/954-keg-your-beers Don Million. Keg Your Beers! Brew Your Own Magazine. 2003.]</ref>. If re-yeasting, which is generally recommended (see the [[Packaging#Re-yeasting|Re-yeasting]] section above), use 10% of the yeast you would normally use to for a primary fermentation. For example, use around 2 grams of dried champagne yeast re-hydrated to naturally carbonate 5 gallons of beer <ref name="priming_calc"></ref>. Priming in the keg will result in a little more sediment at the bottom of the keg, but this will be pulled out on the first pour from the keg. Allow at least three weeks of conditioning at room temperature, and then a week at refrigeration temperatures before serving. If the keg is not re-yeasted, it might take considerably longer than three weeks to carbonate the beer depending on the vitality of the yeast in the beer. The brewer should consider keeping plastic kegging equipment such as serving lines and taps separate from kegs that serve clean beers.
* '''Green glass v Brown glass''' - Some bottle types, especially champagne style bottles, may be more available in green glass compared to brown glass. Green glass does a worse job shielding the beer from UV spectrum light, which can interact with hop compounds to produce 'skunky' or lightstruck flavors and aromas. Many classic Belgian mixed fermentation beers are found in green glass, and some producers in North America seek out green glass over brown glass for their beers<ref>[http://jesterkingbrewery.com/jester-king-in-green-bottles Jester King blog post about green bottles]</ref><ref>[http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/the-sour-hour-episode-15/ Jester King on the Sour Hour, pt 2]</ref> (~11 minutes in) (also, Bob Sylvester).
* '''Crown caps v corks''' - Deciding between corks and caps will depend on the specific beer and the brewer's goals with the beer. Caps are a cheaper closure and are also easier to apply. Aside from aesthetics, you may choose corks when intending to age or store beers lying down in order to keep the beer from interacting with the cap. Some producers have observed that crown caps contribute to an off-flavor in their beer, especially if the beer is acidic. Pierre Tilquin closes some bottles of every blend with crown caps in order to test carbonation levels. He has noticed that the crown capped bottles have an off flavor not present in the corked bottles <ref>[Conversation between Pierre Tilquin and Dave Janssen, 24-Oct-2015]</ref>. Other producers regularly package their acidic beer with crown caps (e.g. the Rare Barrel, Boon Geuze in 25 cl bottles) and have not mentioned a problem with doing so.
* '''Large format bottles''' - To cork large format bottles (1.5 L and up) without specialized equipment for large format corking, you will have to modify a corking process and/or possibly create some new equipment. MTFers have found that when a bottle does not fit into a corker, the corks can be inserted by compression the cork in a corker and then ejecting it and quickly inserting the cork into the bottle<ref name='MTF Large Format Corking'>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1207333129294899/ MTF Discussion on corking large format bottles]</ref>. Raf has had success with a machined piece of wood and hammering the cork in and then mushrooming with a drill press<ref name='MTF Large Format Corking'/>. Hand corkers may also work but with them it is difficult to control cork depth. Vinnie from Russian River reports mushrooming the corks with 2x4 and his body weight<ref>[http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/post1835/ Vinnie Cilurzo on the Brewing Network 15-Jan-2006]</ref> (1:22:30 in). 75 cl and 150 cl bottle have the same size opening and 3-9 l bottles have a larger, but consistent, opening. Some MTFers have used normal beer corks in large format bottles while others recommend sourcing larger corks<ref name='MTF Large Format Corking'/>.

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