I am thinking that I will spring for a cornelius keg (~$30), however this is the first beer that I have brewed, so are there any reasons that anyone would advocate not doing so for the first time? Also is it still necessary to use secondary fermentation when you are kegging as opposed to bottling? Are there any guides that I can read on recognizing the tastes in beer, I am relatively new to beer and I really enjoy the taste of it, but it is hard for me to recognize and distinguish, aside from going out and making myself broke buying tons of beer (which I almost have anyhow), is there a guide that will do something like tell me to buy contrasting or similar types of beers and would describe the differences, so I can read and taste?
Do I need to use secondary fermentation for a cornelius keg
- Thread starter Wheaties
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Don't get a keg unless you've got the cash to spend on a proper setup. I thought I'd do a ghetto keg setup...ended up tossing a batch of beer. Bottles work just fine for one heck of a lot of gallons of beer every year, they are good enough for your beer too.
I'm going to assume that you are also going to buy the necessary CO2 tank, regulator, etc... to dispense your beer as well. This will drive up your initial cost a bit. Secondary fermentation (aka aging) can be done in a keg just as easily as in a carboy. Realistically, it's not even necessary for standard gravity ales, you can just leave the beer in the primary longer.
As far as the beer tasting aspect, trying commercial examples of various styles really is the best way to learn about them. You can also read about the different styles here.. The BJCP will also list commercial examples and describe some of the flavors you should be tasting.
My personal process for evaluating a beer is to review the style guidelines before or while drinking the beer. Rate the beer using a BJCP scoresheet, and then compare my reviews with others on this forum or BeerAdvocate. I do not like to read the reviews first, as I feel this corrupts my personal observations.
As far as the beer tasting aspect, trying commercial examples of various styles really is the best way to learn about them. You can also read about the different styles here.. The BJCP will also list commercial examples and describe some of the flavors you should be tasting.
My personal process for evaluating a beer is to review the style guidelines before or while drinking the beer. Rate the beer using a BJCP scoresheet, and then compare my reviews with others on this forum or BeerAdvocate. I do not like to read the reviews first, as I feel this corrupts my personal observations.
First of all you need to realise that the term "secondary fermentation" is probably incorrect in the way you are using it.
You more likely mean a secondary vessel for clearing and conditioning.
No you don't need to use one but it may make your beers better.
You more likely mean a secondary vessel for clearing and conditioning.
No you don't need to use one but it may make your beers better.
Kauai_Kahuna
Well-Known Member
Kegging adds some major cost to homebrewing, kegs are getting more expensive, and even filling up CO2 bottles is becoming expensive. Kegerator fittings are not really cheap any more either, but "dragon tap" on a 5 ft 3/16th line works well too.
Having said that, bottling is my personal hell. For me it so much easier to clean and sanitize a keg, rack the beer into it, carb it up to seal it, and put it in my kegerator with constant head pressure while it conditions. One to four weeks later I rotate it over to an open tap and I'm a happy person.
Compared to cleaning and sanitizing each bottle its as easy as rolling out of bed, unless I screwed up my back moving the keg into the kegerator.
Having said that, bottling is my personal hell. For me it so much easier to clean and sanitize a keg, rack the beer into it, carb it up to seal it, and put it in my kegerator with constant head pressure while it conditions. One to four weeks later I rotate it over to an open tap and I'm a happy person.
Compared to cleaning and sanitizing each bottle its as easy as rolling out of bed, unless I screwed up my back moving the keg into the kegerator.
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