Cider Kegerator musts?

[Gizzygone]

I was thinking about adding cider to my new kegerator, but I’m starting to realize it may be more involved than I originally had thought! So before I order a keg from the liquor store:

1: can I get away with using the included coupler and faucet for a few days? (I’m guessing they’re most certainly not stainless!)

2: are the standard beer lines okay to use (I heard somebody say you need special lines)

3: which stainless coupler (d-type) would you recommend?

4: Which stainless faucet/shank do you recommend?

 

[ehpower2]

Ok i have done this in the past before... I have the hardware to convert to commercial keg of cider any time i want and my tips are pretty easy. First of all i did not worry about special line as it is not important in a sense. It all follows the same rules of balancing the lines to make it pour correctly. Next find out the connection type and the pressure the brewery recommends for serving that will determine if you have long enough lines. It will also tell you if you have the correct connector or not. When ever possible i do like to have my ciders tough nothing but stainless as some of my home brew ciders are a touch acidic so it is an extra protection from leaching flavors. Other than that its is no different than putting one of your home brews on tap. Just make sure you have a long enough lines so you dont have foamy pours.

 

[Jonakr]

I'm gluten free, so I brew a lot of ciders in addition to GF beer. I have three kegs that fit in my kegerator. For two years I just used picnic taps in the fridge, but this summer I added three Intertaps through the side of the fridge. I cycle through whatever happens to be available without any problems.

I've never used equipment from a liquor store, though.

 

[Gizzygone]

Okay: it sounds like the standard vinyl beer lines are okay to use? (I thought I read someplace that you need specially treated lines?)

Now I’m just wondering if I can Tap this keg with my chrome equipment, or if I need to wait for the stainless connector/faucets to arrive!

 

[Maylar]

Regular beer stuff works fine. Pubs that serve ciders don't treat them any differently.

 

[Gizzygone]

Regular beer stuff works fine. Pubs that serve ciders don't treat them any differently.

Even the regular chrome faucets are fine? Reading through the forums here it seems like a big “no no”

 

[ehpower2]

I run all my ciders through stainless perlicks as this way I do not have to worry about any of it leaching flavors.. They not much more expensive versus the cheaper ones.

 

[Maylar]

Even the regular chrome faucets are fine? Reading through the forums here it seems like a big “no no”

Use the chrome until your stainless faucet arrives, and report back if you found any difference. I'm betting you won't.