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Author Topic: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT  (Read 1857 times)

Offline WEEGE

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SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« on: January 29, 2021, 01:05:10 pm »
Hi, Have been brewing for quite a few years but now I would like to keg, but first I have a few questions that you guys may be able to help with, first I'm the only one here that drinks the beer so I need to know how long the beer will last in the keg, can I remove one keg and hook up another for a while then go back to the first or would it be better to finish the first before changing, I like to brew so I may have 4-5 kegs full at any one time, or would it be better to just bottle and go that way
Thanks for any help CHEERS
WEEGE

Offline BrewBama

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SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2021, 01:31:22 pm »
Your questions have to be answered based on your drinking habits, how often you want to brew, batch and keg size, kegerator taps, desire for variety, etc...

Kegging is right for me. It’s a lot less hassle than dealing with all those bottles, capping, etc and I can control O2 potential issues easier with the keg than with bottling. The lower the O2 issues help with shelf stability which addresses one of your questions.

I am generally the only one drinking my beer as well. My son occasionally drinks one or three when they come over but generally it’s just me. Here’s what I do:

I drink 20 oz pints. There are 640 oz in 5 gal (my keg size) so I get about 30-31 pints from a keg after about a pint or two worth of losses. If I drink two beers a day on avg (sometimes that’s zero sometimes it’s three), one keg is ~15 day supply but it usually lasts a bit longer.

I usually have two kegs on tap but I lean on one a bit more than the other to kick it to bring the next in line to tap. I don’t mind drinking the same beer night after night for a couple weeks but having the choice is nice. With you having double the taps I could see 30+ days or more in a keg which shouldn’t be an issue with proper attention to packaging and handling. Though certain beers are better younger some improve with a bit of age.

I have three kegs in the pipeline. I brew every three weeks to keep the pipeline stocked. Ideally I kick a keg, move one from conditioning/carbonating/maturing/lagering to the now empty tap, and have a beer just finishing in the fermenter +/- a day or two to closed circuit fill the now empty keg after cleaning, sanitizing, and purging.

Hope this helps.


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« Last Edit: January 29, 2021, 02:00:02 pm by BrewBama »

Offline Megary

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Re: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2021, 02:04:36 pm »
I can't keep pace with BrewBama... :-[

I have (2) 2.5gal kegs and I'm only a weekend warrior when it comes to beer drinking.  (TGIF, I say!)  My kegs will usually last me 3-4 weeks, depending on whether or not I have help finishing them.

Your question as to how long the beer will last is a good one.  I think a lot of that depends on your process mainly, and to a point what style of beer is in the keg.  I'll be the first to admit that my process is rather simple and not tailored to Low Oxygen beyond a few rudimentary precautions.  I do find that my IPA's will change in the month from first pour to last...the hop aroma certainly fades on me.  But most other beers that don't rely on a heavy hops presence seem not to show any ill effects that I can tell in the 3-4 weeks they are on tap.

Good luck.

Offline majorvices

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Re: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2021, 05:42:57 pm »
Beer stays fresher a lot longer in the keg than it will in the bottles for sure, especially if you keep it cold.

Offline roger

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Re: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2021, 07:48:54 am »
can I remove one keg and hook up another for a while then go back to the first or would it be better to finish the first before changing, I like to brew so I may have 4-5 kegs full at any one time, or would it be better to just bottle and go that way

My experience is similar to Brewbama's. After I kegged the first time, I never went back to bottling. Now I only rarely fill a few bottles to give away.

On your question above, you can absolutely go back and forth between kegs. You probably want to purge a couple of ounces from the tap to insure you don't mix beers. If you have to move the kegs to do this, try not to disturb the liquid too much, there will be sediment you don't want to disturb.
Roger

Offline Saccharomyces

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Re: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #5 on: January 31, 2021, 12:47:59 am »
I am with Roger.  I never went back to bottling after switching to using kegs.  However, I switched to using kegs pretty early in the game.  Used soda kegs were dirt cheap back in the early nineties.  I believe that I paid $10.00 each for my first round of kegs and they were not the picked over nastiness that one finds in a home brewing store today.  I only purchase new AEB kegs today.  If one is patient, Beverage Elements frequently has sales on pairs of 5-gallon AEB kegs.  I paid $200.00 shipped to my door for a pair of AEB kegs last fall.  That beats the heck out of having to clean and rebuild the used kegs that are left from the pre-mix soda days.  A lot of these kegs will never hold a seal.

Offline majorvices

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Re: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #6 on: January 31, 2021, 08:53:42 am »
Definitely miss those $10 kegs. I had over 20 at one point in time.

