In a nearly completely unrelated note to homebrewing, my roommate Eric has proved himself capable of a feat that deserves recognition.
He's always been able to down a beer far faster than I can. Far faster than anyone I know can for that matter. So when, about a month ago, we were out at a watering hole in Chicago which will remain nameless and he was out-chugged by another similarly freakish individual, his ego was noticeably bruised.
Thereafter, I didn't have to do much besides pull out the stopwatch to prompt him to crack open a can of Miller Lite or whatever other foul beer he had on hand, pour it into a pint glass, and proceed to run time trials.
He finally got a chance to redeem himself on New Years Eve. Thankfully his rightful place as the fastest beer drinker (to my knowledge) was restored, although by an extremely thin margin of victory, at 3.1 seconds.
Freak.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Naturally Priming a Cornelius Keg
A few months ago, I decided to try fermenting a lager for the first time in my (still relatively) newly acquired kegerator. Having bought one big enough to accommodate a full half barrel, a standard 5 gallon fermenter and a corny keg fit inside of the fridge just fine.
After the two months or so of fermentation and conditioning it took to actually brew the Czech -style Pilsner, I decided to try naturally carbonating the resulting beer instead of using C02 to force carbonate it. (After months, what's another week for the yeast to do their thing again?) Although I was tempted to try using some preserved, un-fermented wort instead of priming sugar, I got lazy and just opted to use priming sugar. As per usual, I followed Charlie Papazian's advice and used 1/3 of a cup instead of the normal amount you'd use to prime 5 gallons for bottling
I'd say that there is a noticeable difference in the end result. There's a bit less head when pouring the beer, and that which does form takes more time to develop. (Similar to what you'd see on a higher-gravity, higher viscosity commercial brew or on a keg-conditioned beer served at your local brewhouse.) The mouthfeel is definitely more delicate and you get bubbles that are somewhat akin to those you see in a properly poured glass of champaign.
All in all, it's worth the extra week or so to naturally condition the keg. I think I may just have to go for the gyle method next time.
As an aside - if you've got the capability to brew lagers, do it. It may have just been beginner's luck, but this is hands-down the best brew I've produced so far.
After the two months or so of fermentation and conditioning it took to actually brew the Czech -style Pilsner, I decided to try naturally carbonating the resulting beer instead of using C02 to force carbonate it. (After months, what's another week for the yeast to do their thing again?) Although I was tempted to try using some preserved, un-fermented wort instead of priming sugar, I got lazy and just opted to use priming sugar. As per usual, I followed Charlie Papazian's advice and used 1/3 of a cup instead of the normal amount you'd use to prime 5 gallons for bottling
I'd say that there is a noticeable difference in the end result. There's a bit less head when pouring the beer, and that which does form takes more time to develop. (Similar to what you'd see on a higher-gravity, higher viscosity commercial brew or on a keg-conditioned beer served at your local brewhouse.) The mouthfeel is definitely more delicate and you get bubbles that are somewhat akin to those you see in a properly poured glass of champaign.
All in all, it's worth the extra week or so to naturally condition the keg. I think I may just have to go for the gyle method next time.
As an aside - if you've got the capability to brew lagers, do it. It may have just been beginner's luck, but this is hands-down the best brew I've produced so far.
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