Its Kegging Time - 2024

[Back Brewing]

1 hour ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Yep, that's about right.

Although this one was not under pressure, even though it is a pressure fermenter.  I just had a gas disconnect on the gas post, with some tubing going to a small jug of sanitiser.

This one took a while as the WB-06 yeast seems to take a while to finish off.

Lagers take a bit longer because I ramp the temperature up to the diacetyl rest and down to cold crashing temperature.  Plus I add finings in the fermenter.

Thanks for that because I'm getting an all rounder next week and wanted an idea of the ferment and carbonation times

[Shamus O'Sean]

17 minutes ago, Back Brewing said:

Thanks for that because I'm getting an all rounder next week and wanted an idea of the ferment and carbonation times

I suggest only using my experience about fermentation times.  I have given up on the concept of carbonating in the fermenter.  Mostly because I almost always open my fermenter toward the end of fermentation.  Sometimes to add dry hops.  Often to add finings.  You can probably do those things while maintaining pressure in a fermenter.  However, it is some extra work.

These days, I rely on priming in bottles for carbonation or CO2 carbonation in kegs.  If I get some carbonation due to pressure fermenting, great.  But I will still use sugar priming or CO2 pressure to get my serving carbonation.

[stquinto]

Kegged up the double batch of Kölsch. I got two completely full cornies, and three jars of trub. It’s already pleasingly clear. 
I’ll try to lager them for a month.

“Try” being the operative word…

 

[Shamus O'Sean]

Kegged my James Squire Chancer Golden Ale on the weekend before going to see Iron Maiden.

Came out at 4.2%.  Seemed like a simple honest Ale.  Got a few bottles and a keg full.  Keg has gone to my brother.  I am looking forward to trying a bottle in a few weeks.

[Tone boy]

Hey gang, been pottering about making myself a keeper lately. So far I have 2 working taps, with another couple of taps and bits and pieces on the way. 
I looked around for a suitable used freezer to hold at least 4 kegs but with no luck, so I bought a cheap new one which will hold 6 kegs plus the gas bottle. 
Anyway it’s been a bit of fun. 

 

[Tricky Micky]

15 minutes ago, Tone boy said:

Hey gang, been pottering about making myself a keeper lately. So far I have 2 working taps, with another couple of taps and bits and pieces on the way. 
I looked around for a suitable used freezer to hold at least 4 kegs but with no luck, so I bought a cheap new one which will hold 6 kegs plus the gas bottle. 
Anyway it’s been a bit of fun. 

 

Looks great mate, well done.

[John304]

21 minutes ago, Tone boy said:

Hey gang, been pottering about making myself a keeper lately. So far I have 2 working taps, with another couple of taps and bits and pieces on the way. 
I looked around for a suitable used freezer to hold at least 4 kegs but with no luck, so I bought a cheap new one which will hold 6 kegs plus the gas bottle. 
Anyway it’s been a bit of fun. 

 

Nice job  

[kmar92]

35 minutes ago, Tone boy said:

Hey gang, been pottering about making myself a keeper lately. So far I have 2 working taps, with another couple of taps and bits and pieces on the way. 
I looked around for a suitable used freezer to hold at least 4 kegs but with no luck, so I bought a cheap new one which will hold 6 kegs plus the gas bottle. 
Anyway it’s been a bit of fun. 

 

Nice, looks great

[Back Brewing]

1 hour ago, Tone boy said:

Hey gang, been pottering about making myself a keeper lately. So far I have 2 working taps, with another couple of taps and bits and pieces on the way. 
I looked around for a suitable used freezer to hold at least 4 kegs but with no luck, so I bought a cheap new one which will hold 6 kegs plus the gas bottle. 
Anyway it’s been a bit of fun. 

 

A job well done will be a good unit when it's finished

[Back Brewing]

Kegged a stone & wood clone today and got 2 jars of verdant yeast slurry for future brews

[Classic Brewing Co]

3 hours ago, Tone boy said:

Hey gang, been pottering about making myself a keeper lately. So far I have 2 working taps, with another couple of taps and bits and pieces on the way. 
I looked around for a suitable used freezer to hold at least 4 kegs but with no luck, so I bought a cheap new one which will hold 6 kegs plus the gas bottle. 
Anyway it’s been a bit of fun. 

