Christmas purchase incoming....

[Flat Foot]

I've done a usual brewing journey (cider > extract kit > country wines > all grain) and to date when I've done beers I've put two gallons in a pressure barrel and bottled the rest.

I've never been 100% happy with the pressure barrel. I'm always aware that the beer won't last long in it, and have to repressurise using the 16g CO2 cannisters 2-3 times when using despite only drinking a pint or two at a time and being meticulous with the vaseline and not overtightening parts so I don't warp any seals.

Last night my wife asekd "what did you want for Christmas anyway". And it's my birthday in January too.

I'm going to move into kegging, aren't I? It's inevitable.

Just the one.... right? That's all I need

 

[Rodcx500z]

I've done a usual brewing journey (cider > extract kit > country wines > all grain) and to date when I've done beers I've put two gallons in a pressure barrel and bottled the rest.

I've never been 100% happy with the pressure barrel. I'm always aware that the beer won't last long in it, and have to repressurise using the 16g CO2 cannisters 2-3 times when using despite only drinking a pint or two at a time and being meticulous with the vaseline and not overtightening parts so I don't warp any seals.

Last night my wife asekd "what did you want for Christmas anyway". And it's my birthday in January too.

I'm going to move into kegging, aren't I? It's inevitable.

Just the one.... right? That's all I need

Just the one yeah right they breed quicker than rabbits and the beer taste's great as well

 

[Flat Foot]

Just the one yeah right they breed quicker than rabbits and the beer taste's great as well

*Cough* I meant I'll start with one. At least that's what I'll mention to my wife when she queries why another has turned up in the future

 

[AnimatedGIF]

I bought one last year. Now I have 5.
For me it was a change for the better and I have no regrets.
It can be an expensive outlay initially (the keg and regulator being the two that spring to mind, but the beer/gas lines and fittings can add up too), but I find it very satisfying indeed.
Do you plan a keezer or kegerator too? They can be relatively inexpensive (cheaper than a keg itself, for example)?
There are a number of options when it comes to kegs - new/second hand, 5L/9.5L/19L/23L etc.
I have both new AEB ones from Malt Miller, and Kegland, and reconditioned from Brew Keg Tap - happy with all of them.

 

[Flat Foot]

Funnily enough I spent a bit of my lunchbreak before walking the dog staring at various parts of the house and working out where I could put a fridge.

When I first starting looking at this I wasn't sure whether to start with a 5l minikeg as it would be easy to fit in the existing fridge, but figured it was better to start out larger and get smaller things if it seemed sensible, as opposed to trying to do it the other way around, wishing I'd gone for a larger vessel first.

Currently my wine and bottled beers live under the stairs, it's quite cool there and the temperature doesn't fluctuate so may try that first.

Re size, it's been one of my frustrations that there's nowhere locally I can see these physically, it's hard to get an idea of how much space one will actually take up so I've been relying on photos on here to get an idea. Obviously the keg itself is one thing but then factoring in all the gubbins on top...

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Yes, you're right to consider the space taken by the accompanying parts. Particularly the gas bottle and regulator, but also the most common disconnects add a not-insignignificant height to the keg. I know the Malt Miller include dimensions in the kegs they sell, which is helpfull. They can be pricier than other suppliers, but they now sell reconditioned kegs too. They and Brew Keg Tap do complete keg starter kits, and are my go-to suppliers for 90% of my brewing needs.

 

[gyurmaember]

The out of box kegerators are the size of an undercounter fridge, plus the tower height, mine accomodate 4 kegs, or 1 commercial one. And it live in the living room. Made by kegland. I hope it helps.

 

[EsterBanana]

Must resist.... must resist...

The one aspect of kegging that I am finding very difficult to resist is nitro for stouts!

Must resist... must resist...

 

[ChilledGecko]

Kegs do breed in the dark, I _currently_ have 10
And the wife knows.....

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Kegs do breed in the dark, I _currently_ have 10
And the wife knows.....

How did you let her find out? I had one delivered this week had to wait until nightfall to sneak it out of the cupboard in the house and in to the garage.

 

[ChilledGecko]

How did you let her find out? I had one delivered this week had to wait until nightfall to sneak it out of the cupboard in the house and in to the garage.

She actually purchased my last four!
.... one of them is carrying a sparkling rose. Only fair

 

[AnimatedGIF]

She actually purchased my last four!
.... one of them is carrying a sparkling rose. Only fair

Keep. Her.

 

[Gwen]

Yes kegs definitely grow. I started with 1 keg. Converted a fridge to a 2 tap kegerator. Now discovered I can fit 3 into it. . So now have 6 kegs. Hubby says we need a bigger fridge.

 

[gyurmaember]

FWB the way to go, I have 7 kegs, and I can buy as much as I want.

 

[crowcrow]

Another plus one for brewkegtap - great company and you can't get much cheaper even if you buy bits and bobs from China - their 'starter' kits are good and good value. Just find someone supplying co2/cellar gas locally and you ae good to go.

My other 'tip' if you are going the keezer or kegerator route is to consider going new or nearly new for your cooling unit. An A* chest freezer will pay for itself in maybe three years over the higher electricity bills of an older freezer or fridge. I have 2 chest freezers - one for food and one for beer. I ran a monitor on them to see what they cost and the one for food uses bout £35 of electricity a year, the keezer is less than £15. An older chest freezer can cost well over £100 a year to run (and don't get me started on boxing them in so they can't radiate heat and have to run extra cycles...) /rant

 

[stripeyjoe]

Malt Miller currently have reconditioned ‘grade A’ kegs for £105 a pair with free postage. If you sign up to their emails you’ll get 5% off as well! I bought a pair from them earlier in the year and perfectly happy with them. Also won two in a KegThat raffle on here, they are of a similar quality.
I bought most of the disconnects & taps from AliExpress.

 

[mrhardware]

Kegthat Often run raffles on the forum.
2 recon kegs what size you want. I bought 2 £4 tickets and won defo worth a go due to low ticket numbers involved

 

[Flat Foot]

Spent part of my lunchbreak at the scrap metal merchants filling out a form for my gas. I'm now a proud owner of a huge Hobbybrew CO2 tank. That'll cheer my wife up

"You know you can't use that for welding" said the (genuinely kind, helpful) lady. I reassured her I've never been near a welding torch in my life.

Just put in an order at Brew Keg Tap. I know that's an odd order to do things in, but if the local scrappie didn't have any it was going to be a 2-3 hour round trip to alternatives, so wanted to be sure first.

I also got some new gas for my burner yesterday and have what I need for my next brew ingredients wise, so I think I might try to get a ferment going this weekend....

 

[chillipickle]

You will never look back once you have kegged you beer, was a game changer for me

 

[Flat Foot]

My keg arrived today from BKT. It's very pretty.

Now just to be patient and wait for the current ferment to complete.

Out of interest, why do they ship pressurised?