Newbie advice needed regarding kegs and CO2 etc.

[Cervantes]

Hi there,

I'm new to home brewing and new to the forum.

I've brewed my first couple of kit home brews and as the beer is drinkable (and has plenty of room for improvement with the great tips here) I want to move from bottling the beer into kegging the beer.

I work FIFO so don't so can only brew and consume the beer one week a month. So I'm not talking large volumes yet.

Being a Pom my preference is for Real Ales and Darker Beers rather than lagers.

Ideally I want to start with a couple of kegs and a CO2 bottle and as time and money allow, get hold of a fridge and build a kegerator.

So basically when I buy my kegs and CO2 and bits and pieces I want to make sure that they will be suitable for conversion to a kegerator at a later date.

So I'm looking for some advice as to what basic equipment I need to get started and any tips and advice as to where to source the equipment.

• What kegs are the best to get and are going to be the most compatible with other commonly used bits and bobs?
• Where is the best place to source these kegs in the Perth area? (I live in Cervantes 2 hours North of Perth)
• What's the best way to go for the CO2 set up?
• Do I hire or buy a CO2 bottle and what type and where from?
• Any advice for regulators, lines and connectors etc?
• What do I need to future proof this set up if I advance to more serious forms of brewing?
• Are there any newbie traps and pitfalls that I should look out for?

Please don't feel that any information will be to basic for me. As stated above I am a complete newbie to home brewing.

Many thanks in advance

Andy

 

[northernbrewer]

Join west Aussie brew crew. You'll find plenty of help from us Perth guys on there. Probably easiest way to get started.

 

[Grainer]

Try Grypon Brewing

 

[Cervantes]

Thanks for the tips guys.

Would something like this kit be a good starting point?

Also could I get away with a keg charger to start with?

How many bulbs to charge a keg?

Or would adapting a soda stream cannister such as illustrated here work?

And once charged could I then use a tap such as this to get the beer out if I just got a couple of kegs rather than a kit?

Cheers

Andy

 

[Grainer]

Talk to Nev at Gryphon..quality is better.. these will probably F/up

 

[Cervantes]

Talk to Nev at Gryphon..quality is better.. these will probably F/up

Thanks for the tip.

They also look to be cheaper than most of what's on offer on ebay.