How hard to keg

[Brewing1976]

I bottle my beer. Looking at kegging. how hard is it to keg? How long does the beer have to sit before tapping it and how many glass can I expect to get out of 5 gallon keg? If there is anything else I need to know please fill me in.
Thank you

 

[jmcquesten]

It's easy to keg, but there IS a learning curve. The biggest issue is usually foamy and under carbonated beer. The cause of this is bad information about beer line lengths given to people that are just starting off kegging. Many people buy kegging kits, or piece them together, and start with 5 - 6 ft of serving line for their beer. This is usually where the foamy problem starts. Kegging is great, but do yourself a favor, start off with 12 to 15 ft of 3/16 beerline and properly carbonate your beer.

 

[camonick]

...and how many glass can I expect to get out of 5 gallon keg?...
Thank you

How big are your glasses? If they are 12oz glasses, it’s the same as if you bottle (~ 50–52 glasses/ 5gal) 16oz pint glass = ~40 glasses/ 5gal

 

[LittleRiver]

This video was very helpful to me when I was first learning about kegging.

There are a lot of crap videos out there, but that one is very well done, and very informative.

 

[Brewing1976]

This video was very helpful to me when I was first learning about kegging.

There are a lot of crap videos out there, but that one is very well done, and very informative.

I watched that one earlier it’s very helpful

 

[Leapsandbounds]

I just kegged for the first time three days ago. It is pretty easy to do. However, there are some upfront costs. There are various carbonation methods out there with a range of times (anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 weeks).

Edit: Should be around 40 pints for 5 gallons.

 

[JHulen]

I kegged my first batch a few days ago and it came out perfect. I did a lot of research prior so I was able to avoid over/under carbonated beer. I’ll tell you what I did for a carbonation schedule. It may not be the best way, but it worked perfectly for me.

After the beer is cooled in the keg hook up the gas and set to 30 PSI. Leave at 30 PSI for 48 hours. Then purge the pressure from the keg, and set it to 12 psi. Hook up the beer line and pour a pint.

It was that easy. Use a calculator online to figure out your proper beer line length. For me the calculator said 10.08 feet, but I just made it an even 10 and it worked fine.

 

[Beer-lord]

Most people keg to save time but I find everything (but the cost) about kegging a winner. As usual, keep things clean and add as you go into it. You don't need to start off with everything at once. And, I strongly suggest keeping a few extra parts around such as ball lock (or pin) disconnects, hose, washers, rings, etc. If you check all the fittings when you clean the keg, then when you're ready to keg, it's a snap.

 

[deadwolfbones]

I got into kegging fairly recently (a few months ago) with a secondhand four-tap keezer. So far it's been great, but it hasn't been without issues.

1. The beer line that came with the keezer was leaving a really awful taste in the beer. Replaced it and the problem is mostly gone, but I still have to pour off the first ounce or two after it's sat for a day or more if I don't want to taste plastic (or vinyl, I guess). Allegedly there are more expensive kinds of beer line that leave less of a taste when beer sits (bev-seal ultra, etc) but I haven't tried them yet.
2. My primary regulator seals properly but I have a leak in my secondary that I haven't been able to diagnose yet, so I'm currently running just two gas lines and rotating them between my four serving kegs after they're properly carbonated. I'm pondering giving up on the secondary and just getting a couple wye valves or a four-way manifold, but it sure would be nice to be able to carb at four different pressures instead of just two.

I have five-foot lines, but I'm running Perlick 650SS flow-control taps. No issues with foaming or under-carb.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

5 gallons of beer is 2 cases

I started out with a ferm chamber that was a 5 XF chest freezer with a temp controller. When I upgraded from 1 bucket to 2 I reserved the old freezer as a keezer. Took a day off and loaded the freezer up into may car and headed out for the LHBS. Grabbed a clerk I had worked with before and who's opinion I trusted. Made him show how every component worked in the system. Placed kegs and co2 tanks into the freezer to ensure everything fit. Asked lots of questions. At the end of the day I went home with a lot of knowledge and the parts I needed to put my keezer together. Over the course of the following weekend I assembled the parts and did my first keg batch.

The hardest thing for me was bringing myself to put the empty beer bottles on the curb with the trash. So sad. We had spent so much time together. Washing, sanitizing, filling, conditioning. I felt a bit guilty putting my old friends out like..... old beer bottles. I like to pretend the trash man is a home brewer and that the bottles are still being used today. Yes, in fact I'm quite certain that's the case.

 

[ApolloSimcoe]

[

We had spent so much time together. Washing, sanitizing, filling, conditioning. I felt a bit guilty putting my old friends out like..... old beer bottles. I like to pretend the trash man is a home brewer and that the bottles are still being used today. Yes, in fact I'm quite certain that's the case.

I just did the same with mine. They were adopted by a nice family with a farm so there's plenty of room for them to run and play. I still cry a little.

 

[sicktght311]

I bottled for about 3 months before i decided "F&ck this, i'm kegging my beer". Its quicker to carbonate, easier to store, easier to serve, more control over oxidized beer, etc etc. That being said, its got a lot of upfront costs, and you still have to follow proper sanitation procedures. You'll need kegs, something to dispense from (kegerator, keezer, or just a fridge that fits a keg, co2 bottle, and picnic tap), Co2 bottle and fill, Pressure regulator, beer lines and fittings, co2 lines and fittings, etc.

BUT that being said i'll never go back to bottling unless i'm bottling from the keg. I turn beer around much quicker, I enjoy it more, and considering i like making NEIPAs, i'm much better at making them now.

 

[ApolloSimcoe]

almost 28 year of bottling here

 

[McKnuckle]

Ain't too hard to keg, sweet darlin'.

 

[Alex4mula]

It's easy to keg, but there IS a learning curve. The biggest issue is usually foamy and under carbonated beer. The cause of this is bad information about beer line lengths given to people that are just starting off kegging. Many people buy kegging kits, or piece them together, and start with 5 - 6 ft of serving line for their beer. This is usually where the foamy problem starts. Kegging is great, but do yourself a favor, start off with 12 to 15 ft of 3/16 beerline and properly carbonate your beer.

Sorry but not all. I have 3 taps of 5-6’ line that have worked perfectly from day one in my Keezer. 15+ kegs pf it. And I had zero experience with this before.

 

[balrog]

Ain't too proud to keg, sweet darlin'.

Fixed that for ya.

 

[McKnuckle]

‘Twas just a riff on the original, not a mistake.

 

[balrog]

I did not mean to come off so condescendingly, just being a wise guy.

 

[McKnuckle]

No worries and thanks! Just wanted everyone to know I wasn't clueless.

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

I went about a year before I made the jump to kegging. I did this after I had a few bottled batches failed to carbonate properly.

As everyone else has pointed out, kegging is easy. The start-up costs are hard. I chose to purchase all new equipment. Kegs, CO2 tank, refrigerator, ETC. Once I did that I never looked back.

I do still bottle some beer on occasions. But only a few bottles at a time at most. Usually beers I want to age and try again in a few months.