Advice On A Barrel Kegging Setup

[evildrakey]

I was wondering if anyone has had experience in mounting 1-3 taps into a 220L Oak Barrel, and if so, what did you learn and are they any pitfalls in doing it? I was planning on mounting the taps into the side of the barrel on one of the staves. The lines will emerge on the bottom of the barrel and through the table. Under the table will be either a jockey box or chest freezer. The jockybox/chestfreezer will be hidden underneath an embroidered tablecloth.

So all you see is a barrel on top of an table and tablecloth... I'm hoping I can take this and turn medieval re-enactment events into 'keggers'

I'm not the most practically minded chap and although the most scary brew recipe is a doddle for me, making 'equipment' scares the willies out of me...

 

[Phoney]

Why do you need such a big barrel if all that's inside will be tap shanks & lines? You could easily fit 1 - 3 taps out the side of a 20L barrel.

Also, unless you have a flooded font inside the barrel, how are you going to stop the lines / tap shanks from going warm?

 

[evildrakey]

Why do you need such a big barrel if all that's inside will be tap shanks & lines? You could easily fit 1 - 3 taps out the side of a 20L barrel.

Also, unless you have a flooded font inside the barrel, how are you going to stop the lines / tap shanks from going warm?

Big Barrel - I'm trying to build something impressive looking... Think of it as a medieval brewer's penis extension...

And that's a good point about the lines and shanks getting warm. I'm mainly serving english ales from this setup rather than lagers so the icy temps are not so much of a problem. How much warming will I get from not having the lines and taps chilled?

 

[stux]

I was wondering if anyone has had experience in mounting 1-3 taps into a 220L Oak Barrel, and if so, what did you learn and are they any pitfalls in doing it? I was planning on mounting the taps into the side of the barrel on one of the staves. The lines will emerge on the bottom of the barrel and through the table. Under the table will be either a jockey box or chest freezer. The jockybox/chestfreezer will be hidden underneath an embroidered tablecloth.

So all you see is a barrel on top of an table and tablecloth... I'm hoping I can take this and turn medieval re-enactment events into 'keggers'

I'm not the most practically minded chap and although the most scary brew recipe is a doddle for me, making 'equipment' scares the willies out of me...

I was planning on doing that

here's my miracle barrel that I take to medieval keggers



So, basically, I have 50' of stainless coil inside

I'll take some better photos on the weekend when I break it out for a party. But basically I assembled this to take to Rowany Festival, and it was a great success

Its a 6L port barrel, I removed the top head, then built a PVC lining. The shank and jockey connector are on the bottom, with lines running through the PVC sleeve. The gap between the wood and the sleeve are insultated, and the top is silicon sealed.

Half a bag of ice per day basically while actively pulling beers. Nice and cold.

 

[Verbyla]

How much warming will I get from not having the lines and taps chilled?

Depends on the ambient temperature, frequency of use and ventilation of cold air into the barrel from the freezer/fridge.

Most like warm enough for it to foam the first pour or two

 

[evildrakey]

I was planning on doing that

here's my miracle barrel that I take to medieval keggers

View attachment 54245

So, basically, I have 50' of stainless coil inside

I'll take some better photos on the weekend when I break it out for a party. But basically I assembled this to take to Rowany Festival, and it was a great success

Its a 6L port barrel, I removed the top head, then built a PVC lining. The shank and jockey connector are on the bottom, with lines running through the PVC sleeve. The gap between the wood and the sleeve are insultated, and the top is silicon sealed.

Half a bag of ice per day basically while actively pulling beers. Nice and cold.

I think I met you at the Brewer's Breakfast :lol:

 

[Maheel]

i like this

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/page...scars-beer-cart

you could just make solid wood wagon wheels like this rather than spokes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/conten...150_150x180.jpg


you now owe us pics of what you do and the wenches. we want pics of them !!

 

[evildrakey]

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/page...scars-beer-cart

Maheel... I think I love you... Project one, the kegger.... Project 2, the beer cart!

 

[Phoney]

I was about to say, if it's just for your parties: Stick your kegs inside the barrel, mount the taps out the side and then fill it with ice and away you go! You could even fiberglass the inside of the barrel to make it eternally waterproof.

 

[evildrakey]

I never noticed any Co2 cylinder in there... How's he keeping the kegs carbonated?

 

[Maheel]

would be small bottle like 2.5kg or 500g or maybe soda stream ?

 

[stux]

I think I met you at the Brewer's Breakfast :lol:

Yes, we were both there

 

[stux]

Yes, we were there

So, what's your SCA name?

I decided to go with the small barrel for portability reasons. My original plans were three kegs inside a barel, fibreglassed lining, ice bags to keep the kegs cool, small c02 bottle etc.

The thought of having to lug around a full wine barrel, with 3 kegs in it, and ice and c02 and everything made me feel almost physically sick. So I came up with Plan B

And its a good un, I take the little Miracle Keg to regular parties now so it gets a lot more use.

Mind you, the Beer Cart is an excellent solution to the problem of the sheer weight of a wine barrel.

 

[stux]

Oh, from my barrel research

 

[evildrakey]

So, what's your SCA name?

I decided to go with the small barrel for portability reasons. My original plans were three kegs inside a barel, fibreglassed lining, ice bags to keep the kegs cool, small c02 bottle etc.

The thought of having to lug around a full wine barrel, with 3 kegs in it, and ice and c02 and everything made me feel almost physically sick. So I came up with Plan B

And its a good un, I take the little Miracle Keg to regular parties now so it gets a lot more use.

Mind you, the Beer Cart is an excellent solution to the problem of the sheer weight of a wine barrel.

Well - my forum name is evildrakey - so that would make me Master Drake...

 

[evildrakey]

Well - my forum name is evildrakey - so that would make me Master Drake...

Hmmm... Okay - so I'm gonna need a 3 way splitter and perhaps a smaller co2 cyliner (have 2 x 10L) and some taps...
Hmmm... What would people recommend (I assume longshanks will be needed) tap wise. Looking for something vaguely medieval, perhaps with wooden tap handles...

I'd love the chelli gold plated's, but it's a bit lavish to whack 3 of those on a barrel...