Conversation with my GF over Kegging and bottleing? (differences/questions)??

I was talking to my gf last night and asked her if she was totally opposed to having a kegerator in the apartment and she said no, which leads me to the questions.

1. If I keg a beer, do I skip the sugar solution thats added just before bottleing? Do you still need to perform this step or is that what the co2 bottle is for?


Lets say I keg 2.5gallons and bottle the rest...

2. Whats the shelf life of a keg of beer thats sitting in the closet in a keg vs. bottles?

3. Will it still age just like in a bottle, rather do you let it sit for a period of time to age?



We are obviously not jumping right into kegging but I'd like to investigate it.

I think the process would be so much easier if we just kegged 1/2 of it and bottled 1/2. I don't think we will drink 5 gallons of beer that fast, we only have a couple bottles a week now and maybe 2-3 on the weekend. If it would preserve the beer longer in a keg then I don't mind going that route.

I could get a small fridge, convert it and keep more than a few 2.5gallon kegs in the fridge with 2-3 hooked up to a tap system mounted on the front.


A final question to those who know... We had Rogue Dead Guy Ale last night and to me it had a wierd bite/harsh taste in my mouth, is this from the hops? What kind of beer is it so that I can shy away from it.. I didn't mind the taste but it was a little strong.

thanks

You can still prime a keg just like a bottle. It will carbonate just like it was a big bottle. However, most of us artificially carbonate with the CO2. There are a couple schools of thought with this. You can either add it at a lower PSI, say 12, for a week and it will carb; or you can set it up around 30 for 48 hours and it will carb. I go the "low and slow" method, but to each his own.

However, that being said, with artificial carbonation you should really be carbing at the temp that you are serving. If it is going to be sitting in a closet you have two options. Fill it with beer, and purge it with CO2, and then when you have room in the keezer, put it in and attach the gas and wait for it to carb (this is the method I use). Or, you can prime it with sugar.

From the sounds of it, I would probably prime your kegs if you dont plan on getting, and keeping them cold.

I'm not so sure I understand what you mean by purge it with CO2?



I do think however that I understand what your suggesting for long term closet storage.

That is to prime it as if it was going into a bottle and then siphon it into the keg instead and/or use the keg as if it was a bottle, cap it and then sit to the side until it's ready to be used. Then I would hook up the gas line which would add a little CO2 to push the beer out to the tap?

On Rogue Deadguy, did you have it in a bottle or on tap? I love it on tap but have never enjoyed a bottle of it.

As for the style I'd guess it as an American Brown Ale, maybe with a little more ABV than most Brown Ales.

Wish I knew more about kegging to answer your questions. I use minikegs with a tap-a-draft system which is completely different than having a kegerator.

BADS197 said:

I'm not so sure I understand what you mean by purge it with CO2?



I do think however that I understand what your suggesting for long term closet storage.

That is to prime it as if it was going into a bottle and then siphon it into the keg instead and/or use the keg as if it was a bottle, cap it and then sit to the side until it's ready to be used. Then I would hook up the gas line which would add a little CO2 to push the beer out to the tap?

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By purging the keg he means that once you fill it with beer you'll want to hook up your CO2 while holding the relief valve open. It will fill the void between the top of the beer and the top of the keg with CO2. You want to keep as much oxygen away from finished beer as possible to avoid any off flavors.

There's no real advantage to bottling any of it unless it's a specialty item that you'd only have an occassional bottle of.

If you're a light drinker, maybe a 2-keg sanyo conversion with another 2 kegs to have on deck.

Shelf life is exactly the same as in bottles, a long time.

If you have your two serving kegs full and in the kegger and you brew another batch. Get it in the keg, hit it with 40PSI off the reg, pull the pressure dump to get any oxygen out, top off to 40-50 PSI, disconnect and tuck it into a cool corner, basement, closet, etc. When one serving keg empties, replace it with your stored one and let it get cold overnight. Then apply your serving pressure onto it. It will be moderately carbed from the initial pressure you applied but will be fully ready in a couple days.

Ok, I would like to ask a few questions here...

I think the mini keg rout is the way I want to go, well at least with 2-3 gallons of each brew.

I have no co2 or any keg setup at all, I was just going to use one of the cheap mini keg taps, I saw one that was an ols school pump style pretty cheap at my LHBS. All that as it is, what should I do to help prevent o2 from spoiling my beer while it sits in the kegs that I am not drinking?