 

Looks awesome mate, Cheers  

[Triple B Brewing]

18 hours ago, Tone boy said:

Hey gang, been pottering about making myself a keeper lately. So far I have 2 working taps, with another couple of taps and bits and pieces on the way. 
I looked around for a suitable used freezer to hold at least 4 kegs but with no luck, so I bought a cheap new one which will hold 6 kegs plus the gas bottle. 
Anyway it’s been a bit of fun. 

 

Nice job @Tone boy 

Looks like great minds think alike - You have just duplicated my setup

 

I recommend you shell out $60 bucks and add a couple of these drip trays to finish her off mate

[Classic Brewing Co]

2 hours ago, Triple B Brewing said:

Nice job @Tone boy 

Looks like great minds think alike - You have just duplicated my setup

 

I recommend you shell out $60 bucks and add a couple of these drip trays to finish her off mate

Nice & neat @Triple B Brewing looks really good. 

[Triple B Brewing]

Just now, Classic Brewing Co said:

Nice & neat @Triple B Brewing looks really good. 

Thanks Phil - Moving to a kegging system has been a watershed for me. - I just love it !  - its so easy to clean and package my beer on brew day  - after a temp controlled fridge for fermenting, its best thing ever    

@Tone boy I should have also mentioned that it took me a little while to sort out where and how I should mount my temperature probe.
It'll likely be different for every keezer, but I first mounted my Inkbird temp probe in what I thought was likely to be the warmest section of the keezer (Top far right, away from the kegs, compressor hump end). I mounted the temp probe in a bottle of steriliser to simulate liquid temp not air temp, that turned out to be a big mistake (my guess was right, that was the warmest section of the keezer, but I ended up with a couple of frozen kegs down the other end before I got the set up right ).
All it needed (which makes sense now I think about it logically) was to keep the kegs away from the walls of the keezer and have the temp probe close to the kegs, hanging loose off beer lines around halfway down the depth of the keezer, measuring the air temp close to the kegs. 
I run my freezer on the half coldest setting, with the fast freezing function turned on and my inkbird controller set to 0.1 degree, with a 0.3 degree cooling differential value. This gives me perfect drinking temp for winter (my set up is located outside like yours and its not unusual for us to get temps down to around 3-4 degrees over night during winter in Busso). In summer, I will drop that inkbird probe setting down (incrementally as I monitor the effects of that change) to around -0.9 degrees during the height of summer months. 
I would also strongly recommend installing a small 240 volt 120mm diameter fan (costs about $40) to help circulate the air inside the keezer and maintain a consistent temp across the unit. I run my fan via a cheap power point timer (~$8.00) for the fan from Bunnings for 15 mins on, and 15 mins off, 24 hours a day, every day. 

Last thing, if you store your CO2 bottle inside your keezer (as I do), don't panic when you note the bottle pressure go down by about half - its just the temperature impacting on the liquid inside the bottle, which reduces bottle pressure. - Don't worry, you don't loose any gas, its just that a full bottle after about 12 hours in the keezer will likely read around 500 PSI instead of the typical 1,000 and it will stay at ~500 PSI (as long as you don't have any leaks) for a very long time. 

[Classic Brewing Co]

7 minutes ago, Triple B Brewing said:

Thanks Phil - Moving to a kegging system has been a watershed for me. - I just love it !  - its so easy to clean and package my beer on brew day  - after a temp controlled fridge for fermenting, its best thing ever    

