Small kegs for dummies

[whovous]

I've avoided kegging for a long time. I brew mostly APA/IPA in 3 to 4 gallon batches, and I brew a little more than once every other month. With this timetable, kegs seemed a little too expensive and complicated for me.

But I am getting tired of the results I get from bottling and this leads to willingness to throw money at the problem.

Given my brewing habits, what do I need for a 3 or 4 gallon keg set-up? If someone could tell me the best practices, I'd appreciate it. I am looking for the best and/or the easiest ways more than I am looking for the cheapest ways.

What do I need?

 

[McKnuckle]

Corny kegs typically come in 1.75, 2.5, 3, and 5 gallon sizes. Yet they all cost roughly the same, give or take $10, making it hard to swallow the smaller sizes. This was my attitude for a couple of years.

I finally bit the bullet and switched entirely to 2.5 and 3 gallon kegs, and those are the size of the batches I brew, usually 2.5 gallons. Every other aspect of my brewhouse is "normal" by home brewing standards. I love the fact that I'm brewing the right amount of beer for my drinking habits, available space, and brewing setup.

I have four 2.5 and two 3 gallon kegs in a six tap keezer. I mash in a 5 gallon cooler, boil in an 8 gallon pot, and ferment in 5 gallon corny kegs. I have other equipment too (smaller and larger), but this is my standard setup for the 2.5-3 gallon batch size.

Everything about the smaller kegs is the same as for the bigger ones: CO2 tank, regulator, manifold, tubing, taps, and a place to keep it all cold.

HTH

 

[Sadu]

The above is pretty good advice. I brew 6 litre (1.5 gallon batches) and 30 litre (7 gallon batches) and use 5 litre (1.25 gallon) + 19 litre (5 gallon) cornys. They have the same connections and work nicely together. The small ones cost almost twice what the big ones cost. Go figure.

Lets cut to the chase though. IPAs are one of those styles where you can really benefit from a low oxygen environment. I would totally recommend fermenting under low pressure in a 5 gallon keg then doing a closed transfer to a 3-4 gallon keg. The advantage is that the beer never gets to see oxygen and you will totally love the difference in flavour and aroma that this makes. If you are doing this to get better beer and you like IPAs then this is a no brainer decision IMO.

 

[NSMikeD]

I have three 2.5 gal torpedo kegs and prime them and let them condition before putting on tap. My DIY kegerator is limited to one keg at a time as mini fridge that I confiscated from my son's for when he returned from college.

This volume enables me to use 5 gallon kits (typically gifts from family) by simply cutting the recipe in half .

A keg is simply a large bottle, so that part is very easy, other than adding some CO2 on top to purge the air when you keg.

You can get mini fridges that will fit two kegs and it's an easy DIY job. Lots of videos on this.

The keezer build is also a simple DIY, you just need the proper regulator.

There is a rule of thumb on the line length that you should find in the keezer build threads. That will help with proper foaming.

 

[myndflyte]

If you don't need to dive into kegging immediately, then take your time purchasing what you need and wait for things to go on sale. I got my kegs about a year before I was set up to keg simply because one of the websites had a great deal that I couldn't pass up.

 

[Weezy]

The two easiest ways to improve the quality of your beer are ferm temp control and kegging.

I use 2.5 gallon kegs exclusively. I brew 3 gallon batches, leaving me enough beer post fermentation to fill a keg.

A great benefit of 3 gallon batches is the ability to use a 5 gallon corney as a fermenter and force transfer to serving keg.

I built a traditional keezer with a chest freezer, but I wish I would have bought an upright freezer and just put taps out the front door. 2.5g kegs would work well in that shape and easier to deal with than a chest freezer.

I prefere the skinny metal handled kegs to the black rubber bottom/top kegs, but i'd like to try the torpedos as well.

 

[whovous]

Thanks for the responses. I have a 7.1cf chest freezer that I use as a fermentation chamber when I brew (which is not all that frequent) and to hold commercial beer when I don't. It can easily hold keg(s) as well.

I don't really need to install taps, do I? It will probably be a pretty rare event to have two brews ready to drink at the same time.

Are some kegs, manifolds and regulators better than others?

 

[McKnuckle]

You need to install some kind of tap, but it can just be a picnic tap attached to the beer out post, coiled up on top of the keg waiting to be used. Doesn't have to be plumbed through the freezer wall.

I'm sure the answer to your last question is "yes" but I wouldn't have guidance for you there. There aren't that many makers of 2.5 gallon kegs, so typically they are new and all of good quality. 5 gallon kegs have been in use for decades so they are all over the place - from ancient used but still serviceable ones to brand new ones.

 

[whovous]

OK, so far I think I have decided I want new 2.5 or 3 gallon ball lock keg(s) and that I will use picnic taps. I also think I want to get a carbonation stone and lid.

What should I look for in a regulator?

And what about CO2 tanks? New? Used? Size? Refills? I am not sure how to think about this last issue.

 

[dyqik]

OK, so far I think I have decided I want new 2.5 or 3 gallon ball lock keg(s) and that I will use picnic taps. I also think I want to get a carbonation stone and lid.

What should I look for in a regulator?

And what about CO2 tanks? New? Used? Size? Refills? I am not sure how to think about this last issue.

Any of the tap-rite or similar regulators sold for kegging will be fine. If you can get a package with a y-splitter, shutoff valves, check valves and captive nut barbs, then go for that. A y-splitter will let you carb one keg while serving another, or just seal up a keg for natural carbonation. Later you can join two regulators together if you want to have two pressures available, and most brands can be joined to each other with the appropriate tube.

The CO2 tank depends on what you have available to you for refills. If you only have exchange options (or that's most convenient), buy a used tank (possibly direct from the exchange place), as you won't be keeping it anyway. If you have a refill place as your most convenient/cheap option, then buying a new tank might be worth it. But you'll eventually have to either exchange it or pay for recertification.

 

[Weezy]

The kegs with the rubber top and bottom are nice and sturdy but don't stack well and rubber won't sanitize. The ones with the metal handles stack better and it's easier to get to posts etc while stacked as well.

If I was buying all new kegs i'd probably buy the slim torpedoes. I could fit one more on the floor of the keezer.... but it's nor critical. They all work fine.

 

[whovous]

Stacking is not real important for me. I do not brew all that much and my 7.1cf freezer is pretty big. Is one style easier to use than another?

 

[Weezy]

Not enough to matter.