Life as a Musical

thehappyhomebrewer:

So I’ve begun thinking about kegging my beers. It’s become something of a necessity these days, mainly due to the fact that I am sick and tired of bottling each and every batch of my beer. Since beginning my all-grain brewing odyssey earlier this fall, the amount of beer leaving my brew kettle has…

Kegging is the way to go!

1) You don’t need to put the keg in a refrigerator, but it will take longer to carbonate and clear if you don’t. You could make a jockey box to serve cold beer from the warm keg.

2) I live in an expensive area of the country, but here is about what I remember spending.

• Refurbished and tested keg: $40
• Regulator: $75
• Ball locks (one for gas and liquid): $12
• Hose clamps: under $3
• Food grade hose and picnic tap: about $6
• 10 lb CO2 tank (from oxygen company): I think it was about $90. About $115 to 120 for the tank (which you will own) and the CO2.

3) Kegging is better. The beer will still age, but there is little chance for oxidation of your beer.

An alternative which will save you some money is to “bottle condition” your keg like you would when you bottle, and buy a Portable CO2 Corny Keg Charger for about $22 for dispensing beer from the keg.

Good luck. It’s worth the investment.