Keg Settup

[theredone]

just haveing a think about moving to kegs. getting sick of bottling. anyways just out of curiosity while conditioning in keg does it need to be refregerated, or just at room temp? if yes, then ill need to buy a nice big fridge to hold multiple kegs while conditioning, if not i could get away with a small fridge for maybe 2 kegs while rest condition at room temp.

cheers guys

EDIT: oh and do kegs need to stand upright in the fridge(and or while conditioning) or can they lie on side?

 

[cdbrown]

Treat a keg like a big bottle. If you don't condition your bottles in the fridge then no need to do it to kegs. i'm sure you could lay them on the side, just make sure you've purged all the air out with CO2 when you kegged (should do that anyway)

 

[leonjw]

In the fridge i would stand them up if you are dispensing from them so the dip tube can get all the beer out.
Thats probably obvious though...

+1 for it being ok to condidtion kegs on their sides in a fridge or out of one.

 

[theredone]

ok sweet. cheers guys. might keep an eye out on ebay for a small bar fridge to fit 2 kegs in or something. missus wouldnt be happy if i got a big one. considering we have a normal fridge and a tempmate setup in a big old fridge out the back

 

[OzBeer_MD]

Better to condition in a fridge if you can, but if you cannot get a big fridge, dont let that put you off moving to kegging. As stated above, purging out the Oxygen and replacing the head space gasses with Co2 is the important thing.

 

[Bubba]

You can condition/store them outside the fridge as long as they are purged and sealed, or in the fridge.
I would store the kegs upright though, as you won't be able to dispense the entire keg, only 1/2 of it if stored on the side as the beer out tube is located in the centre of the keg unless you want to adapt it or make modifications, and if you intend to store on the side and then later move it to upright you will upset sediment that would otherwise be dispensed from your first pour if it was permanently upright, making your clear beer cludy again.

I have 4 kegs, and have 2 in the fridge at drinking temp and pressure, and 2 full and upright waiting for their turn so I always have pub bright keg beer!

Bubba

 

[Scruffy]

After the fermenting has done, in your new fridge... and you've dropped the temp to about 1-2 (in the fridge); simply pop the fermenter onto the fridge, filter into your keg, force carbonate, and drink...!

- should take less than an hour.

 

[matr]

After the fermenting has done, in your new fridge... and you've dropped the temp to about 1-2 (in the fridge); simply pop the fermenter onto the fridge, filter into your keg, force carbonate, and drink...!

- should take less than an hour.

+1 This is exactly what I do except for the filtering part. Drinking within 15mins of being kegged.

 

[theredone]

+1 This is exactly what I do except for the filtering part. Drinking within 15mins of being kegged.

oh so u dont need to let condition like bottles?

cheers for the help everyone

 

[Scruffy]

It entirely depends on

i. the style of beer you're making
ii. how thirsty you are

If you've rattled off another IIIPA, and it's been conditioning for about 3-5 weeks in the fermenter, then why not start to enjoy the bright burst of fresh hops; conversely, if you're into your belgian/barley wine monsters, then i dare say you would sit it in the cupboard under the stairs for the rest of the year... (and drink the IIIPA out of the other keg...), lagers i guess would require err ...lagering but i have no idea what a lager is or how you would brew it, I know they keep them in the freezer for a bit...

 

[theredone]

It entirely depends on

i. the style of beer you're making
ii. how thirsty you are

If you've rattled off another IIIPA, and it's been conditioning for about 3-5 weeks in the fermenter, then why not start to enjoy the bright burst of fresh hops; conversely, if you're into your belgian/barley wine monsters, then i dare say you would sit it in the cupboard under the stairs for the rest of the year... (and drink the IIIPA out of the other keg...), lagers i guess would require err ...lagering but i have no idea what a lager is or how you would brew it, I know they keep them in the freezer for a bit...

lol if ur reffering to the iipa i did a while back i think that was a bit of a failure. just too much going on in that one at one time. but yeah cheers i get ur drift..... possibilities of drinking straight after ferment is tempting..... id like a keg setup for xmas plz santa

 

[barls]

you can bulk prime kegs so they are just like a big bottle. i do this and it does save me some co2 as now i only use it to push the beer out.
as for ageing i stand mine up, ive even had a keg of raspberry wheat beer that i forgot about for almost 18months. if you are confident about your processes and sanitation, beer in kegs can last a long time.