Advice on priming beer to be served by hand pump

[Ralph]

Hello!

I have a brew down at the moment which I have done for a mates leaving do. He is English and likes "real ale" served through a hand pump. The brew is brewed and the party is next weekend. I have just been sampling the brew from the fermentor where it has been conditioning and it is tasting good enough that I had to have a pint as a sample.

Question is, should I add a little sugar to the brew (enough to carb 1 or so volumes) a couple of days before the party so that there is some hint of carbonation in the brew, or should it be served completely flat? Being a kiwi that was bought up with the extra fizzy cold stuff that is an excuse for beer here I have no idea??

Any help appreciated!

[Smiffy]

Glad it worked. Did you have the keg tilted when you hooked up the hand pump? Did you take any pictures?

[Ralph]

Sorry, no pictures. Did not tilt the keg as I thought it might be unstable with a bunch of tipsy people kicking around it. Simply had a few cloudy glasses at the start of the keg and ran clear for the rest of the evening.