champangne kegging

[batonrougegu]

Has anyone done this?
What keg system would you recommend?
I've been looking for one just not sure yet.
If I got a keg system when I get ready for beer I can make that to.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

why would you want to do this... Sorry if i'm coming off abrasive, but what is the reason behind this? Are you making Champagne or are you buying in bottles and then dumping them in a keg... You could go around to local restaurants and or bars and see if they have any champagne bottles... Or just buy them

 

[batonrougegu]

revised sorry just wondering if this can be done?

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

i'm sure it could be done however if you were to make champagne its always associated with popping of corks... Its not somethign that i've wanted to do for sure... Now if it was a Gin and tonic cocktail or something in a keg... now you've got me listening lol

 

[billtzk]

Champagne is a sparkling wine that, according to French law, comes from the Champagne region of France. Sparkling wines, of course, are made all over the world. Most are naturally carbonated in the bottle via secondary fermentation, and require aging, riddling, and disgorgement over a long period of time.

You can force carb a white wine in a keg to make a sparkling wine. I think the only cost effective way to do this is to make your own white wines. Making wine from grapes is a fairly involved process that requires some effort and practice to do well, but there are a lot of good quality wine kits that you can buy that would most likely make great sparkling wines for the kegerator.

I plan to do this myself sometime next year after I make some more white wines. The only one I have on hand right now is a Gewurtztraminer that I don't think would make a great sparkling wine.

I think you'll need to pressurize to about 35 psi.

 

[Craigvu]

personally i think this is brilliant. believe i'll be be buying a wine kit soon and having this on hand for new years. we can pop one cork and use the kegerator for the rest of the evening's libations.

 

[malkore]

sparkling wine is pretty highly carbed. You'll just have to balance the system and you won't be able to do beer at the same time as it'll be horribly over carbed.

you'll probably need like 20psi to carb it, and 25-30 feet of tap line to balance out that pressure, otherwise you'll dispense foamy, flat wine.

 

[batonrougegu]

I was meaning doing beer when no wine is in the near future and maybe having 1 system for wine and the other for beer.
I really want to experiment with cheap wine kits till I know what to do,and what i want.

 

[bmckee56]

I have done 2 Sparkling Wines using the counter pressure bottling unit from MidWest and it is difficult at best to get it right without experience. I set my wine up in the keg, chilled it to 35 degrees at a pressure of 30PSI. Many sparkling wines are somewnere around 40PSI, so I was a little low. I chilled down my bottles to the same 35 degree temperature (do not put them in the freezer as they will form ice crystals and cause gushers). Using the CPB is something you must pat particular attention to at all times or you will have a mess on your hands (like I did). I ended up with 14 bottles out of a 5 gallon batch so I was pleased, but at the same time disappointed. Allow the wine to carb up for at least a week or more. Do not rush this or you will end up with a lightly carbonated wine.

SWMBO and I opened up a bottle the evening we made them up to sample and the many bubbles were small and constant in the glass. We used a Muscat wine, fermented very dry and the taste was delightful. We ended up opening 2 more that evening and really tied one on!

Patience, attention to detail and patience are required to get the results you need with a Sparkling Wine that is force carbonated.

Good Luck.

Salute!

 

[batonrougegu]

Sounds great my birthday is around the corner,and looking for setup.

So you would say around 40 psi for about 5-6 days