Root beer kegging question...

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capcrnch

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(I couldn't figure out where to put this.. Kegging seemed the best)

I'm about to keg 5 gallons of root beer..
2 questions I had before I do...

How long will root beer be good in a keg?
I don't foresee it sitting in there for a long time, but just in case..
I've heard 2 different tales.. 1 is that the yeast will continue to eat the sugar and within a couple of weeks, it will be no good... And there is so much pressure built up
that it blows bottles/breaks glass... Will I be ok in a keg?

2nd question:
If I were to fill a growler right from the keg and bring it to work, it should be ok, right? The growler would be empty by the end of the day and knowing the heathens at work, it will be gone within 3-4 hours.

Thanks all
 
**#1. I'm not sure how much you will need, But you will like it better if you add some honey beyond the directions in the kit. It just feels too watery in the mouth without.

#2. Are you going to force carb your brew? The Yeast is only to facilitate natural carbonation in bottles. If you force Carb, you won't need any yeast, and it should last forever in the keg.
 
Since you're kegging, I would force carb it. avoid the yeast sediment altogether.

that said, Rootbeer flavoring will ruin all 5 o-rings on the keg...so plan to replace those the next time you use this keg for beer.
the keg will also need to be soaked overnight to get the smell out.

and you'll only be able to use that beer/tap for rootbeer.

lastly, rootbeer needs a lot more carbonation than beer. I'd start off at least 20-25psi for a couple weeks. You'll need a lot of beer line to balance that system out...somewhere around 20 feet.
 
BigKahuna said:
**#1. I'm not sure how much you will need, But you will like it better if you add some honey beyond the directions in the kit. It just feels too watery in the mouth without.

#2. Are you going to force carb your brew? The Yeast is only to facilitate natural carbonation in bottles. If you force Carb, you won't need any yeast, and it should last forever in the keg.

How much honey are we talking?
I hate the taste of honey.. Does it blend nicely?
Yes, its going to be force carbed, so I won't be using yeast, which answered that question! Thanks

malkore said:
Since you're kegging, I would force carb it. avoid the yeast sediment altogether.

that said, Rootbeer flavoring will ruin all 5 o-rings on the keg...so plan to replace those the next time you use this keg for beer.
the keg will also need to be soaked overnight to get the smell out.

and you'll only be able to use that beer/tap for rootbeer.

lastly, rootbeer needs a lot more carbonation than beer. I'd start off at least 20-25psi for a couple weeks. You'll need a lot of beer line to balance that system out...somewhere around 20 feet.

Yes to the force carbing..
Do you mean that the root beer o-rings won't be usable in the future at all, or just with beer? This keg will most likely be dedicated to root beer only in the future. I was under the impression that the o-rings would hold the flavor, but not be "destroyed"...

Are you saying that I can't tap this keg for 2 weeks?
And damn, 20 feet of line is alot!
 
I have made the fermentap #2 and used 3 lbs of honey and 2 lbs of table sugar to make a 5 gallon batch. I force carbed it in the keg at 30psi shaking the keg about every 2 hours for the first 12 hours. I have not had an issue with my o-rings being ruined. I soak them in Star San.

DRAGGER.....
 
I have a batch in bottles right now. Made with montrichet Yeast, that brown "Natural Sugar" and 4 oz of honey in 1 gallon batch. I will let ya know how it blends and tastes.
 
This is pretty good...but REALLY yeasty. I think because it's so young...this seems to age away after another week or so in bottles.

The texture is great tho. Much better with the honey. I still want to add some DME or something to really malt it up a bit. I don't want the grain flavor tho.
 
capcrnch said:
How much honey are we talking?
I hate the taste of honey.. Does it blend nicely?
Yes, its going to be force carbed, so I won't be using yeast, which answered that question! Thanks

Yes to the force carbing..
Do you mean that the root beer o-rings won't be usable in the future at all, or just with beer? This keg will most likely be dedicated to root beer only in the future. I was under the impression that the o-rings would hold the flavor, but not be "destroyed"...

Are you saying that I can't tap this keg for 2 weeks?
And damn, 20 feet of line is alot!


Gasp! you don't like honey!!! (i'm a mead maker...to me, that's blasphemy!)

anyhow, the root beer will just permanently infuse root beer aroma (and thus flavor) into all the o-rings. so a dedicated keg for root beer is a wise choice.

I only force carb at serving psi, which takes 10 days or so to equalize in the entire keg (i don't shake or stir the keg at all). You can rapid carb faster, but its easy to over carb beer doing that. for rootbeer, probably less of a concern.

and yeah, 20 feet of line IS a lot. i dumped most of a keg of rootbeer because it was too much of a pain to dispense, wasted a lot of CO2 dialing it down to balance my 6ft tap line, then back up so it would stay carb'd.
 
malkore said:
Gasp! you don't like honey!!! (i'm a mead maker...to me, that's blasphemy!)

anyhow, the root beer will just permanently infuse root beer aroma (and thus flavor) into all the o-rings. so a dedicated keg for root beer is a wise choice.

I only force carb at serving psi, which takes 10 days or so to equalize in the entire keg (i don't shake or stir the keg at all). You can rapid carb faster, but its easy to over carb beer doing that. for rootbeer, probably less of a concern.

and yeah, 20 feet of line IS a lot. i dumped most of a keg of rootbeer because it was too much of a pain to dispense, wasted a lot of CO2 dialing it down to balance my 6ft tap line, then back up so it would stay carb'd.

I was 16 years old.. My (now wife) girlfriend and I were experimenting with sex. I heard/read/whatever that honey raises the erotic levels through the roof. So I got some honey (the little plastic bear one.. That was a bit weird btw).. Anyway, I OD'd on honey that night and to this day, I have an aversion to honey.
 
Ok, I'm resurrecting this thread to ask a couple of questions!

I want to make a keg of rootbeer for Memorial Day weekend. I have extra o-rings, so that's no problem. I guess I'm kind of cheap, though, and would hate to waste like 15-20 feet of beer line! You guys are saying that the beer line would be permanent reeking of root beer after using it? And that to keep it carbonated, I need a ton of line? I'm wondering if I could carb it, and then just use short line to dispense over the weekend?

I'd rather throw away a foot or two than 15 feet!

Oh, and capcrnch, that story is priceless!
 
Soda needs a good bit more carb than beer typically, if you don't use either smaller line or longer line to balance the extra pressure, you'll get nothing but foam. Also, it permeates plastic pretty bad, really hard to get rid of the smell/flavor of it from anything rubber/plastic...
 
I don't know how to calculate the flow resistance, I just know you need at least as much flow resistance as you're serving pressure or you'll get nothing but foam. From what I've found with soda in 2L bottles with the CO2 tire inflator to carbonate, you need a bit higher pressure to get a good level of carbonation for soda, around 20psi. So if you set your regulator at 20psi, you need enough hose to create at least 20psi of flow resistance to keep the soda from foaming.
 
I have rootbeer on tap and have to carb to 30 psi to keep the CO2 in suspension. I also use 28 feet of beer line to get a decent pour. And yes the beer line will forever wreak of root beer. I suggest dedicating the keg/line/faucet to root beer after it has been tainted.

That is my plan.
 
Yoop:

Use this stuff from McMaster
5181K42 3/16" ID - 5/16" OD LLDPE (Polyethylene tubing) $0.15 - 50 ft min

It's cheap so if you never do rootbeer again you can throw away the 20ft you use, it contributes no flavor to the beer/rootbeer.

I found/figured out this stuff after going through the long thread about beer line that contributes no flavor. This stuff is harder to work with (need boiling water or blowtorch to warm it up to slip it over fittings) but I can't taste a hint of plastic in the first 2 ounces out of my taps now, even with light beers.
 
Thanks- I ordered 50 feet of that. I hope that I can get the fittings on the line! I'm having trouble doing that with ordinary beer line.

OK- so you guys think 30 psi with 25 feet of line will do it? My son is going to mix up the root beer tonight- he's really excited about it. After graduation, I think I 'll store the keg in the basement, so it'll be a bit warmer than fridge temps, but he can always run down into the basement to "pull a pint" if he wants.
 
That's a good idea, I am also going to get soda working in the house soon I hope (and set up the taps in the kitchen with cooled lines for both the soda and the beer, it's gonna be sweet!).

It took me a few pieces of tube to get the melting/slipping on right. Next time I'm going to try using a pot of boiling water to heat the tube (so it can only get to 212) and a little keg lube on whatever fitting i'm using. Even though it's a tight fit I still use hose clamps.
 
Oh, and capcrnch, that story is priceless!

If you think that's funny, remind me to tell you about the clothespin drama someday.


Serious note.
I've absolutely given up on making root beer.
We have tried 3 different times and each time turns out like crap. (1 of the 3 was our fault, too much yeast)

I'm convinced the soda Gods are not watching my back with the root beer.

I find this whole thing ironic. I've made about 40 batches of beer and never had a bad batch (pound on wood), but yet, soda escapes me. :confused:
 
Brent's made root beer before, but always bottled it. It's come out really good every time- except for once. Once he put in too much malto dextrine, so he had root beer jello. It was actually pretty funny, but gross. Carbonated root beer jello. I think we'll skip the MD this time!
 
This is an old post but I have a question regarding this.

I was going to dedicate a line in my 4 keg kegerator to soda pop.

From my understanding as soon as I keg root beer in the line it is only good for root beer?

What have others done to solve this?

What happens to flavor if I keg root beer then when that is done keg orange soda or something?
 
Soda flavors linger in plastic tubing, o-rings, etc. Don't know about Root Beer and what it will do to Orange or other flavors.

I did have one beer that I was not crazy about and ran it through my Root Beer tap, interestingly it improved the beer and gave it a drinkable taste.

My solution is now to use a picnic tap for soda. Cheap and easy to keep several around if you change flavors. Also makes it hard for kids to get at the soda without my help! When they start liking beer I will think up a better solution.
 
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