It's Kegging Time 2019

[Red devil 44]

I pressure test my lines every 2 days or so, what I’m unsure of is obviously different styles of beers will have different carbonation time ?

eg - a Stout as opposed to a Lager, Pilsner.

Maybe another thread on this Carbonation if there isn’t one already, not sure ?

On a personal front, damn, i m starting to think of going AG, been watching too much You Tube, haven’t mentioned it to the boss yet

[Otto Von Blotto]

I usually just carbonate everything the same because the styles I enjoy all work well with it, although I find beers like stouts don't seem to absorb as much of the gas as other less heavy styles, so they tend to end up with a lower carbonation level. It's good though because it suits them. With those I just do the set and forget on serving pressure as I generally have them in there for a couple of months. I'm not sure but I think it might be the higher SG and ABV that hinders the absorption of gas. There's no other obvious reason. 

[Pezzza]

22 hours ago, Red devil 44 said:

On a personal front, damn, i m starting to think of going AG, been watching too much You Tube, haven’t mentioned it to the boss yet

Mate I suspect you are already drinking good beers @Red devil 44, but @PaddyBrew2 Paddy and I who are recent converts would suggest that AG is just a quantum leap forward in brew quality.

And I am also only just starting the AG+keg journey which has been good....  and now am looking into to having a crack at the Nitro with a dark heavy brew at some stage ; )

[Red devil 44]

26 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Mate I suspect you are already drinking good beers @Red devil 44, but @PaddyBrew2 Paddy and I who are recent converts would suggest that AG is just a quantum leap forward in brew quality.

And I am also only just starting the AG+keg journey which has been good....  and now am looking into to having a crack at the Nitro with a dark heavy brew at some stage ; )

Yeah mate, my brews seem pretty good,( had thumbs up from a few mates ) especially with temp control etc. Maybe move to AG next year but haven’t told the bride yet, might cost me a few dresses & perfume

Any idea of a set up cost for AG, I haven’t crunched any numbers yet ?

I worked for a Gas Company in the 90,s for 7 years, set up a few beer reticulation systems & set up the Treasury Casino here in Bris Vegas.

I helped design & worked with a Nitrogen/ CO2 mixing system for certain beers, wines etc, ( obviously you can get a Nitro/CO2 in cylinders ) me being anal I kept a lot of notes which I shall be revisiting over Xmas, food for thought I guess.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Depends on the system and what other bits and pieces you might get. I got a crown urn and grain mill and a few other things, probably cost around $700 all up at the time. It can be done for less, but I wanted to be able to mill my own grain on demand. Without the mill it would have been under $500. 

Still using the original equipment now 7 and a bit years later, although I've replaced a couple of grain bags, cubes and just last month the hop sock finally broke. Otherwise though, the only real cost has been ingredients. Quality lasts, that's for sure. Probably put at least 150 batches through the urn and it's still going strong. Only ~750kg of grain through the mill so far so that'll last another 300 years

[Pezzza]

23 hours ago, Red devil 44 said:

Any idea of a set up cost for AG, I haven’t crunched any numbers yet ?

I worked for a Gas Company in the 90,s for 7 years, set up a few beer reticulation systems & set up the Treasury Casino here in Bris Vegas.

Well mate you sure should be all good when it comes to kegging!?! : )  And the gas notes etc sound great.  I think that the easiest Nitro for HB to get is just pure N2 as some of the hard core coffee folk use it so is a bit more available.

As you note - yeah I think that temp control is the first big important continuous improvement step.

@Otto Von Blotto has answered the question nicely re AG equipment... I am with Kelsey - I wanted to mill meself and as I live in the bush so no easy pop down LHBS... so buy whole bags and then mill when I am ready to go... cheaper... and keeps it nice and fresh... plus milling is the biz.

Mashmaster Minimill made in Australia - Frank in Everton Park - gotta be the one... same as what Kelsey has... it is the ticket.  But I think you cannot pick up from him - so either get via LHBS or pay the freight... or just get it milled by LHBS.  Seems to lose part of the journey though not milling yerself.  Think it might have gone up in price.  And you need a hopper or you might make yourself one.

