Page 3 of Homebrew - beer, not piracy...

Just had the first `official` sample... not bad at all. Needs a bit longer I think. Is pretty fruity which surprised me. Could be a bit fizzier though. 

The first actual sample was when I was siphoning from bucket to barrel... warm and flat.

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Could be a bit fizzier though

Did you add any more sugar when you transferred to the pressure barrel?

Like I said bottling is better as you add a teaspoon of sugar before you cap it to make is more gassy

Oh and contrary to popular belief adding more sugar does increase the alcohol strength

I did. I think another 85g is what the instructions said. Might just chuck a bit more in though for good measure, but I quite like having walls in my house too.

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I quite like having walls in my house too.

That only happens because the fermentation process was not complete at the time of transfer

In which case I`ll crack on with more sugar. I left it a bit longer after the bubbles stopped, just to be sure...

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I left it a bit longer after the bubbles stopped, just to be sure

You need to put the on cap the barrel once you transfer because it`s the gas which creates the prersure in the barrel so you can dispense it out of the tap

Is the cap on the barrel one that can take little CO2 cannisters.

You need one of these because over time the barrel will lose pressure so the CO2 cannister puts pressure back in the barrel

Just about to do the 3rd batch... first one was tasty, yet warm & flat.2nd was much better, I gave up on the barrel, couldn`t keep the first batch fizzy - possibly a leaky cap letting the gas out, but no amount of CO2 injections kept it fizzy longer than a day. I bottled the 2nd lot, and still have a fridge full... shiftwork means I can`t always drink it in the evenings, and it looks a bit bad walking the kids to school after a night shift with a bottle in my hand...
So, batch 3 - I`ve opted for a mexican cerveza, but done a bit of reading and gonna infuse a little bit of vodka & lime extract. Gonna kill me waiting for this one...!

Anyone know of anywhere in the UK that might produce custom-designed bottle caps at a reasonable price?

Bitter Virtue in Portswood may be able to help

http://www.bittervirtue.co.uk/

Will check it out, ta very much.