Serving temperature for kegs at party

[Griff097]

Has anyone tried serving beer from a party tap whilst away from home for several days?
I am hoping chilling before we leave then immersing the kegs in a water bath will be adequate, not sure what the groundwater temperature for the tap water will be, but hoping it's adequate for cooling.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I am planning the same 19L corny rigged up to a soda stream, we can only try, will carb before i go then just gas to serve, let us know how it goes

 

[Griff097]

I am planning the same 19L corny rigged up to a soda stream, we can only try, will carb before i go then just gas to serve, let us know how it goes

It's about a month from now so will let you know.

 

[hoppyscotty]

Did it at a BBQ once. Was really foamy. Think you need to drop the pressure to a few PSI ahead of serving to let everything settle down. If you try to serve at carbing pressure it will just foam up.

 

[Griff097]

Did it at a BBQ once. Was really foamy. Think you need to drop the pressure to a few PSI ahead of serving to let everything settle down. If you try to serve at carbing pressure it will just foam up.

That was my main worry, pints of foam, as I have got to drive it 50 miles first, do you think reducing kep pressure before the trip would help?

 

[Rodcx500z]

It's about a month from now so will let you know.

Yeah same here 1 month

Did it at a BBQ once. Was really foamy. Think you need to drop the pressure to a few PSI ahead of serving to let everything settle down. If you try to serve at carbing pressure it will just foam up.

Yeah i figured that out thanks for reminding me i can all but try

 

[Rodcx500z]

That was my main worry, pints of foam, as I have got to drive it 50 miles first, do you think reducing kep pressure before the trip would help?

your lucky mine is going 250 miles, i think a good cold crash to make sure it's clear so no sediment

 

[hoppyscotty]

Not sure how long before you should drop pressure as it was an afterthought and not something I actually did. I would imagine just 30 mins or so before would be fine just for the beer to settle after you drop the pressure as I imagine it will be foaming up inside the keg...you don't want to drop the pressure too far in advance or you might lose your desired carbonation.

 

[Joust]

Decant it in to 2l pop bottles before you go. Less classy. But works

 

[labrewski]

Definitely want to try eliminating sediment could be a bumpy journey cloudy pints
People will complain lol

 

[cushyno]

If you try to serve at carbing pressure it will just foam up.

Doesn't that depend on length and diameter of beer line connecting the party tap? If you take a 3m length of 3/16" beer line to connect the beer out disconnect to the party tap, there should be no problem.

Decant it in to 2l pop bottles before you go. Less classy. But works

1l tonic bottles FTW!
Enough for a couple of glasses without losing fizz, plus nicely portable. I recently took 4x 1L bottles of various ales on holiday. Even the stout bottled from a PB still had some fizz left after 50 miles and 4 days.

want to try eliminating sediment could be a bumpy journey cloudy pints
People will complain lol

Decant from your keg (well, from the tap attached to your keg) into a 5l easy keg. Stick one of these cheapo Schrader valves into a keg bung and Bob's your uncle. Top up the pressure with a bicycle tire inflator for serving.

This did me for 3 days before the beer
began to show signs of oxidising. But by that time the keg was as good as empty.
The cycle pump just helps get some pressure to maintain serving with a head.

 

[Dads_Ale]

Couple of thoughts on this.

Chill before travel and then wrap in something like a camping mat.

I have transported kegs for many miles and not found sediment disturbance an issue as long as you don't shake them up when loading/unloading.

If using a water bath remember the kegs will float as the beer levels go down.

If using the small plastic party taps get a few spares as the little plastic pins tend to break just when you don't want them to, rendering the tap unusable without a pair of pliers.

 

[Griff097]

Couple of thoughts on this.

Chill before travel and then wrap in something like a camping mat.

I have transported kegs for many miles and not found sediment disturbance an issue as long as you don't shake them up when loading/unloading.

If using a water bath remember the kegs will float as the beer levels go down.

If using the small plastic party taps get a few spares as the little plastic pins tend to break just when you don't want them to, rendering the tap unusable without a pair of pliers.

I was thinking about the floating earlier and plan to take some lond straps to keep them down, good points though, thank you.

 

[Graz]

not sure what the groundwater temperature for the tap water will be, but hoping it's adequate for cooling.

It's really not that cold at the moment, well at least mine isn't. After filling the kids pool last week the water was already at 20°C when it finished filling though it had had a few hours in the sun by then. I also made a kit beer (23L) last night and tried to keep the boiling water to a minimum, it was less than a kettle full in the end but still was over 23°C after topping up with cold. In the depths of winter I normally have to add a bit more hot water towards the end of topping up.

Maybe think about having a few bags of ice in your water bath.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Buy a set of plastic storage boxes, about the size of shoe boxes. On the front write Cheese, Meat, Veg, Fruit. When you get there strip the shelves out the fridge and put your keg in. Put your food in the storage boxes stacked up next to the keg. I’m sure the family will be cool with that!

 

[Griff097]

Buy a set of plastic storage boxes, about the size of shoe boxes. On the front write Cheese, Meat, Veg, Fruit. When you get there strip the shelves out the fridge and put your keg in. Put your food in the storage boxes stacked up next to the keg. I’m sure the family will be cool with that!

They would be cool with that if we weren't in a field Lol

 

[Griff097]

Yeah same here 1 month

Yeah i figured that out thanks for reminding me i can all but try

Had a mini disaster with a power cut while we were away and a freezer of defrosted food so totally forgot to depressurise the kegs before travel and as a side bonus they had warmed to 21 degrees!

Managed to blag an old fridge in a field and cool one keg overnight and then strapped it into a water bath, served perfectly until a few pints from the end then trub seemed to get mixed in as it was floating at a bit of an angle.
The other two kegs served right to the last drop perfectly.