@Tone boy I should have also mentioned that it took me a little while to sort out where and how I should mount my temperature probe.
It'll likely be different for every keezer, but I first mounted my Inkbird temp probe in what I thought was likely to be the warmest section of the keezer (Top far right, away from the kegs, compressor hump end). I mounted the temp probe in a bottle of steriliser to simulate liquid temp not air temp, that turned out to be a big mistake (my guess was right, that was the warmest section of the keezer, but I ended up with a couple of frozen kegs down the other end before I got the set up right ).
All it needed (which makes sense now I think about it logically) was to keep the kegs away from the walls of the keezer and have the temp probe close to the kegs, hanging loose off beer lines around halfway down the depth of the keezer, measuring the air temp close to the kegs. 
I run my freezer on the half coldest setting, with the fast freezing function turned on and my inkbird controller set to 0.1 degree, with a 0.3 degree cooling differential value. This gives me perfect drinking temp for winter (my set up is located outside like yours and its not unusual for us to get temps down to around 3-4 degrees over night during winter in Busso). In summer, I will drop that inkbird probe setting down (incrementally as I monitor the effects of that change) to around -0.9 degrees during the height of summer months. 
I would also strongly recommend installing a small 240 volt 120mm diameter fan (costs about $40) to help circulate the air inside the keezer and maintain a consistent temp across the unit. I run my fan via a cheap power point timer (~$8.00) for the fan from Bunnings for 15 mins on, and 15 mins off, 24 hours a day, every day. 

Last thing, if you store your CO2 bottle inside your keezer (as I do), don't panic when you note the bottle pressure go down by about half - its just the temperature impacting on the liquid inside the bottle, which reduces bottle pressure. - Don't worry, you don't loose any gas, its just that a full bottle after about 12 hours in the keezer will likely read around 500 PSI instead of the typical 1,000 and it will stay at ~500 PSI (as long as you don't have any leaks) for a very long time. 

Yeah, I agree, kegging is so much better, the beer taste better& keeps getting better.

I only ever get to bottle around 6-8 500ml glass Hefe' bottles these days, they last a couple of months or so, I also give a few away on the proviso the bottles come back.

[Triple B Brewing]

14 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Yeah, I agree, kegging is so much better, the beer taste better& keeps getting better.

I only ever get to bottle around 6-8 500ml glass Hefe' bottles these days, they last a couple of months or so, I also give a few away on the proviso the bottles come back.

Perfect - yep, as I have 19 & 4 Lt kegs (23Lt kit n bits brews) I will typically bottle the 4Lt keg into 3 X 1.5 Lt PET mineral water bottles from the family and use them as a “library” and for trips away in the van. 
I like the PET bottles coz I use them once only then off they go to be recycled

[kmar92]

8 hours ago, Triple B Brewing said:

Nice job @Tone boy 

Looks like great minds think alike - You have just duplicated my setup

 

I recommend you shell out $60 bucks and add a couple of these drip trays to finish her off mate

Looks great @Triple B Brewing. Do you know what the volume of your freezer is, by any chance, as I am looking at suitable chest freezers to construct a keezer?

BTW you must be running it very cold as I can see ice on the walls.

[Triple B Brewing]

16 minutes ago, kmar92 said:

Looks great @Triple B Brewing. Do you know what the volume of your freezer is, by any chance, as I am looking at suitable chest freezers to construct a keezer?

BTW you must be running it very cold as I can see ice on the walls.

Hey @kmar92, yep, its a Hisense 307 Litre with a 200mm collar, so that would make the internal size approximately ;

Height ~960mm

Width  ~ 600mm

Length ~1,050mm

Yep, it does need a defrost - I would do this about 3 times a year. 

So another good tip would be re constructing a keezer - its worth the effort to ensure all the potential for air gaps are sealed forever (otherwise you'll be defrosting a chest freezer - forever )

[stquinto]

On 9/11/2024 at 9:21 AM, Tone boy said:

Hey gang, been pottering about making myself a keeper lately. So far I have 2 working taps, with another couple of taps and bits and pieces on the way. 
I looked around for a suitable used freezer to hold at least 4 kegs but with no luck, so I bought a cheap new one which will hold 6 kegs plus the gas bottle. 
Anyway it’s been a bit of fun. 

 

Wonderful job mate ! Get yerself a stout tap and gas line, you’ve got the space

[Beerdo]

17 hours ago, Triple B Brewing said:

Last thing, if you store your CO2 bottle inside your keezer (as I do), don't panic when you note the bottle pressure go down by about half - its just the temperature impacting on the liquid inside the bottle, which reduces bottle pressure. - Don't worry, you don't loose any gas, its just that a full bottle after about 12 hours in the keezer will likely read around 500 PSI instead of the typical 1,000 and it will stay at ~500 PSI (as long as you don't have any leaks) for a very long time. 

