Should I get into kegging?

[Rocker1986]

I just kegged my first beer last night, but didn't have a regulator so haven't carbed yet. I transferred from the spigot on my fermenter down into the bottom of the keg through some tubing. There was no splashing, but I could hear glugging through the fermenter, and when my IPA reached the top of the keg there was a thin layer of foam. I've sealed the keg up but now I am worried I have oxidised the crap out of it. Thoughts?

Mine often do that and I don't seem to get any oxidation from it, but I do purge with CO2 before and after filling the keg. I don't think it would be considered best practice though and when I buy a house next year I might look into some other options since I won't be moving again and can have a more permanent setup. I'll be looking at as close to a closed transfer as possible, likely by connecting the transfer hose to a liquid disconnect attached to the beer out post. I'll be interested to see if I can notice any difference.

 

[theQuinny]

Yep - that's what I'm going to try next ... see post number 97 in this thread... (page 5)

 

[Clevohead]

I just went with pre-and post fill purges on the kegs when I transferred, I just used a hose from tap to bottom of keg, no splashing and once brew is above hose it is a very gentle fill, with the pre-purge you can see the carbon dioxide as a mist when you open the keg, it looks pretty cool as you fill and it just spills out the keg as it fills keeping a cushion of gas on top of the brew and away from atmosphere.
Unless you are going to shelve a keg for several months, I don't think the little (if any) exposure you may possibly get to atmosphere would make much difference in the short term with the fact you are generally drinking a keg within a fortnight of racking it, or I will be any way.

I wasted some time and gas trying to keep my kegs while they were shelved for a month while I compiled my gear at 12psi in an attempt to have them carbbed ready to drink, I was putting 12psi in every day (I remembered) as I only had 1 gas fitting and 2 kegs. Any way it done FA, once y Keezer was built, and I chilled the kegs and tapped them they were still flat. They have improved greatly since Friday, but still leave some to be desired at the moment as they still don't hold a very good head at the moment. But Each day I have a sample, and each day they get a little better with the gas on 24/7.

Picture of my rig, as I beat you to first pour

Note: That looks like a good head, but 3 min later it had dissipated.

 

[laxation]

I made a stupid mistake, I keg hopped a Red IPA with one of those hop big hop tubes you hang from under the lid - my brother was hassling me about getting him a few samples so I got home from the pub the night after I kegged it and decided I'd speed up the force carb by putting the keg on it's side and rocking it gently for a couple minutes. You may see where I'm going next but I forgot about the hop tube, it wasn't until a minute or so in I heard the rattling and I can only assume the lid had come off. Now every beer I pour has hop particles in it, hazy AF, it's kinda gross and I think I'll tip it out, don't make this same beginners mistake (I should have used a hop sock like I did in the other keg probably)!

Let it sit so everything drops, then bend the dip tube up a bit, or chop some of it off.
Learned this just last week with a very stuck keg!

 

[Weizguy]

Don't have to convince me!
Missus has given the all clear but now my chesty with a controller is full of food for the first time ever!
I guess now I need a 4th fridge for dispensing and conditioning. It never ends!

What????
I have 4 fridges for beer. Oh, plus the glass door fridge, and the Keezer. You know it never ends.

Always a good idea to replace an old fridge with a new one for the family and then re-purpose the older fridge. Even better, you can pick up a give away fridge on Gumtree or local newspapers and introduce it as a cost-free option (until you need the kegging components, taps, lines, etc).

...and I'm spent!

 

[altone]

What????
Always a good idea to replace an old fridge with a new one for the family and then re-purpose the older fridge.

That's how I got my ferment fridge, moved house - old fridge didn't fit in the kitchen - too tall- aww