Im Done! It's Over! No More Bottles!

[Tony]

I love my easy drinking beers to put on tap in 50 liter quantities. I also love all the other styles of beer there are to be brewed.
I dont really love having 50 liters of robust porter or IIPA on tap as the "only" beer i have. I do like having these beers as something i can have one or 2 of late at night when i feel like it.

I have always bottled different styles so i can put a bottle in the fridge and enjoy it.

But............... and its a big BUT

Since i have moved to my new house in the Hunter Valley....... i just cant get a beer in the bottle in good form. They all get this odd infection that seems to hit during the racking stage. I Just bottled my saison which i racked a few days ago and its had the richard. I can taste and smell the strange sweet funk thay get. It was fine untill i racked it and yes i know............ just bottle from primary. No. I cant handle lots of yeast in the beer. I have thought of filtering and re-intorducing yeast before bottling but im juts gunna hit the same problems.

Im F#$ken sick or wasting money trying to make something to bottle.

My answer............ KEGS!

I brew my easy drinkers, when there done i crash chill in primary for a few days, run into a keg and filter, carb and god damn if they arnt great. Local brewing friends that are also BJCP judges tell me the beers are great so i figure i have the kegging down pat. I remember giving Les a glass of my cluster bomb pale ale and he went...... Awwwwwwwww (which made me cringe cause i thought he hated it) and he says....... Id like to see a beer like this in competition. they made me smile

Im not after advice on how to fix my bottling dilemas. Im sick of going over that and failing. Simple answer it to take the bottles to the tip and get a big chest freezer, 3 or 4 tap font and have a few differemt beers on tap.

Im over entering comps now days. Ive done well there and dont feel the need to prove anything to myself or others. I just want a selection of nice beer on offer for myself and anyone who visits.

Now......... to my question

Who can tell me a good place to find a good, fairly new, large (500L or so) chest freezer?

I have been looking on evilbay for a while and if i wanted a 140 liter freezer i would be set.

If Knows of a good large chest freezer within a few hours drive of Newcastle..... Id love to know about it.

cheers

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Pussy

 

[Franko]

Sorry mate but evilbay is your friend or newcastle gumtree http://newcastle.gumtree.com.au/

Franko

 

[Franko]

Pussy

lol :lol:

 

[geoff_tewierik]

What's your budget Tony?

I've seen some pretty cheap new chest freezers at Good Guys, that even I contemplated buying for that eventual chest freezer requirement of 6-8 beers on tap.

 

[Tony]

Pussy

Cock smoken' skank! :lol:

With friends like you............

Budget....... at the moment im at the point of whatever it takes. I have lost enough beer to pay for most of what i need so...... whatever it takes.

I have thought of a new one but should really go investigate the prices. I just figured it would be way to much.

And i will check that link Franko..... thanks mate. And dont encourage him

 

[sm0902]

There's a place in Mays Hill/Westmead/Parramatta that has a very good range of second-hand fridges. Sure, it's not very local to you, but thought I'd mention it.

No affiliation, etc, etc ...

I picked up a great fridge for $275.

I believe it's Allworth Fridges | 160 Great Western Hwy | Westmead | 9635-5533

If I recall correctly, he shares premises with a commercial fridge seller (mostly second-hand also). Several large chest-freezers.

 

[Sammus]

unlucky mate. Probably not the cheapest option, but http://www.onlineappliances.com.au/ do online sales of factory seconds etc. looking at about $1k for a 500L job, plus whatever they want for delivery (haven't investigated that, it's free to the gong).

Apart from that, I'd say keep an eye on the trading post, gumtree and ebay. eBay you're likely to have to look to syd to get anything decent in a hurry, but IIRC you have a ute, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. A couple hours drive could be worth it, ive seen some crackers go pretty cheap on there.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Cock smoken' skank! :lol:

With friends like you............

Budget....... at the moment im at the point of whatever it takes. I have lost enough beer to pay for most of what i need so...... whatever it takes.

I have thought of a new one but should really go investigate the prices. I just figured it would be way to much.

And i will check that link Franko..... thanks mate. And dont encourage him

Next you will be telling me you are thinking of going BIAB....

 

[Tony]

2 more good leads..... thatks guys.

A drive to sydnew will not be a problem, and yeah mate..... the ute will get it home no problmes

Stu......... BIAB?

Next you will be telling me you have Vista on your computer.......similar comparison

cheers

 

[Phoney]

Maybe checkout second hand catering equipment sellers.

 

[crundle]

You can still bottle from a keg anyway if you ever felt like it, just vent the excess gas till the beer pours out really slowly, and get some foam happening near the end to help drive off any air and then whack a cap on the bottle, good as gold!

Bummer about the infection thing, hope it doesn't follow to your kegs mate!

Crundle

 

[FarsideOfCrazy]

500 liter chesty is pretty huge, you sure you want one that big?

How many kegs do you want to store at low temps at one time? I was looking at the 320 liter F&P and it was pretty big. Maybe something around the 320-360 liter will be more suitable, if it will hold the amount of kegs you require.

Make some discs out of cardboard of the footprint of your kegs and see what sort of floor space you need. Or better still take them to a couple of stores to see how they will fit on the floor of the chest freezer your interested in.

 

[Tony]

Yeah i should lay them out and neasure up.

I plan on 2 x 50 liter jobs and a couple cornys. That could become 1 x 50 liter job and 4 cornys.

Yeah your right.... i should be able to fit it in a 360 L freezer.

Might drop into the local white goods place with a tape measure.

Cheers

 

[reviled]

My chest freezers about 340L and I can fit 6 cornys in it and some bottles, if I put a collar on it I would be able to fit 8 cornys...

I know how you feel with the whole bottling thing Tony, so much easier just to have multiple beers on tap If I ever bottle anything these days its either the left overs from the fermenter (which sit for months before theyre touched), or a couple of bottles from the keg to take out with me...

I try to have at least 3 beers on tap at all times...

 

[Mantis]

Stu......... BIAB?

Next you will be telling me you have Vista on your computer.......similar comparison

cheers

Hey, dont compare vista with BIAB. Vista is a dog, BIAB purrs :icon_cheers:

 

[bowie in space]

Shit...

i just bought a new Dell PC with Vista...

...and my BIAB bag from gryphon just turned up the in the mail...

:unsure:

Bowie

Loser.

 

[Tony]

I dont have a problem with BIAB mate.......... i just wont use it :icon_cheers:

I have a mental disorder that wont let me boil wort unless its clear from the mash. I know it probably wont make much difference but im strange B)

I compare brooms at work with black snakes....... i wont pick either of em up

I mentioned to a workmate today that its bloody hard to find a good large freezer thesedays and he says......... there is one in the shed at his wifes fathers place (who just passed away) and i could come have a look at it

Fingers crossed its in good nick.

I have PM'd GMK about a font....... is he still selling fonts?

cheers

 

[altone]

2 more good leads..... thatks guys.

A drive to sydnew will not be a problem, and yeah mate..... the ute will get it home no problmes

Stu......... BIAB?

Next you will be telling me you have Vista on your computer.......similar comparison

cheers

Nope .... BIAB works, Vista on the other hand .....

 

[wyatt_girth]

I don't know for sure what the prices are like but I keep meanin to go for a look at the whitegoods myself at that Harvey Norman Homestarters at Broadmeadow. Ad says that they have new gear that has "dents and scratches" and other supposedly cheaper than normal.

Any actually shopped there to confirm?

There's also a whitegoods joint Maitland Rd Mayfield that repairs and sells. I went for a look a while back and they had a lot there. Can't remember the pricing, sorry, but might be worth a look if you are nearby.