And then as Kelsey says above urn and bag and good to have a pulley system to draw bag of 70deg hot grain out of mash tun.  I went with Cheeky Peak who had a system which was alright... might be worth a look and since then got a Stainless Mesh Basket... anyway... one step at a time.   Many ways.  Seems like Cheeky Peak have a bit of a kit now with the SS baskets which are a bit easier to lift out of the Vessel too.

Quite a few of our Brewers use those Robo-Brewzilla-Grainfather-Guten auto machines but I wanted something I could turn on and off myself without a keypad - for better or for worse.

Anyway - have a bit of a look around.

 

Edited December 18, 2019 by Bearded Burbler

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yep glad I have the means to use a pulley system again. PITA lifting it out by hand.

 

[Pezzza]

1 minute ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Yep glad I have the means to use a pulley system again. PITA lifting it out by hand.

@Red devil 44 Yeah Red agree completely with Kelsey on this one - if you go with the bag not SS basket - you really need something like the above to make the thing a safe stable operation.  My first ever time was a nightmare (glad the beer was gold) but after that I chased something like Kelsey's - thanks again for that @Otto Von Blotto - ended up with a nice collapsible frame to lift off as no nice rafters above...  And make sure you get a good quality brew bag with that circular floor - the cheaparrrse thing I had was sewn like an envelope and did not draw out well at all...  got modified pretty quickly.  But in the whole process, the point of bag removal is something to get right as 70 deg hot sticky wort needs to be handled with care re safety and it's precious for beer making so you don't want spillage waste etc...

[Red devil 44]

On 12/17/2019 at 10:24 PM, Otto Von Blotto said:

Depends on the system and what other bits and pieces you might get. I got a crown urn and grain mill and a few other things, probably cost around $700 all up at the time. It can be done for less, but I wanted to be able to mill my own grain on demand. Without the mill it would have been under $500. 

Still using the original equipment now 7 and a bit years later, although I've replaced a couple of grain bags, cubes and just last month the hop sock finally broke. Otherwise though, the only real cost has been ingredients. Quality lasts, that's for sure. Probably put at least 150 batches through the urn and it's still going strong. Only ~750kg of grain through the mill so far so that'll last another 300 years

Cheers mate for the advice, will have a think about it.

 

[Red devil 44]

12 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Well mate you sure should be all good when it comes to kegging!?! : )  And the gas notes etc sound great.  I think that the easiest Nitro for HB to get is just pure N2 as some of the hard core coffee folk use it so is a bit more available.

As you note - yeah I think that temp control is the first big important continuous improvement step.

@Otto Von Blotto has answered the question nicely re AG equipment... I am with Kelsey - I wanted to mill meself and as I live in the bush so no easy pop down LHBS... so buy whole bags and then mill when I am ready to go... cheaper... and keeps it nice and fresh... plus milling is the biz.

Mashmaster Minimill made in Australia - Frank in Everton Park - gotta be the one... same as what Kelsey has... it is the ticket.  But I think you cannot pick up from him - so either get via LHBS or pay the freight... or just get it milled by LHBS.  Seems to lose part of the journey though not milling yerself.  Think it might have gone up in price.  And you need a hopper or you might make yourself one.

And then as Kelsey says above urn and bag and good to have a pulley system to draw bag of 70deg hot grain out of mash tun.  I went with Cheeky Peak who had a system which was alright... might be worth a look and since then got a Stainless Mesh Basket... anyway... one step at a time.   Many ways.  Seems like Cheeky Peak have a bit of a kit now with the SS baskets which are a bit easier to lift out of the Vessel too.

Quite a few of our Brewers use those Robo-Brewzilla-Grainfather-Guten auto machines but I wanted something I could turn on and off myself without a keypad - for better or for worse.

Anyway - have a bit of a look around.

