Financials of Kegging- Am I Missing Something??

[TheMadKing]

the ease of kegging was great back when I was brewing a ton(and had 3 roommates to help consume) but now to leave kegs on tap for a week or so without pulling a beer just doesn’t make sense for me. Might go back one day, but not anytime soon.

doesn’t help a keezer would have to live in the garage while I’m on the main floor(second floor). And while the fiancé is willing to help bottle, it’s not the worst way to spend 30 minutes.

I don't understand this statement.. I leave my kegs "on tap" continuously for months at a time. There's no downside to keep the taps installed on them as long as you keep the kegs cold you can store them indefinitely (until the beer goes bad I guess... which is slower in a keg than it is in a bottle if you keep the oxygen out)

On the keezer issue, my wife made a deal with me that if I made the keezer look like it belonged in her kitchen, I was allowed to keep it in her kitchen... challenge accepted, so I built this

 

[Southern_Junior]

I don't understand this statement.. I leave my kegs "on tap" continuously for months at a time. There's no downside to keep the taps installed on them as long as you keep the kegs cold you can store them indefinitely (until the beer goes bad I guess... which is slower in a keg than it is in a bottle if you keep the oxygen out)

On the keezer issue, my wife made a deal with me that if I made the keezer look like it belonged in her kitchen, I was allowed to keep it in her kitchen... challenge accepted, so I built this

I have had a different experience with my kegs. They tend to go bad faster than bottles aging in the closet. I have also had issues as the kegs get lower on contents, they overcarb. Not saying kegging is bad by any means. Just that at this stage in my life with only me and my fiancé in the house, kegs are too much. I can bottle, give them away, bring them places and what not. Growlers could do this to some extent, but not the same levels of freedom.

Ultimately I look to get into canning all of my homebrew for ultimate versatility.

 

[TheMadKing]

I have had a different experience with my kegs. They tend to go bad faster than bottles aging in the closet. I have also had issues as the kegs get lower on contents, they overcarb. Not saying kegging is bad by any means. Just that at this stage in my life with only me and my fiancé in the house, kegs are too much. I can bottle, give them away, bring them places and what not. Growlers could do this to some extent, but not the same levels of freedom.

Ultimately I look to get into canning all of my homebrew for ultimate versatility.

Totally understand that you don't have the need for them, but if you get back into it some day there are solutions to those issues:

Closed/pressurized transfer to the kegs will keep oxygen out, which will increase their shelf life. Aging in a closet is generally a bad idea since colder temperatures keep beer fresh for longer (by slowing oxidation generally speaking). The kegs overcarbonating as they get lower is because you had your pressure set too high for the temperature you are keeping them at.

They would have gotten overcarbed when they were full but it takes longer with a smaller headspace, so as the headspace grows they absorb CO2 faster and you end up with the beer overcarbing before you can drink it. So if you set your pressure and temperature per the carbonation chart, that won't be an issue for you either.

Just don't want you to think it's hopeless and requires a high-turnover rate. Growlers are a lot more likely to come home than bottles too.

 

[day_trippr]

I agree, and I learned that lesson the hard way, if one wants a solid shelf life out of a keg one really needs to be obsessive about cold-side oxidation prevention - starting at the end of fermentation. Since that revelation I've taken kegs of neipa six months and the beer was still wonderful...

Cheers!

 

[TenaCJed]

I have not had an issue with kegs going bad, generally have a keg for 3 to 6 months before it is finished. I started right away with doing closed transfers, so maybe that has helped.

 

[bracconiere]

Will it fit in a standard fridge?

i keep my co2 tank outside the fridge....not sure if there's a reason that would be bad. but it's the way i've always done it...my fridge is packed full of kegs!

 

[Nagorg]

Like many have said, bottling wasnt bad when I did 2.5G batches in an LBK. Then I went to 5G and still not too bad. When I went to 10G-15G it became a nightmare. I'd take over the kitchen for hours between washing/rinsing/sanitizing all the bottles and then the batch priming and bottling. My wife would see me doing all of this "work" and she actually gave me the go ahead!

I found a keezer with two taps, a 20# CO2 bottle and 3 kegs on Craigslist for $500.00. Thats been one of the best $500.00 I've ever spent!

 

[jlinz]

Worth every penny.

 

[LittleRiver]

... kegs. They tend to go bad faster than bottles aging in the closet. I have also had issues as the kegs get lower on contents, they overcarb....

If you're not doing closed transfers, and have a lot of oxygen in the keg, then I can see your point about the beer deteriorating. But that is easily solved by doing a closed transfer. I do gravity powered closed transfers, it's so easy that there's no reason not to do it that way.

I agree with the others about overcarb, if you have the right temp & pressure it's just not a problem.

...I can bottle, give them away, bring them places and what not...

I find that kegging, then bottling a few beers from a tap faucet, is way easier and better than bottling full batches.

