next step ....

have put lager in keg now (smells lovely)  but .... (theres always a but with me :roll:)  ... i had 2 caps with the keg, i used the one that had brass thread thing on it (ready for co2 bulbs or so i thought!) but having looked at homebrew sites, it seems that this cap does not have a pin and will not piece bulbs so i need a new cap thing etc ...the cap on our keg has a brass thread and when i look directly into brass bit the is a sort of downward cone with a tiny hole ,I dont really want to use cylinder co2 i prefer the idea of bulbs
QUESTION
 will it harm lager if when i get new cap i swap them overstraight away? or would it be better to wait until pressure falls and i actually need co2?
or have i used the wrong cap and messed this batch up completely?
 :?

Hmm, I see.

I've never used bulbs so aren't really sure about them.  Are they fairly small? Do you use them once and then they are thrown away?  Cos I've not seen them, I'm unsure of the thread.

It doesn't matter which system you use.  I prefer the larger cylinder cos it lasts ages, years even, and as well as probably working out cheaper it saves running about buying bulbs more regularly.  There are no local brew shops here like there used to be and it's about a 10 mile trip for serious supplies.  You know how you never get round to it what with everything else going on?  Wilkos down the road is ok for steriliser and yeast and basic stuff.  If you're lucky.

The cylinders have an internal thread within the brass connector at the neck.  So the keg cap has a valve with an external thread.  Looking inside the keg-cap valve it looks like you say.  A tiny hole at the bottom.  I wasn't aware that the bulbs have a different thread or layout and so need a diiferent cap.  If you have another cap and the bulbs obviously fit that,  then you now have and know more than me.  

But yep, if you've already transfered and sugared your brew into the keg, you could just leave things as they are and then swap the caps when you need to.  Or you could do it now before too long has passed since transfer.  Is it just a few hours ago?  Still, you will have generated some pressure already and will lose it if you unscrew the cap.

I think it's nicer, and obviously more natural, for the beer to propel itself under its own pressure.  But you never get the full brew out of the keg and it will start going flatter as each pint is drawn.  CO2 is ok, it is totally inert, and is what is generated by the yeast anyway as sugar is converted to alcohol.  But I always get a mild twinge of disappointment when I realise it's time to introduce extra gas.  Silly really.

Oh yes, if it's lager, it may be intended to be very gassy, or your preference may be that it is.  Lager should be served colder than other beers too am I right, in which case it will be important to have enough gas content present.  Warmer beers are more active, so colder ones are more stable.  You'll work it out as you go along - the 1st pint will be a clue as soon as you draw it.

I wish i used bottles now
i think all things considered, i may well go ahead with the cylinder.
I remember years ago there were quite a few homebrew shops near here (probably in the 70's) which would have been very useful to seek advice and see demonstrations of how to do everything! sadly they have all disappeared (you could earn a fortune if you opened a homebrew shop here, I'd be a loyal regular annoying customer  ...  TINBASHERS BREWSHOP )
hopefully this is my last question (though I doubt it :oops: )

when i buy the cylinder will it fit straight onto the keg cap i have or do i need an adaptor?

by the way ... if and when we do get to taste our first homebrew pint, I will make a toast ... "To Tinbasher and his wealth of knowledge and patience!"

If your keg cap is like mine then the cylinder should thread straight onto it.  The thread (brass) is about 3/4 inch diameter (19mm) and is a male (external) thread, whilst the cylinder thread is female.  Take the keg cap with you if you can when you buy the cylinder to check the thread.  I wouldn't imagine that differing threads are used from supplier to supplier.  There will be a standard thread I'm pretty sure.

Bottles are good and have advantages as I stated before, but can also be more fiddly as I also stated.  Start collecting decent bottles as from now.  The best as I say are swing-top bottles, used commercially by Grolsch.  You can buy them new and empty but they're maybe about a quid each which can work out quite expensive.  The regular sized ones are only 500ml as well which is less than a pint (568ml) so you do need 45 -50 to bottle a 40 pint brew.

Treat this first attempt as semi-experimental, and go from there.  Each brew you do you will get more experience and develop preferences in how you do it and whereabouts in the house it's best to operate.  I always transfer operations into the kitchen.  Being near the kitchen sink and clean water is almost essential for a lot of the tasks, and the tiled floor is best to deal with any spillage, if only drips.

You are right in saying that brew shops have declined.  There isn't as much custom out there as there may once have been.  People these days are much less inclined to do things for themselves.  The astronomical cost (in comparison as well as actually) of rent & rates for shops means that no retail outlet can operate on a 'tick-over' basis with just a few specialised customers.  There used to be one in every small town, just like there used to be one of every other type of shop, including maybe 2 chippies.  Now all these little specialist shops have disappeared (brew shops, tobacconists, wool shops, model shops) whilst the chippies have expanded so there's about 25 in each town - difference also being is that they sell more or less every type of takeaway food as well as chips!

Our local town is a ghost of what it once was.  There are 26 outlets (I did a personal survey about 6 months ago) selling ready-to-eat food, 3 charity shops, and about half a dozen shops offering to either manicure your fingernails or give you a false sun-tan.  That's it, there's virtually nothing else.  Nothing is manufactured anymore or supplies manufacturers - apart from takeaway food!

thanks for all your advice, you would think the instructions in the kit would be enough, sadly some of us need a little more help. Thank god for this site!
I will go to our 'local' homebrew shop when i find out where it is and buy the cylinder and any other bits for 'experiment No2'
meanwhile the brew seems to be doing ok and only time will tell how successful we were.
CHEERS!

Excellent.  So the beer is in the keg now?  It was a zero reading in the bucket before you transfered?  You put sugar in the keg and it's in a warm place still?  Give it a few days and then if you can, move it to a cooler place and somewhere you can set it up to serve you into a glass or jug.  Best to let it mature for a few more days if not a week in the cooler place.  You can always draw a glassful though after a few days to check on the pressure (and the taste ).

Do try some of the other varieties as you go along.  Different manufacturers too.  Home made stout is nice if you like it even a little.  There are some good brew supplies now online so a quick search will sort you out.  As much as the local shops you can visit have declined, there is probably more availability these days if you don't mind using the internet.  I might go online this week and select a fancy beer kit or two myself, maybe pay a bit more than the standard kits and see what you get.

I've not done a brew since a Cider kit (1st time ever for cider) I did last Autumn.  Got it from Wilkos, less than a tenner.  It was ok, quite gassy and fairly dry.  I did it into bottles.  I don't tend to brew much over Winter.  I'm not a drinker too much and cold beer isn't missed over the colder months.

I've never done 'proper' beer, starting with basic malt extract and hops and the like, but have of course read up on it and have various books over the years dealing with the subject.  It's something I should get round to, what with having a lot of equipment by now.  I've done lakes of wine in my time, always from scratch with fruit, flowers or veg and in fact have never used a kit to make wine, though I have semi-cheated occasionally over the years by adding a litre of red or more usually white grape juice to mixtures that need a bit of extra to bulk them up a bit.

I still have 3 five-gallon buckets in thekitchen more or less full of Rhubarb, Marrow and Plum wine (all separates) that I made last Autumn but havent got demijohn space for.  They've fermented out now and been transfered off the pulp and rebucketed with the lids on tight.  I need to liberate at least one of those buckets to do beer apart from needing the space again.  It can get out of hand.