Kegging

[smitty8202]

I have 2 batches under my belt on is bottled an the other has been fermenting for about a week and half. I will most likely bottle my second batch as i don't plan to buy all the equipment to keg in the next week or so. So with that said I probably won't brew another batch till the first two are gone. As far as the kegging goes I am just trying to wrap my head around the process. I'm the kind of guy that likes to plan everything out and make sure I have everything in line before going all in. So I guess my question is. What is the best set up I can buy. And the best and fastest way to go from wort to glass. I have been looking at the kits from keg connection and amazon. Just wanna keep my options open.

 

[Rev2010]

And the best and fastest way to go from wort to glass.

The fastest way is to skip the fermenter entirely and just pour the wort straight into the glass.





Joking aside, fermentation is fermentation so that is done when it's done, but afterward you can burst carbonate to expedite the process to glass. I've never done the roll the keg on the floor method and have no desire to but I've done the 30psi for 24-30 hours then reset to desired psi (say 13psi in this case) for only four more days and the beer was carbed up perfectly fine and came out amazing. So for me, 5 days carbing as opposed to 2-3 weeks in bottles at room temp is a big improvement, though I still mostly do set and forget for 2 weeks. Kegging is really easy, it truly is. But, as with anything new there'll be some learning and choices of how you'd prefer to do a specific task. For example, you can clean the beer lines a few different ways. You can push some cleaner through from the keg out the faucet, or you can buy a hand pump bottle and push from the faucet side into some container (I use a Rubbermaid 1 gallon jug).

Kinda hard to suggest a best setup is for you without knowing what you're trying to achieve. For example, I went with a 3-tap kegerator. The way I brew (only on weekends - ie. days off from work), and the amount of beer I drink, I pretty much won't ever have more than three beers on hand to tap up. So I don't need more. If you want 7 taps, for example, you'll want a keezer or fridge setup. More info would help others to direct you better.


Rev.

 

[smitty8202]

Single tap for now. Haven't decided with a keezer or kegerator. Probably go kegerator though as I don't have to worry bout getting a temp controller. And I probably won't have more than 3 kegs going at one time.

 

[day_trippr]

There is so much information on this site wrt kegging the first thing anyone considering the switch should do is spend at least a month simply reading - before asking the first question...

Cheers!

 

[Iseneye]

There is so much information on this site wrt kegging the first thing anyone considering the switch should do is spend at least a month simply reading - before asking the first question...

Cheers!

I spent a good couple of days reading up on everything on homebrewtalk, watched some youtube videos and didn't have any questions after that. The information is out there and easy to find - go through that first then if you have questions homebrewtalk members always have great answers.

 

[rodvik]

I would suggest a single tap kegerator and a couple of used 5 gal corny kegs. You can always add lines or pour directly from the second corny keg if need be.
I have a single tap kegerator with two corny kegs. I have one keg connected to the tap and one on standby for another brew. For me it was price and availability.

 

[Subdivisions]

Craigslist is your friend. I got an old kegerator (beermeister type) plus a 5 and 10 pound co2 tank with regulator for 150 bucks. With the beermeister I can fit 2 cornys and a co2 tank. You'll find corny kegs for around 50. I also found a 20 lb co2 tank with a regulator that was half full for free because the lady was afraid to have it sitting in her garage. That wasn't on craigslist though, my wife found it on freecycle (bless her heart).

You can carbonate quickly with certain methods but it's not going to make the beer condition faster. There's still that time that beer needs to come to its full potential.

Now get out there and find some equipment