Newb seeks advice.

[DarthRader]

Sorry I posted this in the kegging forum before I saw this forum. Sorry for the cross post.

I have recently decided to take up homebrewing. My ultimate goal is to keg my own homebrew. I currently have a kegerator (http://www.beveragefactory.com/refr...dkc445bls.shtml) that I used to be able to by commercial 1/4 barrel kegs for. Howver, I have moved to a new state that doesn't sell kegs as small as 1/4 barrel. So, I have decided I will try and make my own.

I am completely new to this and am a little overwhelmed as to where to start. So I have some questions.

Should I start with a homebrew kit and bottle first?
Or is there a kit that will allow me to keg right away?
Can you get commercial style 5 or 7 gallon kegs or do I need to go with the soda kegs?
Is it possible to convert my current kegerator to accept the soda style kegs and taps?
How much space will the brewing take up?
Will I need a large refrigerator for the brewing process itself or just for the conditioning/storage of the kegs?

Thanks for any and all help.

 

[AlaskaAl(e)]

I don't know anyone, personally, who uses anything other than the Cornelius (soda) kegs. If you have all the funky tools and such for commercial kegs then I say go for it but you'll have much better luck with finding parts and such for the corny's. If you already have the Sanke tap set up in the kegerator then all you really need to do is add in a manifold that will let you split the gas line and put on a ball-lock air in line. If you have a single faucet you'll have to get creative to switch the line out easily but it can be done. If you want specifics drop me a PM and I'll give you some instructions.

If you don't want to bottle....don't. I haven't bottled a batch in quite some time and all my bottling equip. has been collecting dust. If you're looking to buy a kit, I would suggest seeing what's in the kits and buy everything seperately that doesn't involve bottling (capper, caps, priming sugar, etc.). Getting the "kit" might seem like you're saving money but it doesn't save much/any if you don't plan to use it.

As far as conditioning goes, you don't really need a fridge unless you want to lager. Many beers can be fermented/conditioned in 68-75 degrees. If you want to lager you can find plenty of help on this site with setups but I wouldn't get too worried about it right off.

Brewing takes up as much room as you let it. If you get a mountain of stuff then you might want to set aside some serious space but I don't think a starter kit will need much more than a corner of a closet.

Hope that helps.

 

[Turricaine]

Kegging ur beer is deifnately the right thing to do. You should think about buying a keg as one of your first investments in homebrew kit. The price of kegs do vary depend on which website you visit.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/draftsystem-kegs.html
http://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/admin/...e=Pressure+Barrels+&+Spares&pagesize=0&page=1

I personally have the King-Keg Top-Tap system