Kegging us not only better and easier than bottling for beer freshness but it also makes bottling easier and can preserve bottled beer freshness longer since the bottling bucket is inevitably going to introduce oxygen into the beer. The yeast do scavenge some of the o2 this is true but not all of it. Kegging allows you to purge the keg before filling with beer and to purge the head space afterward sop that you can greatly reduce the DO in the bottled beer. And if you wanted to you could also purge the bottles with Co2 while filling with a beer gun or CPBF.

If you can keep the kegged beer cold (or at least cellar temps) it will last a long time. Just keep your draft lines and faucets cleaned. Oxidized bottled beer tastes better than beer served from dirty faucets. Gross.

Offline Saccharomyces

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Re: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #7 on: January 31, 2021, 11:01:05 am »
Definitely miss those $10 kegs. I had over 20 at one point in time.

Used kegs are worth the risk if one is getting them for $10, maybe even $20 a piece.  However, paying $50.00 for a used keg that will never hold pressure results in the price of a new keg after it is been replaced with a used keg that holds pressure. AIH has their own line of new kegs that they sell for $75.00 new (they are always on sale).  The AIH kegs are not quite as nice as AEB kegs; however, unlike AEB kegs, they take standard removable universal poppets.  An AIH keg is definitely worth the extra $25 over the cost of a used keg.  I purchased two of these kegs for Homebrew Con 2016 because I did not want to subject my AEB kegs to the rough handling that occurs at an event. 

https://www.homebrewing.org/AIH-New-5-Gallon-Corny-Keg-Ball-Lock_p_5100.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIs9Xd693G7gIV0cDICh3XjgK_EAQYASABEgLEJvD_BwE

Offline WEEGE

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Re: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #8 on: January 31, 2021, 01:12:26 pm »
Wow thanks to everyone who responded, it has definitely convinced me to keg, but I will probably bottle small quantities just to keep some for portability.
It's great to have a place like this to get different opinions because I don't have anyone who homebrews close by and no club and with the covid restrictions this is great. I would like to end up with a keezer with 4 taps so that will keep me busy for awhile thanks to all
keep on brewin'
WEEGE

Offline erockrph

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Re: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #9 on: January 31, 2021, 02:18:04 pm »
Definitely miss those $10 kegs. I had over 20 at one point in time.

Used kegs are worth the risk if one is getting them for $10, maybe even $20 a piece.  However, paying $50.00 for a used keg that will never hold pressure results in the price of a new keg after it is been replaced with a used keg that holds pressure. AIH has their own line of new kegs that they sell for $75.00 new (they are always on sale).  The AIH kegs are not quite as nice as AEB kegs; however, unlike AEB kegs, they take standard removable universal poppets.  An AIH keg is definitely worth the extra $25 over the cost of a used keg.  I purchased two of these kegs for Homebrew Con 2016 because I did not want to subject my AEB kegs to the rough handling that occurs at an event. 

https://www.homebrewing.org/AIH-New-5-Gallon-Corny-Keg-Ball-Lock_p_5100.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIs9Xd693G7gIV0cDICh3XjgK_EAQYASABEgLEJvD_BwE
Yeah, those kegs are a fantastic value. I ferment in the 5 gallon ones and serve in the 2.5 gallon ones. I would never consider buying a used keg knowing that these are available at such a good price point.
Eric B.

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Offline Wlimberg

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Re: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #10 on: February 02, 2021, 02:01:33 pm »
but I will probably bottle small quantities just to keep some for portability.

I thought this exact thing.  Saved a few cases of bottles when I switched to kegging, but never used them.  Put them in the corner of the basement over ten years ago and they are still there.  It's easier to fill a few growlers from the keg (or just take a keg with me) when I'm on the move.

Offline Saccharomyces

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Re: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #11 on: February 02, 2021, 04:03:50 pm »
I thought this exact thing.  Saved a few cases of bottles when I switched to kegging, but never used them.  Put them in the corner of the basement over ten years ago and they are still there.  It's easier to fill a few growlers from the keg (or just take a keg with me) when I'm on the move.

Exactly!

Offline Richard

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Re: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #12 on: February 02, 2021, 09:49:54 pm »
There are a couple of other reasons to keep some bottles: sending beer to competitions is one, and giving away a 6-pack is another.
Original Gravity - that would be Newton's

Offline Saccharomyces

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Re: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #13 on: February 04, 2021, 04:10:54 pm »
There are a couple of other reasons to keep some bottles: sending beer to competitions is one, and giving away a 6-pack is another.

That is why they made beer guns and counterpressure bottle fillers. :)

Offline majorvices

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Re: SWAPPING KEGS OR NOT
« Reply #14 on: February 06, 2021, 08:06:23 am »
I enjoy making 1 gallon batches and those will give me about 9-10 bottles that I will bottle right off the "siphonless" racking spigot from the primary fermenter. For those i'll add about a 1/2 tsp table sugar to each bottle and naturally carbonate. Aside from that everything else goes in the keg in the rare occasion i want to bottle it gets beer gunned.