About that pressure lager

Good news and bad news folks: the pressure system worked surprisingly well, 1.5 gallon pressure grant at all, and beer is definitely being made. The bad news: it’s a slightly elaborate and bulky system, and if there’s a bleed anywhere, as I suspect there is on mine, you’ll probably find out the hard way: with a gradual slip in psi (assuming you ask the yeast to put up 100% of the CO2)

However, the system is functional, and having the Sankey keg makes adjustments super easy and safe. Here are some caveats:

  1. the High Pressure Lager Yeast, especially after two starters, really rips at room temp, so don’t do what I did, and definitely throw that spunding valve on ASAP. After some 20 hours without one, i.e. with no vents whatsoever, the spunding valve was screaming when I attached it, so I’m guessing the psi was at something like 30-45; not a death knell for my intrepid yeast, but not great, and definitely not necessary

  2. while leaving the yeast to make all of the CO2 is cool and something I’d like in the future, and a great way to pressure test your setup, adding a tank of CO2 to the liquid in port on your keg hedges your bets

  3. time will only tell if precise temp control is necessary, and I certainly didn’t control it for this beer (a rarity for LA, the ambient temp is in the low 60s in the building), but hopefully not?

I’ll certainly be doing this again, probably in a 2L bottle since I find the idea positively hilarious, and if you do, good luck!