I'm having trouble sourcing a small quantity of cask equipment for my craft brewing hobby. Using firkin-sized plastic casks bought from Cypherco (of Hereford). I've managed to scrounge some soft/hard spiles, keystones, and bungs (plastic, I think they're from Eurobung). Any ideas where I can place a small order at a fair price?
Cask spiles/shives/keystones (small UK order)
Jun 26, 2004
8 Replies
Why not have a chat with your local brewer? They will be ordering the same items but in larger quantities, selling on a few in smaller quantities along with some of their product(s) always seems to appeal.
Just chatting with your local brewer is a nice idea anyway.
According to the Brewery Manual, Eurobung who you mentioned are in Mirfield, nr Huddersfield, W. Yorks
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or 01924 496671)
curiously Mirfield is also home to The British Bung Manufacturing Co
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or 01924 493071)
. . . but given that Mirfield also sired Capt Jean-Luc Picard (well, Patrick Stewart) maybe it shouldn't surprise me.
I think I remember buying wooden shive-bungs, etc from a Burton co, but can't remember or find their details.
For very small amounts I would go & make friends with your friendly neighbourhood microbrewery. good luck, MikeMcG
Thanks for the info. Found a local helpful microbrewery :-)
Was curious to read Eurobungs website
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mention PLASTIC spiles. Excuse my ignorance, but how does the cask breathe using a plastic spile ?
Are the Eurobung shives re-usable ?
It doesn't.
You'd need to lift the spile out at intervals to release the pressure.
The reference to "breathe" seems confusing to me, unless you consider only exhaling to be breathing.
Hmmm. Theoretically you could pop a new plastic tut into the hole, but I'm not sure the money saved in not using a new shive is merited by the possible problems.
?
The cask needs to breathe in the sense that (a) co2 needs to be released. And (b) air should also be allowed to draw in to the cask. If no air is allowed to enter the cask when a pint is taken via beer engine, an airlock is created.
Exhale.
Peg out, inhale. However I thought the reference was to the static state with no beer being withdrawn. A normal soft spile doesn't allow enough gas/air through to replace volume loss on withdrawal of beer to prevent the airlock state. At least not in any reasonable time.
To take this back to the query though, plastic spiles are wonderful hard spiles in that they pass no gas but they are no good for an unattended release of excess gas.
!!!!! (ROFLMAO)
ralf - a made-up name if ever I've heard one - said
Ha ha - so that's how the Greeks won Euro 2004!
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