Calling it a "Krute"

Figured this thing is done enough to show it off. Over the spring and summer I'm going to be entering a few homebrew competitions/festivals where I will have to serve my entries. I am also brewing for a friends wedding over the summer. I of course could use the tried and true kegs in a bucket of ice with picnic taps... but thats not nearly enough overkill for me. I also wanted something that wouldn't look like a college frat party for the wedding.

Needs:
-3 Keg Serving
-Cheap
-Portable (must be able to fit along with the kegs in my Jetta, with a passenger)
-Not ugly
-Did I mention cheap?

So heres what I came up with. I can fit 3 ball lock kegs (note: 3 pin locks will not fit) into a 32 gallon Brute trash can. Conveniently, a 24 inch pine table top fits nicely on top of the bin. The rest is leftover wood and trim leftover from other brewing/household projects. Drip tray is just a cheap HVAC floor vent. A 2.5lb co2 tank SHOULD fit in-between the kegs, but I haven't tested that yet. Its kind of tough to get good pictures because the 4 coats of lacquer are pretty reflective :rocking:

The wife has graciously offered to sew up a skirt of some kind that we can velcro around the trash can.









Like I said, I'm dubbing it a "Krute".... Let me know what you all think!

Pretty damn nice. Especially considering your design criteria. Cheap, nice looking, and portable.

Well done.

Oh man.. you can get wheeled bases for those. It would help moving it around. And did you put a drain in bottom to let the melted ice out?

Reaver said:

Oh man.. you can get wheeled bases for those. It would help moving it around. And did you put a drain in bottom to let the melted ice out?

Click to expand...

I decided not to install a drain. With 3 kegs and co2 in there it is a very tight fit so I think a 20 lb bag of ice will be more than enough to fill the can. I figure I can lift and dump that pretty easy with a second person. This will be used inside for the wedding and the risk of leaks was not worth it to me. I would like to get the dolly, and may in the future... But it is $30 and that doubles my costs for the bin. Like I said, cheap.

the skirt is really going to set this off. good job....looks great

is that a cold air return used as a drip tray? if so awesome

This is amazing! I take my brew to afew events and its always the loose keg and co2. I'm going to use our idea and build one for my pin locks.
Great job. Very cool

Don't know if I'd want any of my homebrew bling wearing a skirt.

JayberQue said:

is that a cold air return used as a drip tray? if so awesome

Click to expand...

Yup! Got it on clearence for 6 bucks!

ryandcalvert said:

This is amazing! I take my brew to afew events and its always the loose keg and co2. I'm going to use our idea and build one for my pin locks.
Great job. Very cool

Click to expand...

Thanks! Keep in mind that the 32 gallon can is just a little too small for three pin locks because they are fatter. Rubbermaid does make a larger size brute though... That may work.

theo1069 said:

I would like to get the dolly, and may in the future... But it is $30 and that doubles my costs for the bin. Like I said, cheap.

Click to expand...

Harbor Freight carries a furniture mover that should work. It's just 2x4's and carpet on coasters. I got mine with a coupon they mailed for $2 but I think full price was about $5.

bleme said:

Harbor Freight carries a furniture mover that should work. It's just 2x4's and carpet on coasters. I got mine with a coupon they mailed for $2 but I think full price was about $5.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll check that out! $5 is definitely more in this projects budget!

This would be a good idea for a 55 gallon drum, cut down and on casters. Could prob fit 4 or 5 cornies in there.

I like it. Keep up the good work.

Saving this page for later.

This is perfect! I will be looking into making my own soon enough hopefully. Definitely in time for the next home brew competition!

That's some fine woodworking there, sir. Well done!

Love the build - really nice! Good job!
The name is lame, though...

Cheers!

That's awesome.

What about slats up sides for a little extra cool?

starsailor said:

Don't know if I'd want any of my homebrew bling wearing a skirt.

Click to expand...

Maybe if he serves Scottish Ales it could be a Kilt :cross:

Nice work, been meaning to do something like this as well.

What do you have in mind to handle all the condensated sweat that runs off the side of the can? It would not be a big deal for an outdoor venue, but an indoor wedding may be a different story.
Just off the top of my head, possibly place the whole setup inside a Water Heater Tank catch pan.

theo1069 said:

I of course could use the tried and true kegs in a bucket of ice with picnic taps... but thats not nearly enough overkill for me.

Click to expand...

Love it! Great job!!

I love it, looks great!

Huaco said:

What do you have in mind to handle all the condensated sweat that runs off the side of the can? It would not be a big deal for an outdoor venue, but an indoor wedding may be a different story.
Just off the top of my head, possibly place the whole setup inside a Water Heater Tank catch pan.

Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing... maybe use some duct tape and wrap it up with some old towels under the skirt?

Huaco said:

What do you have in mind to handle all the condensated sweat that runs off the side of the can? It would not be a big deal for an outdoor venue, but an indoor wedding may be a different story.

Click to expand...

Wow. Didn't even consider that. The pan and towel are both good, viable options. Maybe i'll grab a bag of ice this weekend and test to see what kind of condensation to expect. Thanks for the input!

