Put your beer in a pressure barrel then prime it
You're fermentation is finished when the bubbles stop coming to the surface. If in doubt leave it a day or so longer. You'll always get the odd bubble here and there, but otherwise the surface of the brew should be pretty calm. All being well it's time to put your beer in the barrel.
First of all sterilise your pressure barrel, syphoning tube, large jug and a fork. The only other thing you'll need at this point is a set of kitchen scales and a little bit more sugar (2 ounces or 60 grams to be precise).
Syphoning the beer into the barrel
Place your fermentation bucket on the kitchen surface and then put the barrel on a short stool or on the kitchen floor. The bucket needs to be higher so you can syphon the liquid down into the barrel.
Using your jug scoop out about half a pint of the beer and add your sugar. We'll call this priming sugar because it's job is to make the beer slightly fizzy and at the same time produce pressure in the barrel so the beer can flow out when you open the tap. You can add a very small amount of boiled water to help dissolve the sugar if needed. Put the contents of the jug into the barrel.
The next bit can be tricky. You need to syphon the beer into the barrel. You do this by placing one end of the tube into fermenting bucket. Not too deep because we need to avoid sucking up the sediment at the bottom. With the other end, take it down low, suck once quickly on the tube and then hold it over the barrel. One thing I should mention. Some people recommend using a syphoning system with a pump so that the end of the tube doesn't need to go near your mouth. That's all perfectly true but they cost more and besides, once you've done this a few times you can usually do it with the absolute minimum amount of contact. Come to think of it... who's beer is it anyway?
Okay, once you've started syphoning the beer should flow from the fermenter above down into the barrel easily. As I said, it could be tricky because you've got to keep an eye on the tube in the fermenter and at the same time make sure the beer goes in the barrel. Best to take the phone off the hook at this point so you're not disturbed!
You can basically leave the tube going into the barrel alone at this point and keep an eye on the one in the fermentation bucket as you need to make sure it's submersed at all times. As you get towards the bottom where the sediment is gradually tilt the bucket forward taking care not to disturb any. That way you can get as much of the beer out as possible and as little of the sediment. There's usually a bit of wastage here, but not generally not more than half a pint. If the end of the tube comes out you can usually restart syphoning, although this gets a bit more difficult as you get towards the bottom.
The secondary fermentation
Once you're beer has been transferred to the barrel simply screw down the cap and and leave it in a warm place for 2 to 3 days again and the secondary fermentation will make the beer nice and bubbly and provide plenty of pressure. One more tip at this point. A smear of vasaline around the thread on the barrel will help you get the cap off later without the need for a special cap spanner. You need to make sure the cap is on tight enough so that the pressure doesn't escape.
Clearing and maturing your beer
After 2 to 3 days you can move the barrel to somewhere cool. I often keep mine in the outside porch at the back of the house. There's no sunlight and it's quite cool, in fact probably at ideal beer cellar temperature. A friend of mine used to keep his in a cupboard under the kitchen sink (very handy!), and during the winter I keep mine in a cupboard under the stairs. It will take about a week or two to clear your beer and the longer you can leave it the better. I certainly wouldn't advocate having a session before you've left it for a week, although obviously trying the odd tiny glass now and then is allowed.
The beer is ready to drink...
Well, basically it's ready to drink when it's clear and you decide it's ready! If you don't draw off to much in one evening then you may find the barrel will maintain pressure, however, it may be necessary to use a CO2 injection system. The most convenient of these is the large 240gram refillable cylinder and you can often exchange your empty ones at your homebrew or health food shop for a full cylinder. You'll need to make sure you're barrel cap has a brass S30 valve to use these. You should invest in one of these anyway because there's nothing worse than having a barrel full of beer and not being able to get any out!!!
Part 1: Homemade beer - it's cheaper than the pub!
Part 2: How to make beer at home, step by step guide
Part 3: Put your beer in a pressure barrel then prime it