THnaks for letting piggy-back this thread.

Tim

Is there any way to inject CO2 with the smaller little cartriges? Other than that I'm not sure.

The mini kegs are not ideal for long term storage. Systems like the tap-a-draft and party pig are meant for smaller volumes and for dispensing rather than keeping around. The tap-a-draft recommends something like 4-6 weeks.

Now, they do make 2 and 3 gallon corny kegs, but those are very costly. Also, once you start kegging, you probably will rethink the bottle half/keg half approach. Kegging is sooooo much easier and your beer will last a very long time in the keg. Of course it depends on the style, as it dos with bottling. Wits and pale ales and the like taste better fresh, and bigger beers can be aged.

If you're intent on having some kegs and some bottles, you can always bottle from your keg as well. I do this sometimes when I know I need bottles. I fill my 5 gallon keg, I carb in a fridge to the desired level, and then I use my beer gun to go to bottles. There are also counterpressure fillers available or that you can build.

Starting simple though, if you're moving to kegging, a two keg system is perfect. When you have beer that won't fit, just purge the o2 off the top and then carbonate it when it is ready.

Displaced MassHole said:

Is there any way to inject CO2 with the smaller little cartriges? Other than that I'm not sure.

Click to expand...

I think the tap a drafft uses small cartridges of co2 for dispensing.

Definitely just go to 5 gallon kegs. the smaller ones are expensive and there are lots of used cheap 5 gallons around. Plus as long as the keg is pressurized with CO2 it will keep just as long in the keg as it would in a bottle.

Tap-a-Draft with minikeg isn't bad. You can buy a minikeg of Spaaten and re-use that, or purchase the 5l minikegs for about $10. I don't know why you couldn't store them in the mini-kegs for longer than 5 weeks, I certainly have. I probably wouldn't store it in a soda bottle for more than a few weeks but it doesn't seem to be an issue with the minikeg.

Negatives:
You can't really force carb beer with tap-a-draft.
First beer always pours with a ton of head, this can be minimized by not using a CO2 cartridge for the first few pours, and it isn't a full keg.

On the positive side, it is relatively cheap, doesn't take up anymore space, is easy to transport, it is nice to just go to the fridge and have beer on "tap", and it is faster than bottling. You can also have real ale if you know you are going to finish it within a day.

Right now I can not get the SWMBO behind the keg setup, but I can get her on board the mini keg train. To be clear, I am talking about the 5 liter kegs. I think for about 60 euro I can get 3 - 5 liter kegs the co2 tap and 10 cartridges, not sure what a 5 gal keg set up would run.

Tim

^ Overcarb a few bottles and have a few explode. then tell SWMBO that this wouldn't happen if you had a keg.

Yeah, I use the 5L mini kegs.
You just need the tap-a-draft dispenser, minikegs (purchase empty or buy Spaaten, I've even seen Paulaner in them, but don't buy Heineken).
Then all you need is a minikeg, bung (one for each minikeg), and mini CO2cartridges.

I live in brussels so I can get a few different beers in the 5L mini, even Leffe, which for a mass brew is pretty dang good.

I guess my question is how long can you store in one.

Tim

I was thinking of using the 2.5gallon cornelius kegs and not "mini-kegs".

Thanks for the answers.. I googled "kegging" on youtube and found a 4 parter where a guy cleans everything and then fills his keg up wiht more beer. VERY informative and gave me everything I needed to know on kegging beer.

pretty darn cool how it all goes together soo smoothly.

I saw some kegs (5 gallon) today at a shop and they looked in good shape.. I might swing by after talking to the gf and pickup a few. They were obviously used and would probably need a new gasket set but thats better than filling tons of bottles all the time. We would bottle some but not all of it.

Time to find a fridge.

I had my nut brown ale in the mini for about 6 weeks before I chilled. I've had it in the fridge for about 3 weeks (had one 3 nights ago and it was still great). I've been drinking my wit pretty much exclusively which is why it has lasted so long.

As long as you don't over carb it I don't know why it couldn't be kept in the mini for months.

I will say that taking the bung off the top of the commercial minikegs is a pain. I've resorted to purchasing brand new ones. Although if I could get Leffe in a mini it just might be worth it.

I have a feeling I'd drink a lot more beer if I lived in Belgium. At least for the first year or two.