It will be worse in summer and on humid days. I don't know what your climate is like in PA, but here in TX I would not be surprised to capture about a quart of condensate in a catch pan within the length of time for a party or wedding/reception. At least with a catch pan, you could trust it to hold what it needs and then evacuate the water later...

Wow that is way more legit that what I "built" on St. Patty's day.

I found a hand truck by the side of the road on the way to my friends apt. It sure beat lugging the keg and full size CO2 tank 4 blocks to his apt over the parade route! I secured the keg and can to the hand truck with the elastic cargo net from the back of my buddies chevy equinox. Ghetto fab, I know, but I am extremely proud of creating it after drinking my breakfast last Saturday!

Harrisburg, eh?

I am guessing I'll see this contraption at the Homebrewer's Festival at ABC Camp Hill in May? Maybe the Homebrewers Ball in Lancaster in April?

Amazing!

Did you put anything on the inside under the air vent to capture the over pours and drips? I know you could just leave it to run through the vent into the brute can, but the beer would end up on top of the kegs and regulator. Maybe rig a way to hang a plastic grocery bag from the under part?

Also... we're you able to fit a co2 tank in there? You mentioned in the OP that you thought it would fit but hadn't tried it yet.

Looks great.

DubbelDach said:

Harrisburg, eh?

I am guessing I'll see this contraption at the Homebrewer's Festival at ABC Camp Hill in May? Maybe the Homebrewers Ball in Lancaster in April?

Click to expand...

The contraption and I will be at the ABC Homebrewer's fest in May!

I didn't see the Homebrewers ball until you mentioned it, but it looks neat. I'll have to add that to the list for next year.

Huaco said:

It will be worse in summer and on humid days. I don't know what your climate is like in PA, but here in TX I would not be surprised to capture about a quart of condensate in a catch pan within the length of time for a party or wedding/reception. At least with a catch pan, you could trust it to hold what it needs and then evacuate the water later...

Click to expand...

I think I am going to go with your advice and pick up one of these:

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay...gId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

I'll just have to cap the pvc drain it comes with. Thanks for the suggestion!

bobjohnson said:

Did you put anything on the inside under the air vent to capture the over pours and drips? I know you could just leave it to run through the vent into the brute can, but the beer would end up on top of the kegs and regulator. Maybe rig a way to hang a plastic grocery bag from the under part?

Also... we're you able to fit a co2 tank in there? You mentioned in the OP that you thought it would fit but hadn't tried it yet.

Click to expand...

I tested the drip tray under a dripping sink faucet and in the "closed" position it actually holds drips pretty well. Just to be safe I am going to sit a long, shallow tupperware container on top of the keg directly under the drip tray to catch any drops that make it through.

I took advantage of Keg Connection's "final four" sale and picked up a 4lb co2 tank and 2 new to me kegs. The tank is the perfect size for this application and was a great price. I'm pretty sure that this is the same diameter as a 2.5lb tank, so that size should work too.... but don't quote me on that. A 5lb tank definitely will not work.

Test fit with 3 cornies, the 4lb tank and regulator. Just need to plumb it now!

Got any updates to this? I have a party in 2 weeks and was thinking of putting one of these together for it. Interested to see how the skirt ended up looking. Any advice or suggestions for someone trying this?

this is pretty sweet! I have my keezer in the garage and on wheels but if I ever have to take brew on the road this seems like a great DYI! awesome job!

That is definitely a sweet idea! I see myself shamelessly copying that in the future. Great job/idea!

Your woodworking is to be commended. Bravo!

But my left eye keeps twitching looking at the pics... its like setting a $4000 gold light fixture in a $500 pop-up camper... spray paint the can or something man LOL.

Well done sir... Looks great... I did something similar, although I went with a square garbage can with wheels... There is a thread with a pic here somewhere...

No pics, right now, but I stole your design to serve three beers at a wedding, yesterday.

I mounted my four secondary regulators on the lid. Flip it up and make all the adjustments needed.

I stained mine Cabernet. It turned out ok, but I ran short on time and had to ride the finishing.

I sprayed the inside with a rubber coating.

The glued wood was based to work with. E extremely soft wood. while transporting it home, the round broke where it was cut out for the floor vent...aka drip pan. It was also difficult to get it too sit properly with all the keg lines. Not much clearance.

As for covering the can, I wrapped a white cloth shower curtain around the can before sitting the Krute on it.

Great idea. Thanks for the inspiration.

theo1069,
Thanks for the great idea regarding the Krute. I took your serving tower concept and built something with 2 taps that worked for the table-top approach at my son's wedding. I was half tempted to see if you would rent me yours, as you're not that far from me. In the end I decided to slap together something on my own. Got it done in 3 days. Here's my blog with pics for anyone interested. Thanks for your idea.

http://basicbrewinginabag.blogspot.com/

It sounds like you might be a guy with some scrap wood around...

To dress up the can you could get some planks and put them around like the staves of a barrel. To hold them in place you could use construction adhesive, or some flat iron bar stock, bent around and bolted in place. (bend the ends of the stock out from the can about an inch, drill holes in the center of the "tabs" and then pass some threaded rod through to draw them together). This will give it the appearance of a barrel. Depending on the thickness of the stock you may not even need to shape/bevel the pieces.

I have done this with my plastic rain barrel and it looks pretty good. Otherwise your build is great!