Getting back into Homebrewing.

[Wiggum]

I've been out of brewing at home for about 10-15 years now. I threw out most of my equipment (stupid I know.) I'm interested in getting back into it again, but this time instead of bottles I'd like to keg the beer to put into my kegerator instead of bottles.

I got a couple of Sanke 1/6 kegs from a friends bar closing.

Not sure what equipment I should be looking into buying up front. Most of the starter bundles include bottling stuff so I don't need that.

I'll probably start with a few prepackaged ingredient kits before trying my own stuff down the road.

 

[brewit2it]

Welcome back. Kegging is a great idea but most folks use corny kegs rather than Sanke since the breweries use special equipment to clean, sanitize, and fill sanke kegs. I think there was a video of someone doing it with some regular tools but it looked like a royal PITA to me compared to flipping open the lid on a corny.

 

[Wiggum]

I actually opened up two of the kegs. First one took some time but the second one was easy. Cleaning might be a little harder but I figured since I got the kegs free I may as well give them a shot first.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

If you're building a reg from scratch, a lot of people use kegs as a brew kettle and as a MLT.

 

[tandersen123]

a lot of brew stores will create a kit for you to fit your needs

 

[Wiggum]

For the most part the process is the same until I get to the Kegging part? Instead of bottling it keg it?

 

[helibrewer]

For the most part the process is the same until I get to the Kegging part? Instead of bottling it keg it?

Yes, making the beer is identical regardless of the packaging method. Welcome back, I started back in the early 80's myself, there are a few changed philosophies from our "old school" teachings and new techniques and technology.

 

[Pie_Man]

Welcome back to the hobby and welcome to the forum. Do you plan on brewing extract or all-grain?

Either way, you'll need a large pot, carboys or fermentation buckets, sanitizer, tubing to transfer from carboy, that sort of stuff. Typically kits do include bottling equipment, but other than the capper, most of that stuff is real cheap. Might be a good idea to have the equipment is case you change your plans.

Sorry, I don't have any advice on using a 1/6 sanke keg for homebrewing. I would think cleaning them might be a major concern. You may also want to research the cost of the part you'll need to make the keg operational. You may find it's cheaper and easier to buy corny kegs.

 

[Wiggum]

I already have a nice sized pot that I never got rid of and I have a couple of cappers already. I don't need the kit at all. I can piece it together. Since I have a couple of Sanke kegs I'd like to give them a try first. Going to stop by my local Homebrew store next week to see what they have.

 

[barneygumble]

Go to your local homebrew supply store for your standard hardware like fermenters, hosing and such. Go to Walmart.com, if you are going all grain, and buy a beverage cooler for a mash tun, then go to youtube.com to find one of the thousands of build a mash tun tutorials there. With about 30 bucks and a trip to Home Depot, you can buy all the stuff to convert it and build a mt outta the cooler.

For the sanke kegging system, there are many sites available, like kegworks.com to buy your set up. Google kegging equipment for sale and see what happens.

 

[Wiggum]

I will do all grain down the road, but I want to do some extract kits the first few to get back in the game. I have a kegerator setup already as I have been buying kegs for the past few years now.

Thanks for the advice on the Mash Tun

 

[lindenboy]

Kegging is trick when compared to bottling -- well, to put it even more simply: There is no comparison! Using a sanke to keg though can be a pain, because of the difficulty in getting those things open. We've got a couple valve pullers, which were failry pricey, and even then the split rings are a PIA.

Consider not taking them apart again. With an old sanke coupler, you can remove the check valves, and fashion yourself a part by which you can rinse, clean, and sanitize your keg without ever pulling the stem. There are plenty of acid rinse products out here for this kind of use, all you really need is some pressure to push the product into the keg. Then you can agitate with brute strength (shaking). Rinse by upending the keg and blowing clean water through the liquid line and letting the excess empty through the inlet / outlet (this is why you have to disable the coupler check valve parts).

It's not necessarily the most traditional fill / clean process, but since you already have a few nice kegs, why not make some lemonade out of those "lemons." All you're really doing is manualizing what a commercial keg cleaner would do -- on a smaller scale with manual labor.

If you need any further advice, look us up. We also have a bunch of used parts available.

Cheers and good luck.