 

[szap]

If you're planning on using picnic taps these tap holders work good. Without them no matter how I tried to situate the taps, they always fell and wound up sitting on the floor of my freezer.

https://www.morebeer.com/products/t...BAk7Lt7-VhSzX-FqPBnftvJ6vpVne2_waAt_TEALw_wcB

 

[beernutz]

You can do it cheaper but if you like kegging you'll eventually be spending more.

I started with 2 kegs I bought for $5 each, a $50 new 5# CO2 tank and regulator (19 90-something prices) and a one tap jockey box I made for less than $50. Total cost $110. I used that setup for at least 5 years until I bought my first used chest freezer which lasted maybe a year. Now I ONLY buy new freezers unless they are given to me for free.

Seven years ago I finally built a 4 tap keezer and spent probably $600 to $700 in total. But by that time I'd accumulated 9 corney kegs, a 20# CO2 tank, an Argon tank for wine and a lot of other kegging-related stuff.

My point is you can pay now or pay later but you're going to pay at some point.

 

[BIGRUGBY]

Thanks for all the replies and advice guys! Speak of the devil I did just found a sweet craigslist deal on a six perlick tap setup with a 20 lb tank, regulator, and manifold within my budget. Now just to find a fridge or chest freezer in the midst of all the coronavirus hoarding! Glad I just bottled a 5 gal batch, finding a fridge may take a while.

 

[BIGRUGBY]

Decisions decisions....
A fridge would allow me to keep a yeast bank in the freezer but a keezer would most likely fit these six taps/kegs.
At least I have all the hard parts of the setup sourced. Input on fridge vs keezer? (I'm a young buck/spring chicken so lifting 50 lb kegs wouldnt bother me....yet)

 

[ChiknNutz]

I just picked up a used fridge yesterday (bottom fridge, top freezer) for the same purpose. It has been challenging to find something during this, at least at the price point I wanted to pay.

 

[Wigglebutts Brewery]

I picked up a 22 cubic ft frig w freezer on top unit when we did an office "refresh". I can jam 5 cornies in the main space, load the freezer w hops and the frig door shelves work great for glasses/growlers. A chest freezer looks a lot easier to sort out the tubing and secondary regulators than my frig but I put up with the hose mess. I currently have tank on the outside with a 3/16 line snaking in on the door hinge side pinched by door gasket. I'll drill some day to add a 5/16 gas line.

 

[gnef]

both have pros and cons for sure. The biggest consideration in my mind is the space you have in mind for it, and your access around that space.

For example, if you only have front access, a top/bottom fridge makes the most sense to me. There are some wide and deep enough to handle 6 kegs (I started with one - it was tight, but it worked with 6, and the CO2 next to the fridge).

A chest freezer can net you a much larger capacity if you have the space for a large chest freezer. This would allow you to condition and carbonate kegs before they are tapped if you are able to brew often enough to have a pipeline. When one keg blows, it is easy enough to just swap the disconnect and keep pouring.

For a chest freezer to work conveniently though, you need to have the space for one, as well as side access in addition to front access. If you build a collar and put the faucets on the front, you want to be able to load and unload from the side, etc.

I actually built a frame on casters with a winch so that I could lift in and out of the chest freezers without hurting my back - at the time I was using multiple chest freezers for fermentation and keg conditioning/storage, this was before building the walk-in cooler.

A chest freezer will also require a temperature controller - they are much cheaper nowadays, and can be found on amazon and ebay easily. I did find that chest freezers did not last very long for me when being run at fridge temperatures - though I always bought used.

You may actually be able to find a good deal on new this weekend, keep an eye out for flyers, coupons, advertisements, etc. You can also see if there is a good scratch and dent place near you, but those can be iffy too.

 

[Yesfan]

Decisions decisions....
A fridge would allow me to keep a yeast bank in the freezer but a keezer would most likely fit these six taps/kegs.
At least I have all the hard parts of the setup sourced. Input on fridge vs keezer? (I'm a young buck/spring chicken so lifting 50 lb kegs wouldnt bother me....yet)

That's another advantage for kegging no one has mentioned. Not only do you have a place to store/serve your cold home brew, but if you have the addition space, that can be used to.......

store/chill commercial brew, bottled brew
use as a yeast bank,
hop storage (if using a freezer/fridge upright),
lager a carboy (or a keg).

There is an upfront cost compared to bottling, but there's more to do with a keezer/kegerator once you start kegging your beer. I use a chest freezer and the baskets that come with most freezers are perfect for storing bottled beer and/or glasses.

Kegging is the one main high cost I've done with no regrets. The first pint you guys pull after you get everything built and dialed in will give you the same kinda goosebump feeling you got when you tasted your first batch.

 

[BIGRUGBY]

Thanks for all the replies and advice guys! Speak of the devil I did just found a sweet craigslist deal on a six perlick tap setup with a 20 lb tank, regulator, and manifold within my budget. Now just to find a fridge or chest freezer in the midst of all the coronavirus hoarding! Glad I just bottled a 5 gal batch, finding a fridge may take a while.

Now that I have all the taps, posts, and kegs. What do I need to maintain them? O-rings, keg lube, a post socket, a perlick faucet tool, keg wrench?, anything else? Where would be the best place to buy everything?

