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kegging

tonyb

By tonyb
in DIY Brewing Blether

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PB2

PB2

Posted
Posted

Have you had a look at the info on kegging in our FAQs?

 

Are talking about using malt to prime the keg for secondary fermentation? Use the sugar that is easiest for handling - I use normal white sugar (flat 1/3 of a cup per keg) while at the brewery we prime with liquid sugar.

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tonyb

tonyb

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no what i meant was the intial fermentation i artifcial fermentation the keg with co2 i use 19lt kegs so they are not there for the long time someone told me that the 500g light dry malt packet that you sell is good i am using either dextrose or enhancer 1 or 2 and if others not available the brewing sugar for lager and draught as woolworths does not always have what i am after. i am really just trying to get more info from the horses mouth so to speak meaning that in a nice way.i have read the info on the FAQ.But i have not tried second fermenting in the keg as yet other than what i am doing now

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PB2

PB2

Posted
Posted

Tony, a rule-of-thumb you might like to work by: keep the simple sugars (dextrose and sucrose) below 20% of total fermentable materials.

As such, if you want to make full strength beer using this rule you will need to use Malt Extract as a replacement to simple sugar.

Why not try the Mild Ale recipe as an introduction to all malt brews??

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  • 1 month later...
ChrisK

ChrisK

Posted
Posted

I like you guys a lot. this might be a small community but it's certainly the friendliest of the .au homebrew sites I've come across.

 

So part of my mancave plan has been to have a few kegs going at a time with different beers in them. The long term goal is to convert a chest freezer for this function with a nice frosted glycol front and generally be stupidly excessive.

 

Due to budgetary constraints though, I need to make baby steps towards this grandness. I'm at the stage now where my brew fridge is almost built and I'm confidently getting a brew fermented every fortnight. Unfortunately it's being consumed almost as quickly as it's being made (i.e. Batch number 1 which took six weeks to make probably took a similar six weeks to drink). I figure I have two methods of speeding up production:

 

1) Buy a second fermenter and stagger my brews by a week (e.g. 1st-14th of the month I'm fermenting in Fermenter#1, 7-21st I'm fermenting in Fermenter#2, etc.) This is a fairly inexpensive method of increasing production as the fermenter's goign to set me back less than $50, but I only have one brew fridge so one is still going to be exposed to mild temperature changes.

 

The other option I considered was to hurry up with the purchase of some kegs - through my experience with the 'Your Beer, Our Gear' mob at Barleycorn Brewers, I was mightily impressed with the quality of the beer there which was fermented for three weeks, kegged, then bottled. i.e. there was no secondary fermentation to achieve carbonation, it was done artificially.

 

I've seen PB2 talk about a slightly different approach of bulk-conditioning in the keg, before gassing (Is this what racking is or is racking something else?)

 

Due to my budget, I'm not able to buy a whole keg setup in one go. I'm toying with the idea of buying a 19L keg or two and a plastic tap and soda-bottle charger (I've seen these adapted for keg use). Then next month I can buy a CO/2 canister and make it a little less ghetto. If you guys reckon this isn't such a top idea, then at least I can bulk-condition in the keg while I buy the rest of the setup that'll get the gas in there.

 

 

I guess my questions are as follows:

 

1) Is kegging a real alternative to speed up the time between fermenting and drinking? The beers I've had that have only been in the bottle a week or two I've been unhappy with, the six week old stuff is substantially better.

2) If I go kegging, what are the benefits of bulk conditioning if I'm going to gas them anyway?

3) Anything more I should know about kegging? Any brands or setups to go with or stay away from? As above I'll be buying it in bits and pieces. Perhaps a keg this month and a dialy doodly thingamajig next time, then a gas bottle & tap after that.

 

 

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Luke

Luke

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Posted

Hi Chris,

Good to hear your gonna go kegging!

Kegging speeds up the time heaps between fermenting & drinking!

If you're force carbonating you could be drinking the beer a day after kegging (but I do it the lazy way which takes 7-10 days).

Bulk conditioning is not racking - think of it as bottling keg size bottles and adding priming sugar directly to the keg.

Then you only use the gas to push the beer.

If your buying bits & pieces:

Start with the keg, tap & Co2 charger and bulk condition.

Then hire a cylinder off BOC and buy a regulator off ebay.

Then go nuts!!!

 

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Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters

Posted
Posted

I envy all you keggers! It isn't an option for me due to lack of space and wife enforced brewing constraints. If we ever move to a place bigger than a sardine can I'll make the move.

 

Out of curiosity - My brother in law kegs and always has to tip the first bit he draws from the tap each time as it is all froth. Is this normal or does it sound like he's doing something wrong? Seems a bit wasteful to me.

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PB2

PB2

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Okay, perhaps he has a portion of beer line or the tap not chilled. The other possibility might be that his beer line is too short, requiring a reduction of head pressure to slow flow - this allows CO2 gas to break out in the line while sitting static, so the first pour each time is heady.

