First time Brewer/Kegger

[beer-head]

Hi all, thanks for an awesome forum. I have learnt alot in the short time I have been here.

I have got my first brew ever fermenting away and im pretty excited to get it all bottled up and try it in a few weeks. After reading a bit about kegging I have been thinking that instead of getting right into bottling I might cut straight to the keg setup. Im not sure if I am jumping the gun a little as I have not even completed my first batch. But i love beer, and the idea of having beer on tap at home gets me a little excited

Anyway, I have got enough room to build a bit of a bar so im thinking of just doing it all in one go. Im thinking a corner bar with a keezer underneath it and a font on top of the bar. I have made a bit of a sketch and this is what im thinking of.... excuse the ametuer incomplete sketchup attempt.


So im wondering will the font look strange on the high part of the bar as I have not seen a font on that part before. I cant think of any other way of doing it if i am going as i want the keezer to be hidden under the bar. If i have my beer hose going from the keezer through the bar into the font will I have warm beer in the lines? The line wont have far to go so I dont think it would be much of a problem. Any other problems with what im thinking or any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[givemeamash]

looks good...go the kegs

 

[stakka82]

Have a look at the kegging setups thread, plenty of people have done what you propose and you willk get some great ideas and info.

 

[ian_2005]

I think that you should do the hard yards bottling, then switch to kegging,,,,,,only so I can feel better about myself doing it for years !

Kegging is a one off investment (not the CO2), but the rewards last a long time. and the results are fantastic, your mates will love you and be very jealous ! Easier and more consistant than bottling once you are set up

My advice. If you can afford it, Do it.....it will pay dividends in the future

 

[punkin]

I have a half metre of hose external in my setup and i only get a quarter glass of warm beer in the summer on the first pour. After that it's unnoticeable.





Don't forget to leave room to get the fridge out to put kegs in if you are using a chesty.

 

[woodwormm]

good bit of insulation around the beer pipes and i'd be surprised if you got any more hot beer than punkin experiences, I have a collared chesty so theoretically no warm beer pipes and I find I still get a 1/4 glass of foam due the tap being hot... I think it's rare to find a perfect system on first pour.

 

[brewologist]

I think it's rare to find a perfect system on first pour.

Easy..... Leave the key fridge out on the back patio in a Southern Aussie winter. Its a balmy 4c outside at the moment. No worries about temperature differentials in your keg system

 

[beer-head]

thanks for the replies. yeah im not to concerned about the first 1/2 a beer or so being warm, having beer on tap at home will be to good to worry about that. I havent got a lot of money to spend on the setup at the moment, so ill probably start with the bar, and then get the kegging gear and keezer sorted. Ill bottle the beer until then and probably still bottle a few every batch when i get the keg setup. im definately no carpenter but love little projects and with all the info available these days hopefully i wont stuff it up. The plan is to build a corner bar out of timber, have bamboo edging all around the top of the bar, tiled bar top and bamboo screening wrapped around the bar covering the timber. Ill post pics along way once i get started.

 

[beer-head]

So the dream came to life, bar came up awesome just the way i wanted it. Brew now on tap, just in time for summer. Living the aussie dream hahaha

 

[surly]

Very Nice Beer-head!