NOOB - brewing to keg and dispense by tap

[Lagerloveruk]

Hi guys, really new to this, to the point where I haven't bought any kit yet. I would like to brew my own lager or pale ale, but only to dispense through a keg. I would like to know the process for brewing kegged beer and how to dispense it correctly. Ideally I would like to store the brew in a 25l plastic keg and force a gas mix into the keg, then through a cooler and out a tap. Can anyone advise on brewing techniques and how I could do this please?

 

[Pie_Man]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Brewing beer is the same whether kegging or bottling the final product. I recommend reading this forum including the stickies at the top of the page in the beginners section and/or howtobrew.com to get an understanding of the brewing process.

To keg, at least here in the US, home brewers typically use old stainless steel soda kegs (5 US gallons ~ 19L) called corny kegs. The kegs are usually force carbonated using CO2.

The setup you describe is called a jockey box. It's typically used for portable situations like outdoor parties since electric powered refrigeration might not be available. This forum has a kegging section and you can search google for keezers (chest freezers converted into kegerators) or home brew kegerators for a lot more info. You can also converter a variety of refrigerators to serve as kegerators. Fridges and freezers are usually used for home kegging setups.

Certainly the plastic keg would need to be strong enough to handle the pressure. Stainless is easier to clean and sanitize, but plastic is possibly doable. I am unfamiliar with a plastic keg as you describe, not to say such a product doesn't exist.

This is a fairly general response, I hope it helps. I could possibly assist further with a more detailed question.

 

[Lagerloveruk]

Thanks for reply. The plastic keg is designed to withstand the pressure and it's used in the uk to clean the beer lines in a commercial bar. Few more questions;

So I brew my home brew as stated on the most websites, but they recommend adding sugar to the bottle after brewing, to carbonate the beer. Do I add the sugar to the keg to carbonate also?

The gas I can get is either 50/50 or 75/25 co2 and n2. Will this do?

I would like to use a cooler as I would like to set the bar up in the roof space and getting a fridge up there isn't easy.

Are there any threads where someone has done what I'm suggesting with instructions?

 

[Pie_Man]

So I brew my home brew as stated on the most websites, but they recommend adding sugar to the bottle after brewing, to carbonate the beer. Do I add the sugar to the keg to carbonate also?

Typically, you would just carbonate with the gas. The beer would need to be carbonated and chilled prior to serving. Here's a good write up for a jockey box build: http://www.kegworks.com/company/kegworks-community/product-instruction-docs/jockey-boxes.

The gas I can get is either 50/50 or 75/25 co2 and n2. Will this do?

This is called beer gas and it's a little trickier to work with because of the higher pressure, but it is doable. Some prefer beer gas over CO2 as the nitrogen can add a smooth, creamy, texture to the beer. More info: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/nitrogen-75-carbon-dioxide-25-a-52489/ and https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=7597.0.

Cheers

 

[Lagerloveruk]

Thanks for your help.

The cooler I'm talking about is more like this though.

http://cornelius.com/markets-and-solutions/beer-and-cider/products/coolers/shelf-coolers.aspx

Looks like a need to find an adjustable gas regulator too.

 

[Kingbogart]

If you're going to be running beer gas, as in not 100% CO2 you will likely need a NO2 regulator, they are designed to hold the higher pressures generally associated. Using that style of cooler appears to be fairly simple. On your liquid side, you would simply go from keg, to your cooler in, and then another line from your cooler out to your tap. This could be a picnic tap, or something fancier, it sounds like you're on a roof so not sure which look you would go for.

 

[Lagerloveruk]

When pressurising the keg and waiting for carbonation should the beer be stored chilled or room temperature and stored for how long?

 

[Kingbogart]

The colder the beer the more CO2 it can hold. Most people chill their kegs for a couple days before putting it on the gas. There are a number of CO2 kegging charts, something like this should get you in the ballpark