I love kegging, but it's definitely a bit of an issue as if I had to bottle, I definitely wouldn't brew and therefore drink as much as I do. Another nice thing is that the brewpub I frequent will fill a corny for me if I bring it in. That came in handy for me this winter when it just got too cold to brew as regularly as I like to. So that allowed me to keep a third beer on tap all winter.
I have an 8 keg keezer and usually have 5-8 beers on tap. I am the only beer drinker in the house. I end up giving away a lot of what I brew, but I keep the best stuff for myself. Within the last month I just kicked a 7+ month old keg of milk stout and a 6+ month old keg of Kentucky common. Both were amazing beers, the time had done nothing but improve them. As was mentioned above, the secret is sanitation and care to prevent oxidation. Here are some of the things I do on every batch:
Soak everything in starsan for at least 1 minute
Purge kegs with CO2 before filling
Only transfer beer in the morning when dust hasn't had a chance to be stirred up yet
Use sanitized aluminum foil over the top of the carboy and the keg while transferring to prevent bugs from the air falling in
Use a long piece of tubing (no racking cane) to transfer so I can fill from the bottom of the keg without splashing. I purge the keg to help with this, but it doesn't get rid of all the O2
Purge the headspace 15 times after filling the keg - waiting 5 seconds between each purge to allow gasses to blend. Almost no O2 should remain after this.
Cold crash in the keg only so I don't have reverse bubbling into the fermentor
Soak beer lines in starsan between kegs
I do everything I can to keep the beer safe from bugs and oxygen after fermentation has begun. I'm sure some of this will sound crazy to a lot of people, but after having some of my first kegs go stale on me I decided to step up my defense.
It sounds like you've got a nice process, but I recall seeing some calculations on purging, and I'm pretty sure you're way over purging. But no judgement from me...c02 is cheap, whatever gets you good results.
I purge about 5 times. I also purge the keg itself 5 times prior to filling it. Then I (you might consider incorporating this since you sound as thorough (or more!) then me) fill through the diptube by connecting the end of my autosiphon to an out fitting. I unscrew the release valve ever so slightly so to allow gas to exit the headspace as the keg fills, and this way I don't ever have to open the lid of the keg.
The rest of your process is pretty much what I do.
Kegging is no where near an issue if you have to bottle as long as you have a beer gun or counter pressure filler of some sort. For example...
My keezer only holds three ball locks (beers 1,2,3) and I have beers 4 and 5 still in primary ready to keg. I can bottle straight from the tap, so instead of having 50+ bottles for each beer 4 and 5, I'll just bottle from two of the three kegs that's closest to being empty in my keezer and put them in the fridge. Then I'll rack beers 4 and 5 to the empty kegs and let them condition while I continue to enjoy beer one from the keg and beers 2 and 3 from the bottles. With beers 2 and 3 being half full, I should only have to use 40-50 bottles instead of about 100 for beers 4 and 5. I've got two more beers on tap and I can still enjoy bottled beer that's already conditioned ready to drink.
Win win.
Just pulled my first pint tonight. Man it put a smile on my face. I feel like it makes the beer taste better too. Is this fact or just because of my perception that kegged beer is better?
Just pulled my first pint tonight. Man it put a smile on my face. I feel like it makes the beer taste better too. Is this fact or just because of my perception that kegged beer is better?
the last pint typically would be my choice more often than not...
And then there is that heartache when you pull the actual last pint that fills with yeast
With a sanke keg, you get a clear gurgling warning noise and the last pint is truly the last pint yeast free! Love the sanke kegs! The smaller dip tube on a corny keg likely sucks up the yeast...
Pulled the trigger on a 2 tap tower system today from Ontario Beer Kegs...painful initial cost to swallow but cannot wait for it all to arrive and build my kegerator! Slowly eliminating all the parts I hate about homebrewing (mostly cleaning) from my process and can't wait to not have to deal with bomber bottles all over the place and cleaning them all the time!!
I guess Im the one person here who likes bottling more than kegging. I hated cleaning kegs. I hated if I didnt drink for a bit I had to pour out half a beer to clear the lines.
What's the problem with the beer in the lines?
What's the problem with the beer in the lines?
No, not a perception at all...kegged beer is typically perfectly carbonated, and benefits from long term cold storage...haha...and you think the first pint is good, just wait till you enjoy the last pint, as that is the best beer in the keg quite often...although a fresh pint has its merits, the last pint typically would be my choice more often than not...
So I have the opportunity to get 4 corny kegs, a 2 or 3 tap hose and picnic tap dispensing set up, freezer, and CO2 tank for around 400 dollars. My question is, is it worth the money. My fear is that I wont drink the beer fast enough and it will go bad. I may have one beer when I get home from work and maybe 3 or 4 on the weekend. I know some beers can stay fresh for years in bottles but I'm getting tiered of how much time I spend having to collect, clean, sanitize, and fill the bottles. I realize I am the only one that understands my finances and that I am the only one that can truly answer this question. I'm just looking for some input from others who have a similar drinking schedule who have made the jump.
Depending on system design it may not be "chilled."
Also, it might leave a "plastic" taint or taste in the beer due the lines being PVC.
You can purchase Polyethylene lines instead to solve the problem.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/beer-line-tests-solution-plastic-taste-60380/
I have taken small samples and I haven't noticed anything. But I've only kegged one beer so far and it was a black rye IPA so there was a lot of other stuff going on in there.What GeneticBrew said. A small 2oz sample of the beer that has been sitting in the lines tends to taste a bit off. Try it next time you pour a beer and only pour a very small sample, taste/smell it, then pour another sample and see if there's a difference. For me, there is.
Question: When you have emptied the keg, what do you do with the liquid lines while they're not in service? I flushed with water but didn't know if more should be done.
Question: When you have emptied the keg, what do you do with the liquid lines while they're not in service? I flushed with water but didn't know if more should be done.
The DIY beer line cleaner is here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/diy-beer-line-cleaner-226497/
Initially I just used CO2 to push the warm water rinse and Star San through. It takes longer and either uses a lot of Star San or CO2. If you are committed to kegging the beer line cleaner is gold! If you don't keep up on cleaning and sanitizing your keg lines, eventually they will start to affect the taste of your beer.
Edit: the above is far more thorough then the hand made pumps too. And the hand made pumps don't last long. Fickle, and one more thing to futz around with.
To each their own. I just think the idea that you're paying for the parts to make the hand made pump to try and save a few pennies/ounces of c02 is misguided.
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