shannonm3 Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Hi everyone, just put down my first brew tonight with my new coopers micro kit. i plan on using the bottles for this batch. the next one i will be using the keg kit i got off ebay. Any tips and tricks on kegging would be very welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Welcome to the forum Shannon! There are quite a few keggers around here so I'm sure they will help you out. Unfortunately (for you and me) I'm not one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Welcome to the hobby (addiction) of brewing. I don't keg but you kind of treat it like a big bottle with the priming coming from CO2 1. Sanitise the keg 2. fill the keg with the beer 3. attach lid and prime with C02 and purge 4. Get to correct pressure (not sure on amount as I don't keg) 5. Chill and serve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Welcome [biggrin] I only dream of kegging but have a look at the KEGGING BEER bit in the FAQ section for a bit more info [cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Welcome to the hobby (addiction) of brewing. I don't keg but you kind of treat it like a big bottle with the priming coming from CO2 1. Sanitise the keg 2. fill the keg with the beer 3. attach lid and prime with C02 and purge 4. Get to correct pressure (not sure on amount as I don't keg) 5. Chill and serve. This is basically correct. When you fill the keg do it from the bottom the same as you would a bottle. You can either force carbonate it or let it sit for about a week at serving pressure or naturally prime. Make sure your lines are the right length to have your system balanced correctly. What was the equipment you bought and how do you intend to keep your kegs chilled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannonm3 Posted August 6, 2011 Author Share Posted August 6, 2011 Thanx for the tips everyone. @BILLK, i bought a keging kit from ebay, comes with 2 corny kegs, beer line, gas line, connectors, a Co2 regulator, and a tap, all for $250. quite reasonable i thought. I will be keeping kegs in a fridge with beer line running out (not too long) to my bar and tall chrome tap (which i also got for $30). do you think transfering brew to a second fermenter to clear before kegging would be a good idea? or not nessesary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 HERE is some good info also.. just starting to 'look'at some of this myself.. oh the slippery slope[roll] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Thanx for the tips everyone. @BILLK' date=' i bought a keging kit from ebay, comes with 2 corny kegs, beer line, gas line, connectors, a Co2 regulator, and a tap, all for $250. quite reasonable i thought. I will be keeping kegs in a fridge with beer line running out (not too long) to my bar and tall chrome tap (which i also got for $30). do you think transfering brew to a second fermenter to clear before kegging would be a good idea? or not nessesary?[/quote'] I suggest you not cutting the beer line to size until you have everything in order and don't guess. A good rule of the thumb is start at around 3 meters and only take a little at a time until the system is balanced. This also depends on your lines ID. Mine is 5mm and are nearly 3 meters long per keg. Ohhhh I can't wait to get SS Celli's [love] Oh forgot to mention, you can get a reasonably cheap 2.6kg Co2 bottle on ebay for around $180 delivered HERE IS THE LINK and it should last you a fair while carbing and dispensing 2 bottles. A lot of people do transfer to a second vessel prior to kegging and yes, it does help. However, I haven't really bothered unless I need the primary and most my beer comes out fine to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannonm3 Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 @billk, yeah i thought i would sort of curl most of my beer line in the fridge and have the smalest length possable coming out of the fridge to my tap, so ill start with 3 mtrs like you said, sounds good.i tested the SG of my first brew this morning, (been fermenting for 3 days) OG was 1.040 and now its 1.015, at 25c, seems to be coming along nice. i also tasted the sample i took. it tasted quite bitter for a lager but left the most plesant after tast. im quite exited to see how it turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannonm3 Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 oh by the way, the kit i bought comes with 3 mtrs of beer/gas line, so ill need to get some more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Shannon - I suggest getting that temp down to 18C-20C as soon as you can. 25C is too high for a quality ferment imo. I just roll my lines up and secure with a cable tie to make it neat in the fridge. Keg King have a good sheet on balancing your system HERE that you may want to read. You may also find THIS useful. Goodluck. Considering you will only have only 1 keg at first, why don't you rig the first one up and then you will know how much line you will need for the 2nd. If by chance you only need 1.5 meters then you will have enough. What is the ID (Internal Diameter) of your line? I reckon 3m of line to use for 2 kegs and your gas will not be enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannonm3 Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 Yay my kegs turned up today. i have managed to get my brew to 21/22c hope that will be ok. the beer/gas line is 6mm. how does the difference in thickness of lines effect beer? i will check out the links you posted all this info is very helpfull... i bought an iron wood slab im going to use as my bar top yesterday, its beautiful, cant wait to get it all set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 It sounds good mate..... 6mm beer lines are larger than mine so you may not need as much line as me.... hrrrmmm or is it the other way around???.. I can't remember now but it is all in those links I posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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