Kegging Beer

[Wellsy]

I have been asked by a member to share some ideas on kegging home brew instead of the traditional bottling. He seems to think I am the expert, I don't believe I am by any stretch of the imagination but I have done it, and find it very rewarding. It is not difficult and there are heaps of guides on the interweb thing, most of them are pretty good.
To do this you will need some basic equipment, a keg, CO2 and regulator, a fridge that will fit and cool your keg, some beer and gas line, and a dispensing tap. These can be as cheap or expensive as you like.

The picnic tap is a great first tap and at $2:35 very affordable, likewise the oxebar ( plastic) 8 litre keg with pressure cap assembly approx $22;00 all up. your CO2 will be the biggest investment and it is worth looking to see what is available locally. you can buy a bottle, make sure it can be refilled locally, or hire them on an annual basis.

As to how you pressurise the keg, transfer the finished wort minimising the exposure to oxygen etc I will see if there is an interest before I prattle on.

I can say it is very rewarding to have beer on tap, it is equally rewarding not to have a sink full of empties, both prior to filling and after draining, and can recommend this for those thinking about it. There are some very seasoned brewers on here and I am sure they have more knowledge than myself to share.

Like always if you have questions don't hesitate to reach out as I have deliberately left this very much a broad brush description

[The Stig]

I turned to kegging about ten years ago, I chose a 3 keg, 2 tap kegerator .
So much quicker and easier than bottles .
After trying to follow a few online “how-to’s” I gave up and just followed my own instincts .
The downside to having beer on tap is the ease of drinking .
I’ve stopped using the kegerator and gone back to bottles for the ease of keeping track of how many drinks I’ve had.
On the whole , I’ve given up beer since I’ve been getting rounder :laughing-rolling:

[Wellsy]

you can always just pour half a glass.

I wanted to cut my consumption down so now only pour half a glass at a time. Of course it meant i had to move the kegerator into the kitchen beside the table or I would never get to eat. I was hoping for a larger glass for Christmas lol

[The Stig]

you can always just pour half a glass.

No , just no . A pint is a pint :obscene-birdiedoublered:

[Listo]

G’day Wellsy,
Do you use extract cans or all grain?
I’m kegging too and agree it’s so much easier. It’s like spirits though, it’s a real rabbit hole down there, you can go as deep as you want. I started with a chest freezer with temp controller, kegs and Pluto gun while fermenting with a copper tun fermenter on the shed bench. I’ve now got the kegerator up stairs, a fermenting freezer for consistent temperature and am pressure fermenting. For a beer lover, it’s certainly a rewarding hobby.
Cheers

[Wellsy]

Gidday Listo
I got myself a brewzilla and am doing all grain mate.
Started small and quickly moved up to the kegerator and am just about to start pressure fermenting thanks to a Santa present lol

[The Stig]

I don’t get the pressure fermenting , what’s that all about ?

[RC Al]

Pressure is applied via c02 after the ferment starts, the pressure makes the yeast work faster.

Then as a bonus you are able to transfer it around with zero oxygen contact - how its done commercially.

[Wellsy]

Pressure also helps carbonate the beer which means less time before you can start drinking it.

The pressure also supposedly suppresses the off flavours some yeast throw off if they ferment at a higher temp. Pressure means you can ferment a bit warmer/ quicker, without any off flavours

[hjubm2]

What equipment are you using to pressure ferment with Wellsy? I bought a 55L fermzilla awhile back to pressure ferment with but it's been more hassle then anything atm

[RuddyCrazy]

Well it was me x_x that asked Wellsy to kick this subject off as I am sick of the bottle rockets :angry-banghead: so knowing Wellsy was doing AG beer who better to ask :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Now Honestly

:text-worthless:

So bring em on :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

Cheers Bryan

[Wellsy]

Hjubm I am just using the 30 litre all rounder.

I think the 55 litre you have has the dump valve. Some love it others say it is not worth it.

Bloody hell Bryan, you know how techno I am. Alright I will take some photos but I won’t be able to upload them until after I get the film developed at the camera shop

[howard]

are you still using these. :smile:
where do you get your cubes from?

[hjubm2]

Hjubm I am just using the 30 litre all rounder.

I think the 55 litre you have has the dump valve. Some love it others say it is not worth it.

Yea that's it, the fermzilla has the dump valve which means your meant to be able to dump out the yeast/trub but it seems like a pain. The valve is bloody hard to turn & when I asked them about it was told it should be that hard. Needs all your weight on it to turn it so not sure how your meant to do that witgout wrecking the plastic. Should have gone with the all rounder like you have... let us know how you get on with it

[Wellsy]

are you still using these. :smile:
where do you get your cubes from?

Nice you have the same set up Howard. The cubes are as rare as rocking horse poop. If you are careful you can easy the cover off and simply replace the bulbs.

[Wellsy]

Hjubm, I think the theory was it could also be used for yeast harvesting.

Get yourself a tube of lube and put that on the thread as I think that makes things easier. I hope you understand the crap I am going to cop because I suggested the lube. So in an effort to help you I am putting myself on the line, I sometimes amaze myself I am so good :laughing-rolling:

[Listo]

This is my set up so far. The beer is nice but I still have to carbonate it. My question is how do you have it carbonated in the fermenter?
PS I know I’ve got a bubbler in the photo, but that’s only the first 24hours, then it’s disconnected and I use the 15psi valve
Cheers

[Trento]

Pressure is applied via c02 after the ferment starts, the pressure makes the yeast work faster.

Then as a bonus you are able to transfer it around with zero oxygen contact - how its done commercially.

RC Al, I'm not sure this is correct. The idea of pressure fermentation is that you can ferment at higher temperatures and the pressure suppresses off flavours/esters that the yeast may produce. Fermenting hotter will also finish the ferment quicker.

[RC Al]

What you say is correct, for two sentences i think i paraphrased it very well.. lols

You beer people feel happy to correct me using less words, my last effort was ginger beer and mead in primed bottles more than 20 years ago lols

[Wellsy]

RC I was agreeing with you mate, just adding a bit more context mate, Andrew pays me on the number of words I post, I assume he does the same for everyone :laughing-rolling:

Listo pressure fermentation does not achieve complete carbonation but it goes a Long way towards it. Means you need less time to achieve full carbonation. I will still be kegging and putting it on gas for a few days before sampling. Well that is the theory anyway lol