Kegging and Pouring

kermettfrog · Jan 11, 2011

Hi All, still fairly new to the world of homebrew. I am currently in the process of making three new brews (coopers european, australian, dark ale) with a view to keg the lot (except for the 4 litres left over from each). I have a few questions and any help would be great. Also sorry if the questions are a bit long winded. Just want to make sure i dont miss anything.

#1 With the australian ale and dark ale, there are no special instructions with regards how long to ferment in the barrel. If i was bottling, it would be a case of leave in the barrel for 7-10 days, then bottle for 3-4 weeks. As i will be kegging, should i transfer to the keg at the same time i am due to transfer to bottle? When kegged, what temp should i store at?

#2 Pretty much the same question as above however the european lager expects to be bottled for 12 weeks at least. After initial brewing, when should i transfer to keg?

#3 So far i have completed all my brewing in pressurised barrels. I noticed that Fermenting bins are pretty cheap and would allow me to get a lot more brewing. Will fermenting barrels work in the exact same way as a pressurised barrel received as part of a starter kit?

#4 Sorry for so many q's but this should be the last. I recently acquired all the equipment for dispensing from a keg. i hope to dispense these using a Stella tap i purchased recently on ebay. Looking at it last night it seems that there are three lines coming from the tap. two thick black ones (3/8/) i assume and one thin clear one (3/16). Does this make sense? Do i only need to connect one of these? How do i connect it to my existing line coming from the keg

I really appreciate help with any of these questions. Really excited now about pouring my first pint of homebrew?

kermettfrog · Jan 12, 2011

anybodyyy?? help, im panicing. lol

jamesb · Jan 12, 2011

#1 You need hydrometer readings to tell when it's ready to keg or bottle. You want the same gravity reading for two days on the trot, ideally around 1010 or less (maybe more on some kits). If you let us know the gravity then we can tell you whether it's ready to go, if you haven't got a hydrometer, get one.

#2 Same time as you bottle, if you're not using a secondary vessel before bottling - if you don't know what that is, don't worry - not everyone does it.

#3 No. The clue's in the name. FVs won't hold any pressure so you'll end up with flat and possibly oxidised beer.

#4 Two of those lines (the 3/8 ones) are for running coolant round to keep the tap cold. Don't worry about these. The beer goes through the smaller one. With regards to dispensing from this tap, you won't easily be able to do it with a pressure barrel as they rely on pressure to dispense. It will work for a few pints, but unless you're gassing up then it won't work.

What type of keg do you have?

kermettfrog · Jan 12, 2011

James, really appreciate the help.

For questions 1 and 2, thanks for the help, i will be good to go with those now.

For #3, what are the FV's for then? I thought it would be possible start off in here for seven days then move to the bottle/corny keg?

for #4, really sorry, i should have said, i have 3 corny kegs. in that case how would i connect the smaller line to the 3/8 line?

jamesb · Jan 12, 2011

Ah, sorry. I thought you meant using the FVs for conditioning and serving from. Yes, they'll be fine for fermenting more brews.

You can get a 3/8 to 3/16 reducer from Harmony Hut on Ebay. You may want to play about with lengths of 3/16 line to stop foaming on dispense. Search the forum for line balancing.