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The Brew Master

The Brew Master

Posted
Posted

Hi Chris,

I have only been into kegging for just short of 2 years. I have only naturally conditioned my kegs, as I want my beers to age. If you force carbonate them they must be kept in a fridge or kegerator. Don't hire your gas cylinder, it will cost you about $12.00 per month, you can buy one from your HBS for about $165.00 and approx $25.00 per fill. My 2.3kg lasted 2 years, as it was only used to pour the beer. 2 years of renting = $288.00 plus gas, all I pay is $25.00 for gas.

As Luke said you can buy from Ebay & get some great deals.

Happy Brewing.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter

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ChrisK

ChrisK

Posted
Posted

Luke, 7-10 days is drastically reduced from the 6ish+ weeks I'm finding the bottles need before they lose their fruitiness. Can someone explain to me why kegging makes such a difference?

 

 

I might grab a Keg from here (local homebrew store and only $62!)

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280487134247&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I'm a little disappointed as to the prices of the bulb-charger and keg-tap, both at $50 each but it does make the kegs portable for camping and picnics and stuff.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140399442284&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140399403212&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

So I could be drinking from a keg in four weeks for $162 (pre postage of course).

 

 

I think I'll go down this route.

 

 

Thanks all!

 

 

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Luke

Luke

Posted
Posted

Hey Chris,

7-10 days (the lazy way) is done by force carbonating - You can't do that with a CO2 bulb. They are used just for pushing the beer out.

You'll need to prime your keg with sugar and let it condition for at least 2 weeks?(Not sure on how long it takes, maybe a natural conditioning person could help here...)

Why does kegging make a difference? In what way? Freshness? Or couldn't be stuffed bottling anymore? (A bit of both for me)

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ChrisK

ChrisK

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Ooh okay! I think I misunderstood before.

 

I'm going camping on the 28th of May and want to take the keg with me, so I should really get my brew started this weekend so I can get into the keg to start conditioning around the 10th.

 

Gotcha!

 

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ChrisK

ChrisK

Posted
Posted

in general or camping?

 

In general short term - one of my beer fridges I can take the shelves out of and accomodate kegs.

 

In general long term: Looking to buy a chest freezer deep enough (some months off yet)

 

For camping: Take pre-chilled keg in an open eski full of ice. I'm thinking a 4 degree 19litre keg half submersed in ice will keep pretty cool for 12-24hours, which is more than we need.

 

Am I mistaken?

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  • 3 weeks later...
ChrisK

ChrisK

Posted
Posted

Okay guys the more I learn about kegging the more overwhelmed I get.

 

I've decided the CO2 chargers aren't the way to go - from what I've read even cleaning a keg requires some pressure.

 

So I think I need the following gear. PB2 apologies if I'm linking to anywhere I shouldn't, feel free to edit my post. I'm just trying to find the cheapest way to get started without having to re-purchase any equipment down the line.

 

So, first of all a regulator so I can control the flow of beer from my CO2 tank into my keg.

 

Tesuco seems to be the one most places sell - I found the local home brew place has them on special for $90 here.

 

Then I need a tap at the other end. Longer term I'd like to build my own font but for now I can put up with hand held. In the spirit of not buying stuff twice, could I hand hold this tap then mount it later? It's only $45 delivered but I'm concerned about the bend in the connection - could I connect this one to any old font?

 

Otherwise I can buy a whole font with two taps in it for only $105 delivered here but I worry that having warm taps outside the fridge will be a bad idea. Perhaps I should just stick to the keg mounted jobs like this one http://cgi.ebay.com.au/New-Home-Brew-Beer-Keg-Party-Tap-Ball-Lock-Disconnect-/130387899928?cmd=ViewItem&pt=AU_Barware&hash=item1e5bb97618 for only $62?

 

Decisions decisions. Longer term I'd like to get a font with three or four taps mounted on top of a chest freezer with my kegs in it, but short term they'll (it'll) be going in a normal fridge with the shelves removed.

 

How did you guys start out?

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PB2

PB2

Posted
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If your long term plan is to have a font with multiple taps, parhaps a Pluto gun is the best option first up??

 

A tap connected directly to the keg is not likely to pour well.

 

You will need 2 to 3 metres of beer line (depending on whether the ID is 4mm or 5mm) to restrict the beer sufficiently for a good pour.

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  • 1 year later...
ChrisK

ChrisK

Posted
Posted

April 2010 to December 2011 I planned, researched and worked on my kegging setup.

 

In December this guy was born:

 

IMG_1824_1024.jpg

 

IMG_1825_1024.jpg

 

IMG_1845_1024.jpg

 

holds four kegs + CO2.

 

Longer term plan is to permanently mount the drip tray and drill a hole for a run-off hose from the drip tray to a bucket at the bottom of the fridge.

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