Kegs?

[robster62]

I've been bottling my beers till now.
I like to drink a variety of beers, normally only one per night, maybe two or three at the weekend. How long will beer keep in a keg once started and is it worth the extr expense of kegs, second fridge to keep beer cool and any other equipment I may need. I am a complete keg novice. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

Rob

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hi Robster, i have recently started kegging i bought one keg from brew keg tap it came with all you need apart from gas and fridge, i have since bought 2 more (be warned they breed) compared to bottling kegs are a no brainer, as for how long beer keeps as long you can keep it in bottles, is it worth the extra expense for me yes, after getting set up additional kegs cost not much more than a pb so 50-70 pounds and will last a life time and i find it improved my beer

 

[St00]

As long as you keep the kegs cool and keep topping the head pressure up with C02 your beer will keep very well indeed. Hop character and aroma will fade as they would eventually whether in a bottle or keg.

 

[Horners]

Keeps for an age as completely inert once under the gas. As @Rodcx500z says your problem will be them breeding as if your only having a few pints a week you wont have a keg ready for next brew and ultimately that will become frustrating and once you have the rest of the kit the extra cost is marginal and if you order reconditioned ones are they really that expensive and if you order more than one you get free delivery and...and.....

 

[robster62]

How cool would I need to keep them? Does it mean I need another inkbird to go with the fridge I would need, or is normal fridge temp ok?

 

[Horners]

How cool would I need to keep them? Does it mean I need another inkbird to go with the fridge I would need, or is normal fridge temp ok?

Normal fridge - the ones of mine that aren't in the keezer have to sit in 30+ degrees at this time of year and I have never noticed that causing deterioration per se.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I've had beers keep at least 6 months in the keg with no problem at all; however to be honest I've normally drunk them well before then ;-)

The 'extras' vary a lot depending on what you're looking at, from a stainless steel 'Corny' with a full size CO2 bottle and regulator, to a simple plastic pressure barrel that you top up with mini-CO2 cylinders.

Just out of interest, I was getting a mate set up with a Corny setup a couple of weeks ago and the prices stacked up like this; you can doubtless get cheaper if you shop around...

Item	Price
19L stainless steel Corny keg	from £90 (new) to £50 (reconditioned)
full size (6kg) CO2 cylinder	about £20 for the gas plus £30-£50 returnable deposit on the cylinder
pressure regulator	£50
party tap and beer line	£10
ball-lock disconnects for gas and beer, with John Guest fittings	£12
check valve (optional, but stops beer going back into your regulator...)	£8
3/8 push fit tubing (for CO2)	about £0.75 per meter
second hand fridge	£25 - 30 ?
flowers to placate the Missus	£negotiable...
TOTAL	about £250 setup cost (including cylinder deposit)

 

[Horners]

I've had beers keep at least 6 months in the keg with no problem at all; however to be honest I've normally drunk them well before then ;-)

The 'extras' vary a lot depending on what you're looking at, from a stainless steel 'Corny' with a full size CO2 bottle and regulator, to a simple plastic pressure barrel that you top up with mini-CO2 cylinders.

Just out of interest, I was getting a mate set up with a Corny setup a couple of weeks ago and the prices stacked up like this; you can doubtless get cheaper if you shop around...

Item	Price
19L stainless steel Corny keg	from £90 (new) to £50 (reconditioned)
full size (6kg) CO2 cylinder	about £20 for the gas plus £30-£50 returnable deposit on the cylinder
pressure regulator	£50
party tap and beer line	£10
ball-lock disconnects for gas and beer, with John Guest fittings	£12
check valve (optional, but stops beer going back into your regulator...)	£8
second hand fridge	£25 - 30 ?
flowers to placate the Missus	£negotiable...
TOTAL	about £250 setup cost (including cylinder deposit)

Add on another £20 for inevitably getting something wrong and losing a tank of CO2 to the atmosphere.

 

[robster62]

Horners that's exactly the sort of thing I need to know, I've had a few bottle bombs recently as they are in boxes in the shed. I was hoping I could keep kegs stored like that until I needed to start on them.
TETA.
Thanks for that break down of costs, SWMBO says buy what you need. Would it be much more expensive to use soda stream cylinders?

 

[Rodcx500z]

This was my first one Standard Keg Kit with Deluxe Party Tap – BrewKegTap second was 68 including postage third one 60 no postage from Refurbished Cornelius Keg 19l (kegthat.com)

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

One think I do like about using kegs is that you can adjust the carbonation of the beer progressively until you get the result you want. Also of course you don't have to wait for secondary fermentation which means you can start drinking sooner...

 

[Rodcx500z]

Compared to a 6.35kg bottle soda stream is expensive

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

SWMBO says buy what you need. Would it be much more expensive to use soda stream cylinders?

Hmmm Sodastream cylinders only hold 60L gas, so if you're flushing out a 19L keg and then dispensing from it you're going to go thru one every two or three brews. In contrast I got a 6kg 'full size' cylinder about a year ago and it's still going strong with not a sign of getting low

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Argos prices on SodaStream gas.... I'm not sure whether you can get them cheaper...

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Add on another £20 for inevitably getting something wrong and losing a tank of CO2 to the atmosphere.

touch wood I've not yet managed that

 

[robster62]

The other issue I may have is the only place I can put the extra fridge is in the shed, so I would have to fetch beer in the dark in the winter months.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

We have a room under the house that's never more than 15 degrees and kegged beer kept for months in there. Hassle traipsing to it and using a party tap and top ups from a cylinder. Much better with a keg fridge.
You could always fill a growler from the tap of your keg in the fridge if you're having a few pints.

 

[chrissyr63]

Need to price in a head torch then

Oh and have a quick pint in the shed before you go back

 

[johnny108]

Growlers are handy if the fridge is out of the main house.
Additionally: if the fridge is visible outside, you’ll need to rig up a bike lock over the tap, etc. so neighborhood kids don’t drain the keg one night….
(Had a customer at the homebrew store I worked at lose a batch of beer that way)

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Growlers are handy if the fridge is out of the main house.
Additionally: if the fridge is visible outside, you’ll need to rig up a bike lock over the tap, etc. so neighborhood kids don’t drain the keg one night….
(Had a customer at the homebrew store I worked at lose a batch of beer that way)

The other issue I may have is the only place I can put the extra fridge is in the shed, so I would have to fetch beer in the dark in the winter months.

Seems that it's going to be in the shed so might keep the ne'er do wells away. Sometimes need the lock inside the house if there are teenagers about!