Keg Swaps / Guest Taps

I'm doing a keezer build, and will soon have a 5-tap (expandable to 6 if I choose) keezer in service. My initial thought was to retire (& sell) my old 3-tap model, as I don't think I can sustain 8-9 different brews at once given my brewing output and the fact that I do 10-gallon batches.

But that got me to thinking. With the diminished per-keg drain rate that I'll have with 5 or 6 taps, I'll have trouble rotating through all my 10-gallon batches *anyway*. And most of the members of my homebrew club are likewise doing 10-gallon batches, so many of them might be having the same problem.

So I got an idea: why not do a keg swap for the 2nd keg of some of these batches, keep the 3-tap kegerator, and use it for my "guest taps"? That way I can have more variety on tap, can brew more styles for myself (as I only need to go through 5 gallons of each brew instead of 10), reduce the number of kegs that are just sitting around aging, and have a lot more chance to drink my fellow homebrew club's beers and have them drink some of my own.

It seems like it's just win-win all around.

I'm wondering if any folks in homebrew clubs have set up similar arrangements. Did it go well? Did your guys retain interest over a decent period of time?

never have(yet) but have talked about it with a brew buddy. one thing I like to do with my 10 gal brews is dry hop one, or dry hop with different hops so my 2 kegs are not the same.

I like the guest tap idea.

Holy crap, though, six ten-gallon batches at a time? Do you have tons of totally wicked parties or something? Sixty gallons would last me an awfully long time with only me drinking it.

MR2Aaron said:

Holy crap, though, six ten-gallon batches at a time? Do you have tons of totally wicked parties or something? Sixty gallons would last me an awfully long time with only me drinking it.

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Well, that's the thing... I do quite often have beer piling up. I'd say my own consumption is somewhere between 5 and 7 gallons a month (1-2 pints a day). So every month I'm drinking 33-50% of each keg (in the 3-tap version). If I boost to 5 taps, all that will really happen is that I'll drop to the point where I'm drinking 20-25% of each keg each month. So each keg could last 4-5 months. And with 10-gallon batches, each batch could last 8-10 months. That frankly could just be too long for me.

So I either need to get a lot more friends over to drink my beer, or I need a way to more effectively rotate through these things. And the "guest tap" idea could better rotate through so I don't have kegs sitting around for 4-5 months just waiting for an open slot.

I like the guest tap idea. I only have 2 taps; 8 sounds amazing. Definitely jealous.

i like the idea, and hope to have a finished keezer this summer. I see you are nearby. What club do you belong to?

LabRatBrewer said:

i like the idea, and hope to have a finished keezer this summer. I see you are nearby. What club do you belong to?

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I'm in Brewcommune.

I recently started doing 10 gallon batches for this purpose. I have two taps (soon to be three), but I host a lot of brew days, and this way I can rotate through and have some variety on. A buddy of mine brews constantly, and is always beer rich. Currently I have his ESB on tap, and will exchange him a keg of Rye Saison when I keg this weekend. Also have started to talk collaborations with my brew buddies and splitting the 10 gallons. It gets some more involvement and turns out pretty fun.