Thanks B3. This solves a mystery for me. I thought I had a faulty regulator.

[Triple B Brewing]

1 hour ago, Beerdo said:

Thanks B3. This solves a mystery for me. I thought I had a faulty regulator.

Arrr yep, CO2 is an interesting product. Above ~31 degrees Celsius your cylinder will be all gas. That’s why when they refill your cylinder they have to put the empty cylinder in a freezer for a while before they start filling to cool the cylinder down so they can fill it and keep the CO2 in a liquid state. Which is also why they sell it by weight. 
So, for the most part, a CO2 bottle stored in a keezer or kegerator will mostly be in a liquid state causing the pressure of the cylinder to drop. 
I believe it is also true to say that is why you can carbonate a keg quicker if the keg is cold and under pressure (the cold assists with the absorption of CO2 gas). 
There is bound to be a more educated person than me on this topic in this community, so very happy to hear from them and be corrected on my post. 
 

So no need to shell out for a new gauge me ‘ol mate - you can always test it by defrosting your keezer/kegerator and seeing what happens to the pressure in your cylinder when it’s been left to warm up to normal atmospheric temperature for a bit. 

[Triple B Brewing]

1 hour ago, Beerdo said:

Thanks B3. This solves a mystery for me. I thought I had a faulty regulator.

Arrr yep, CO2 is an interesting product. Above ~31 degrees Celsius your cylinder will be all gas. That’s why when they refill your cylinder they have to put the empty cylinder in a freezer for a while before they start filling to cool the cylinder down so they can fill it and keep the CO2 in a liquid state. Which is also why they sell it by weight. 
So, for the most part, a CO2 bottle stored in a keezer or kegerator will mostly be in a liquid state causing the pressure of the cylinder to drop. 
I believe it is also true to say that is why you can carbonate a keg quicker if the keg is cold and under pressure (the cold assists with the absorption of CO2 gas). 
There is bound to be a more educated person than me on this topic in this community, so very happy to hear from them and be corrected on my post. 
 

So no need to shell out for a new gauge me ‘ol mate - you can always test it by defrosting your keezer/kegerator and seeing what happens to the pressure in your cylinder when it’s been left to warm up to normal atmospheric temperature for a bit. 

[Tone boy]

Thanks for the detailed response and all that great info @Triple B Brewing BBB. Great stuff and much appreciated. 
Kmar @kmar92 my freezer is about 300 litres too (299 I think). When looking I found the next size down (~200 litre range) was just a bit small. This one also is a fridge and a freezer, so can operate as both. I have it set at 3 degrees on the fridge setting at the moment, but not sure how that will go over summer. I might have to switch it over to the freezer setting and hook up the temp controller.

Cheers. 

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 hour ago, Tone boy said:

Thanks for the detailed response and all that great info @Triple B Brewing BBB. Great stuff and much appreciated. 
Kmar @kmar92 my freezer is about 300 litres too (299 I think). When looking I found the next size down (~200 litre range) was just a bit small. This one also is a fridge and a freezer, so can operate as both. I have it set at 3 degrees on the fridge setting at the moment, but not sure how that will go over summer. I might have to switch it over to the freezer setting and hook up the temp controller.

Cheers. 

All good info you chaps, thanks for sharing.

[kmar92]

4 hours ago, Tone boy said:

Thanks for the detailed response and all that great info @Triple B Brewing BBB. Great stuff and much appreciated. 
Kmar @kmar92 my freezer is about 300 litres too (299 I think). When looking I found the next size down (~200 litre range) was just a bit small. This one also is a fridge and a freezer, so can operate as both. I have it set at 3 degrees on the fridge setting at the moment, but not sure how that will go over summer. I might have to switch it over to the freezer setting and hook up the temp controller.

Cheers. 

Perhaps it is a Husky @Tonebrew? If so it is probably 295L and it is a unit that has my interest as I reckon that the fridge/freezer capability is quite handy, no Inkbird controller type thing needed, which is a bonus.