From: davehyde@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: Kegged!
Date: 6 Jan 1993 11:33:25 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

Several people wrote and asked for forwards of the stuff I received on
kegging.  Rather than forward everything, I've summarized it here.
Hope its helpful.  BTW, credits follow.  Sorry if I missed anyone,
but I don't keep mail very long and I didn't expect the number of
requests for info that I got.

Where to get equipment:

I can't be of much help here.  I got my taps and CO2 bottle from
our  neighborhood association (?!) since we rarely use them anymore,
and the keg  came from a friend who is on excellent terms with a
distributor.  Several  people have recommended scrap metal yards,
though.

removing that dang ball tap!:

There's a leaf spring at the top of the tap between the tap and the
keg neck.   I worked the end of the spring back to one of the bayonette
slots in the neck  where I pried it out with a screwdriver.  Once
the spring is out lift then  twist the tap up and out of the neck.
This was the hardest part because it  was stuck and there's not much
to get a grip in.  Re-installing is just the  reverse.

carbonation, racking, pressurizing:

Some people recommended priming with 1/4-1/2 c corn sugar before
pressurizing.  Another recommendation was to pressurize and let
the beer set a day or 2 in  the fridge.  I didn't want to wait,
so I force carbonated and agitated the  beer.  I racked the beer
straight from the carboy to the keg with no priming.   I put the
tap back in and pressurized it to ~25 psi.  I didn't get any
guidelines as to pressure vs. style, so this was a guess based
on a  recommendation of 20-40 psi.  I removed the lines and rolled
the keg around  for 10 min or so on the basement floor and tapped it.
Stand Back!  The first  few pints were well carbonated but slightly
cloudy.  This disappeared over the  next day or so.

Comments:

Unfortunately I didn't bottle any of this batch to do a taste
comparison.  It  is, IMHO, my best batch by far.  The raspberries
aside (see below) the beer  has a wonderful color, is crystal clear,
and the head is incredible.  Same  feel and consistency as Guiness
Draft cans with that nitrogen thingy in them.   Lasts forever too.

The only problem:

I can't bottle any to give away.  I tried quiety filling a bottle
for a friend, but when he opened it it was flat.  So...keg party
time, perhaps.

Many thanks to:
bobc@Eng.Sun.COM:                               removing that dang ball tap!
sag5004@yak.ca.boeing.com (Ford Prefect):       carbonation
Jonathan Butt <jbutt@cs.mun.ca>:                carbonation
dipalma@banshee.sw.stratus.com (James Dipalma): carbonation, racking,
                                                pressurizing

and to davet@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Dave Thompson), who asked about my  raspberry
lager:  I didn't want to mess with fruit, so I used a recipe from a
supply place near Baltimore, MD that was basically  an amber lager with
3/4 tbsp of raspberry soda extract added to boil for  15 min.  At
bottling (or kegging, as in my case), another 4 tbsp were  added to the
(now) finished beer.  I wouldn't recommend this unless  you _really_
like rasberry beer.  STRONG!  But _I_ like it.

Dave Hyde davehyde@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil


Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing