Marking kegs for identification purposes

So I want to get organized because this is like the third time now that I have a beer in a keg and I don't know what it is(shows the quality of the beer). I was thinking of spray painting a ring around each keg using different colors and then getting a dry erase board and keep all the info about the kegs color coded on the dry erase board.

Will regular spray paint work or is there something better to use? Or does someone have a better idea in general than spray paint.

Thanks

i zip-tied a dry-erasable tag to the bleed valve ring. doesn't smudge when the tag gets wet and cleans up easily.

I use a small piece of painters tape with the name written on it.

OR...

If you really want to paint your kegs, you could use chalk board paint and write the name on each keg with chalk.

x2 - blue painters tape with a sharpie to keep track of all my kegs.

i have a dry erase board with all the brews info on it i just take colored elec. tape and wrap the handles with it

velotech said:

x2 - blue painters tape with a sharpie to keep track of all my kegs.

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This has always been my favorite method as well. Cheap and easy

I used map tack and covered the freezer door. Then, Labeled the kegs by numbers with some tape and marker. Then write on the door in dry erase the keg #, and what's in it, date it was kegged, etc etc......keg gets empty, erase it off and fill with something else.

+1 on the blue-tape with a sharpie..

i start it in the primary, with date, OG, batch# and name on it.. when (if) it goes to secondary i transfer it along with the beer.
then when it goes to keg, and keep records on the bluetape the whole time (racking date/kegging date, FG and calculated %)

works great so far.

all good ideas. Does painters tape do well when it gets a bit wet though? One of the downfalls of my system is I only have 3 air lines so when I want to taste test something that is aging it usually gets a little wet with the connecting of a picnic tap and disconecting and the same with the air line.

Zip ties do sound like a good idea, I'm thinking if I get 6 different colored zip ties I could put ties on the handles or the lids and identify them that way.

I recently started using Beersmith to maintain what I have but it doesn't help with identifying which keg its in. I just made a recipe section called "current brews" and copy the recipe I made into that folder and then I can update information on it without changing my original copy.

The tape stays put and sharpie doesn't smudge at all. I loop it around the handle and back onto itself.

I put the painters tape on the side of the kegs (works for my side entry fridge-might not work so well on a keezer.
When the keg is kicked i stick the blue tape on the front of the fridge as living memorial.

capn said:

I put the painters tape on the side of the kegs (works for my side entry fridge-might not work so well on a keezer.
When the keg is kicked i stick the blue tape on the front of the fridge as living memorial.

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I do the same thing and I always get a chuckle out of how long ago some of those batches were when they seem like yesterday.

chalkboard paint on the side of the kegs...you can write right on it with chalk exactly what's in the keg, erase when kicked(sorry, no living memorial like the blue tape squares)

capn said:

When the keg is kicked i stick the blue tape on the front of the fridge as living memorial.

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LOL that's cool, i had not thought about that yet.. I will do that too, that's great.

Maybe make a little tombstone out of blue-tape with RIP :cross:

Why not just forget the painters tape if you are afraid it will fall off and write directly on the SS portion of the keg with a sharpie. It will come right off with a dab of acetone (nail polish remover) when you want it to. Just a suggestion.

Do like some musicians do; two or three layers of different colored duct tape.
red on black, orange on silver... then you've got an almost unlimited number of combinations... and if you take a keg somewhere else you'll know which one is yours pretty quickly.

Go to a bargain $2 shop and get some plastic lugguge id's. A 4 pack will set you back about a buck and its easy to write on some cardboard and just slide it in when you change beers. Attatches easily to the handle. Do it for all my kegs and a simple solution.

I actually # my kegs as well so when I am taking them apart and cleaning them I always put the same parts back in the same keg. The color tape is a great idea as well. I used color tape to code the different bev lines/taps and each of the gas lines at the disconect and each shut off valve. Might be a little over kill but its easy to do.

I picked up a box of merchandise tags from Wal*Mart. These are little cardboard tags with string attached.

I write the batch number, batch name, ABV, and kegging date on each side, then seal the tag with clear packing tape. I attach the tag to the keg handle.

By having the tag on top, I can easily tell which keg is which, even if the kegs are in the kegerator.

I have a different approach. I use a strip of colored electrical tape just below the rubber top to identify what the keg is used for (red=wine, yellow=rootbeer, green=cider, brown=beer) and little rings of tape around the handles to keep track of which kegs have had o-rings replaced. A similar approach could be used for types of beer. I also like the luggage tag approach, I may have to use that one as well.

I use electrical tape and I've numbered mine in roman numerals, as well as their respective lids. Then in beersmith I add notes as to what is what and whether its carbed or not. I'm going from the viewpoint that I will be searching for a particular beer, look it up, and find the number, rather than standing looking at the keg going "wtf is in here?"

If I actually ever manage to get half my kegs full and in the same place, I may very well go ahead and start a spread sheet to track them too.