• Please visit and share your knowledge at our sister communities:
  • If you have not, please join our official Homebrewing Facebook Group!

    Homebrewing Facebook Group

Complete noobie really struggling

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

cjl73

New Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
3
Location
Pittsburgh
Hi all,

I've been lurking on these forums for a while but I'm still confused...!

I am an active user on many forums and I do get frustrated when a complete noobie doesn't search around for the answers before posting a "help me please" thread... but I've gone around in circles for so many weeks now I am completely lost and need some experienced guidance badly.

First off, I love beer, I have done some homebrewing with mixed results, maybe I'm just not patient enough... :-/ but I recently moved to Pittsburgh and with the plethora of fantastic microbrewers in the city, it seems futile to resort to brewing my own at this stage... maybe I'll return to it eventually but for now I want a way to have the fantastic brews offered locally on draft in my own apartment.

My dilemma - I have a small space (the unit's footprint can be no bigger than 25x33 - height is not a problem though) for a kegerator, but it seems after all the reading I have done on the forum that a keezer is a much better option... but the conversions I have seen are all on models that it would seem would not fit in the space available...

Also, my favorite brewer only does 64oz growlers and then jumps to 1/2 barrels... I do not mind at all if that's all I can fit in there, I love the beer they make so one option is fine, for now anyways... but is there a chest freezer that will fit a half-barrel but still fit in the space?

Has anyone any advice on what i should do?

I found this

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=145054#BVRRWidgetID

at sam's club... would it work for a half-barrel?

I can't go for the CL option as I don't have any way to transport a chest freezer (my car is tiny... city living). So my only option is a new fridge which will be delivered to my door, I also have a total budget of only 300-350 bucks or so (I'm a poorly grad student)...


I also don't know what fridge I would buy if a keezer is not the better option, the oster and sanyo models everyone converts don't seem to be available anywhere (new) anymore, and I need new as I have no way to transport one second hand :-(


So, in summary, to fit a single half barrel keg, is there a chest freezer that would work, that I can get delivered? Or is there a fridge option?

I would much rather convert a fridge or freezer myself (both for the fun of it, and as it would save $$$) and I enjoy a little bit of DIY now and again :-)

Sorry for the essay, if anyone can help I'd be much obliged...
 
You'd better be on beefy fella if you're going to heft a 1/2 barrel up, over and in that freezer unit.
 
You'd better be on beefy fella if you're going to heft a 1/2 barrel up, over and in that freezer unit.

Indeed, my teenage years were spent back home in Ireland in the family pub stacking full barrels three high on wet wednesday mornings on my own so I should be just about able to manage to heft one into a chest freezer ten years on...
 
Hi all,

I've been lurking on these forums for a while but I'm still confused...!


I can't go for the CL option as I don't have any way to transport a chest freezer (my car is tiny... city living). So my only option is a new fridge which will be delivered to my door, I also have a total budget of only 300-350 bucks or so (I'm a poorly grad student)...

First off, good luck to you. Also, good luck to your Steelers. I hope you cripple the Jets in ways they haven't even dreamed of.

That said, as a guy with a truck who sells stuff on CL... Respond to any ad you want, and offer a twelve-pack as well as loading assistance to a seller of something you want and can't transport, and I'll damn near guarantee that you'll get it delivered.
 
I don't know if a half-barrel would fit in that 5.0cu chest freezer. Maybe get the exact keg dimensions then visit Sam's Club and do some measuring to see if it would work. You'll also need to be able to fit the keg tap, tubing, etc., in there as well. I'm guessing you'll have to install the C02 tank on the outside with such a small freezer unless you build and install a freezer collar to give you more space - which isn't too difficult.

Have you been to a place called "BeerNutz" there in Fox Chapel? They may have some other ideas/suggestions for you as well.

Also, the Church Brewery is very cool!
 
Thanks for the responses guys, I called a local brewery yesterday and despite only advertising 1/2 barrels, the brewer assured me he can also do 1/6 barrels which seems a more reasonable amount of beer for home use... plus with 1/6 barrels I could have options on draft :-)

Seems like I have more options with fridges and freezers now that 1/6 barrels are available...

Thanks again... and let's go steelers!
 
Back
Top