 

[gnef]

I personally keep a lot on hand for maintenance (I do have around 90 kegs though, so it is a lot to maintain!).

I'd recommend having spare o-rings of all three main sized on hand (dip tube, post, lid), keg lube, spare poppets, spare CO2 regulator seals (I prefer the plastic ones), deep socket that fits all your keg posts ( I have three, one with cutouts for pin lock, and two for the different sizes of ball lock posts), spare tubing to replace when needed, and any clamps that you use (I use push to connect fittings now, so I don't use clamps, but when I did, I prefered the tongue and groove oetiker clamps). A spare PRV is nice to have on hand as well. I keep star san in a spray bottle for leak detection. A faucet wrench should be in your toolbox too (it looks like a mini sickle with a post that engages with the faucet collar. I always keep a couple extra faucet o-rings too.

From there, handy tools I like to have on hand: channel lock pliers, knipex raptor pliers (they look funky, but work really well!), utility blade, tubing cutter, yellow teflon tape (it is a bit thicker), spare QD's and other fittings (I keep spare john guest fittings on hand, along with a bunch of other sized fittings for when needed). A rubber mallet is great if a lid is every really stuck in the opening.

Nice to haves, but nowhere near required: spare faucets and shanks, and related fittings, test gauge (I built one around a .1% accuracy Wika test gauge to check all my regulators and gauges), spare manifold, spare gauges (I prefer Winters P9S, I've swapped all mine out for these, and keep a few spares on hand, just in case). A big funnel for pouring sanitizer is handy. If you like to dry hop, getting one of those stainless mesh cannisters is convenient too.

This was all off the top of my head, if I remember anything else, I'll post another reply! (maybe I'll just go down to the beer room and take some pictures).

 

[Snark_Wolf_Brewing]

Wanting to get into kegging myself. Figuring on buying two 2.5 gallon corny kegs with picnic taps and all the fittings from Adventures In Homebrewing at some point, along with a CO2 tank, and making room on the bottom shelf of my fridge for it. Don't have the space for another fridge or freezer at the moment, and $600-$700 for a ready built kegerator is a bit out my price range.

 

[Pkrd]

The main benefits apart from avoiding the pain of bottling are being able to have half a beer with dinner, and guests really enjoy pouring their own.

I built my first kegerator with a cheap tower and a nasty old mini fridge. Learned enough to do a decent job on my current 4 tap kegerator.

 

[gnef]

Yup, being able to pour just a taster, or 1.5 beers for exactly however much I want is a huge benefit for me.

I should also say that I started with all used equipment, rear sealing faucets, and chrome plated brass everything. I started when craigslist was first started, so I was able to find some amazing deals - kegs and co2 tanks for about $20, etc. My first kegerator was a top/bottom fridge that had already been made to hold a sanke on a shelf, it came with a CO2 tank for $75. I used that for many years before building the walk-in cooler. I also gradually upgraded the hardware as I had money for it.

 

[day_trippr]

I've found homebrewing to actually have the best ROI of all of the many hobbies I've indulged in.
I mean, the all-time worst of them all is boating, closely followed by catch-and-release flyfishing, then model aeronautics, and large layout HO scale model railroading, to name just a handful.

There's literally zero consumables produced by any of those.
Meanwhile, I knock out somewhere between 150-200 gallons to enjoy every year

Cheers! (I love this hobby! )

 

[Nagorg]

the all-time worst of them all is boating

...And I've been pondering getting a boat...

 

[day_trippr]

Someone long ago coined the expression "A boat is a hole in the water filled with money"
Don't get me wrong, we love boating and our boat, but for most it's waaay more expensive than home brewing as a hobby, and it won't fill your glass...

Cheers!

 

[ChiknNutz]

I have several hobbies too. I float between them as interest waxes and wanes. Currently brewing is on the upswing and so here I am pouring lots of money and effort into it.

 

[Nagorg]

BOut Another Thousand..

@day_trippr ^^

 

[hout17]

So I went bottling->kegging and then back to bottling. I just couldn’t drink the beer fast enough out of the keg. It seemed easier to bottle.

anyone else go back to bottling?

I see where you are coming from I keg about half the time and bottle half the time. I have no problem putting in some time bottling. I also don't bottle more than 5 gallons at a time and usually bottle bombers so about half as many bottles as well.

I've also been burned by mystery CO2 leaks in the past even after testing my lines. Sounds like there was some good advise given to turn off your tank when you aren't pulling from the tap.

 

[LittleRiver]

...I've also been burned by mystery CO2 leaks in the past even after testing my lines. Sounds like there was some good advise given to turn off your tank when you aren't pulling from the tap.

Same thing happened to me when I set up my keezer. I lost a couple of bottles of gas. But I methodically searched for the leaks and eliminated them. The thing has been rock solid ever since. There's no need to turn off the tank if you don't have any leaks.

 

[day_trippr]

Hard to argue with that

Cheers!