 

Cheers mate, will have a think about it over Xmas 

[Otto Von Blotto]

Kegging the ESB in a sec. It's already cold so straight into the kegerator to carbonate on about 45psi till tomorrow morning. Should be ready to sample tomorrow night after work. The surplus will go into another keg and be blended with three other batches as they're ready, giving me an extra keg by the time it's full. 

That'll be two practically full kegs on tap which should last long enough for the next two to be filled. 

[Spudley]

Kegged my Czech Pilsner this morning, been at 2 degrees for 3 days straight into a chilled Keg ,19 lts plus 8 stubbies,  will force carb later this evening I recon, oh I bought myself a small freezer for Xmas, Temp control taken care of from now on

[Marty_G]

1 hour ago, Spudley said:

Kegged my Czech Pilsner this morning, been at 2 degrees for 3 days straight into a chilled Keg ,19 lts plus 8 stubbies,  will force carb later this evening I recon, oh I bought myself a small freezer for Xmas, Temp control taken care of from now on

Not going to lager it Spudley? 

[Spudley]

On 12/27/2019 at 2:19 PM, MartyG1525230263 said:

Not going to lager it Spudley? 

No mate too bloody impatient , does Lagering for two weeks count 

[Otto Von Blotto]

Not really.  

I didn't really lager my latest one either because there wasn't a choice. It was either drink it or buy a carton. It has improved a fair bit during the time it's been on tap though, which is why I try to give them time before tapping them. 

[Red devil 44]

15 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Not really.  

I didn't really lager my latest one either because there wasn't a choice. It was either drink it or buy a carton. It has improved a fair bit during the time it's been on tap though, which is why I try to give them time before tapping them. 

So if you bought a carton what would it be Otto ?

[Otto Von Blotto]

1 hour ago, Red devil 44 said:

So if you bought a carton what would it be Otto ?

At this point of the year, the cheapest one I could find

[Red devil 44]

1 minute ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

At this point of the year, the cheapest one I could find

Not that dirty old Hammer & Tongs, I’ll drop a keg over

[Otto Von Blotto]

No, I had a taste of that at a bottle shop once. Pretty average  

I usually get the arc valley lager if I'm not looking to spend much. It's not too bad for its price. 

[Red devil 44]

Spent a few months earlier in the year in Lithgow NSW working & surprisingly enough that’s what I drank, not too bad, got it from Aldi down there. My mate had that Hammer crap, supposed to have a few at his house before going to watch Ipswich Jets play, got halfway through a can & said let’s got to the Jets FFS

[The Captain!!]

Succumbed to purchasing another keg yesterday. Just could not be bothered bottling a batch of saison. 
 

[Red devil 44]

4 minutes ago, The Captain!! said:

Succumbed to purchasing another keg yesterday. Just could not be bothered bottling a batch of saison. 
 

I’ve banned myself from buying kegs as I have 14 now, 12 x 19L & 2 x 9.5L, I think I have enough.

Granted though I bought a few old soft drink kegs & just put a new seal kit in them, they work great, cheaper way to go than new ones.

Ive got 5 empties at the moment because the keezer got a bit of a flogging during Christmas, kegging my Grapefruit IPA this afternoon.

[Shamus O'Sean]

3 minutes ago, Red devil 44 said:

kegging my Grapefruit IPA this afternoon.

I will be bottling my Grapefruit IPA tonight. I bet you will not take 2 hours (I tend to phaff about a bit)

[Red devil 44]

1 minute ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I will be bottling my Grapefruit IPA tonight. I bet you will not take 2 hours (I tend to phaff about a bit)

I generally take an 45 mins or so to keg, my kegs sit empty, pressurised and with some Stellarsan in them so they are ready to go, I have a good little system that works for me.

Generally if I keg then I’ll put another brew straight down after this, gotta keep those stocks up as we generally have a big party for Australia Day

[Red devil 44]

7 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I will be bottling my Grapefruit IPA tonight. I bet you will not take 2 hours (I tend to phaff about a bit)

Also Shamus my FG came in at 1008, how did you go ?

Looking forward to this one, smells great.