Is it worth Kegging?

[GrantH]

I'm looking to get into kegging within the next bit, but I don't know if it's worth it since I don't have a way to keep them cold constantly. Is it a bad idea to brew 10 gallon batches, bottle 5, keg 5, and not keep the keg chilled until time for a party or similar?

 

[Qhrumphf]

I don't keg (don't have the space for a kegerator/keezer, nor the money for the equipment) but I'd see no problem keeping a filled keg uncarbonated and unchilled. But it needs to be cold to carbonate, and that'd take a couple days. I don't know how long it'd hold carbonation if you were to carb it up, then take it off the gas and out of the fridge.

 

[rhamilton]

You can convert a barrel or trashcan to serve kegs out of for your parties. You can also carb kegs naturally with priming sugar, you just need CO2 to seal the keg up so it'll hold pressure. All you'd need to do is get the keg on ice 24-48 hours before the party and you'd be good to go!

I would suggest looking into another fridge or chest freezer (They can be found well under $200) -- kegging is much faster than bottling.

 

[H-ost]

I do 10 gallon batches 5 gallons bottled and 5 gallons kegged and I love it.

You can certainly carb it to the correct volume and leave it then throw it in the fridge to cool it down 2-3 days before the party. You can still carbonate kegs at room temp it just takes a little longer, eventually it will all reach equilibrium.

 

[landshark]

The real question here is what is taking up fridge space that is so important when a Keg could go there?

 

[JoshuaW]

I would prime them then chill them before serving. Start saving for a cheap kegerator, it is addicting!

 

[cheezydemon3]

$50 15 cu ft chest on craigslist $50.

If you don't have the space for a freezer, kegging is still awesome.

Sanitation would have to be TIGHT to store a keg warm for months.

 

[spokaniac]

I have a counter top chilled dispenser so I carb my kegs at room temp. You have to get them up to 30-35 psi to get them carbed up but it works. Fortunately the beverage lines are long and narrow enough that I still get a good pour at that pressure.

You could probably even make a jockey box and just fill it with ice/water when its time for a party.

 

[Duckfoot]

Kegging is sooooooo much easier... You can bottle from a keg (see We No Need No Sticking Beer Gun... If the budget allows, grab a cheap chest freezer or even a fridge to keep at temps...

 

[Clonefarmer]

Kegging without a dedicated fridge is possible, but it's a PITA. I did it for a while before I found a cheap fridge on Craigslist. As the weather heats up it gets harder to carb the warm kegs.

 

[GrantH]

The problem is that I live at home for now, and luckily they don't mind my brewing...but they wouldn't allow for the freezer. I thought about a fermentation chamber/chiller combo, but i'm not sure if that will fly either. I am still thinking about it though. The jockey box was my first idea as well, but I don't know how it would work with kegging at room temp.

 

[mfox79]

An alternitive is to keg with corn sugar and purge the oxigen out with co2, Then carbonate warm for 1-2 weeks and chill and serve. I have been doing this for over a year now as I dont find consistant results with force carbonating. as for chilling as someone else mentioned build a jocky box or buy a trash can to get it down to temps or start kegging in 2.5 gallon kegs. it takes up no room in the fridge especially if you dispense with a paint ball tank/regulator set up or even small co2 cartritdge set ups. best of luck and hope that helps,

 

[shoreman]

How cold is your basement? I was doing this for a while in he basement - in the winter it was perfect temp for serving

 

[GrantH]

We don't have basements here. That's asking for a flood.

MFox, you are saying to get a keg system; add the corn sugar to the keg, seal it up and let it carb; push co2 in which pushes o2 out; chill and serve or use jockey box?

 

[mfox79]

What I do is almost the same as bottling. I siphon my beer to a keg, while the beer is transfering I boil 1/3 Cup corn sugar and pour that into the keg. once the beer transfers I put the lid back on the keg and hit it with 30psi of co2 then pull the release valve a few times to purge out the oxigen and let the psi get back to 30 psi. after that I take the keg off co2 and set it in my living room @ 60-70 degrees and let it sit for 1.5 - 2 weeks to prime the keg then chill, purge off built up pressure and start dispensing. it seems to give me the best results so far.

 

[masonsjax]

This is what i do exactly. I usually measure out 3oz sugar to prime one corny (even use cane sugar sometimes) which gets the co2 volumes very close to what i want in most of my beers. Works like a charm.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Sounds like treating the keg like a bottle is the best option.

That kegs regardless of temps. (adjusting sugar obviously)

It will just suck to cool down a whole keg for 1 or 2 mints here and there.

I am thinking chill plate............OR


One of those white wine chiller whirlpool things at the mega liquor store?

Probably not efficient, but I am guessing that is a secondary consideration.

 

[spokaniac]

I just started kegging and got a set up with a counter top, refrigerated dispenser. The beer goes through some stainless steel coils that are in a cold water tank. I have my kegs sitting at room temp and about 32 psi. The beer comes out of the tap so cold it hurts your tongue. I would imagine you could put something like that together with a small cooler and some 1/4 copper tubing pretty cheap. Sure it would be a bit of a pain to fill the cooler with ice water every time you wanted a pint or two, but without having a refrigerator.....
and it would be portable in case you wanted to take it to a friends house or to a party.

 

[BigRob]

I got into kegging before having a fridge too, used to set my 2 kegs in front of the drafty door to my balcony, in the winter it'd keep the kegs ice cold. Not so much in the summer.

Eventually an old neighbour was cleaning out his shed and offered me an old (early 80s) mini fridge that fits 2 kegs. You can usually pick these up on CL for 20-50 bucks too. I leave the CO2 outside the fridge, I'd rather have 2 kegs cold.

Edit: also, in respect to the post above mine, stainless... never copper.

 

[spokaniac]

BigRob, I agree stainless would be better than copper if you can find it at a reasonable price. I don't think copper would be that much of a worry for this as there would be less leaching of copper at the cold temperature of the jockey box than you would see from a copper IC dropped into your hot wort. You would want to drain it between uses also and not let the beer sit in there to get warm and spoil.

 

[GrantH]

Why is copper bad in this case and not when chilling wort? Does the cooler temps change things that drastically?

I think I may ahead with this in the next few weeks. I am trying to find a fridge as well. Worst case is I go with a jockey box, best case is I find a fridge. I wonder if there is a way to run both fermentation and keg chilling from the same mini fridge.

 

[H-ost]

Why is copper bad in this case and not when chilling wort? Does the cooler temps change things that drastically?

I think I may ahead with this in the next few weeks. I am trying to find a fridge as well. Worst case is I go with a jockey box, best case is I find a fridge. I wonder if there is a way to run both fermentation and keg chilling from the same mini fridge.

If you want to do lagers....

 

[GrantH]

Ya...that is something I want to do, but I meant a split box some how that would hold at both temps. No big deal though, i'd rather chill kegs.