OK, first of all lemme say thanks for having me! Also, FYI, I've never brewed before. BUT, I plan on brewing my first batch very soon. I just received my full boil kit w/wort chiller from Austin Homebrew along with an IPA kit and new bottles. So my first batch will be bottled. But I can't help but think kegging would be amazing as I already have a kegorator using the standard coupler and CO2 tank. I noticed a new 5 gallon ball lock keg at AHS is about $100 http://www.austinhomebrew.com/New-5-Gallon-Keg.html <----as seen there. My question is, given that I already have a kegerator that can be used for any kegs I purchase at the beer store, what all is needed to place my own brew in one of these "ball lock" kegs? How do I place the beer inside it from my bottling bucket? Does the top of that keg just open up? Are there any special adapters I need? The top of this keg looks nothing like normal beer kegs. Is it difficult to detirmine CO2 pressure needed to maintain your own brewed beer? I'm sure I have other questions but this would be a great start. Thanks so much!
First of all, welcome to the hobby! Make sure you do you homework. Most of us have horror stories to tell about our first brew, so don't get discouraged if your first attempt doesn't go as planned. howtobrew.com is a great free resource, and there is also a pretty inexpensive print version on amazon that is a little more up to date. Yep, the top just opens up. You would simply skip the bottling bucket and rack/autosiphon your beer directly from the carboy/bucket into the keg. Close the lid, hit it with CO2, turn off the gas, release the pressure, and do this a few more times to reduce the amount of oxygen in the headspace. After that, you just hook up the gas and wait for it to be carbonated. Probably, but I'll defer to someone else who likely has a similar setup to you. Mine is setup for ball locks only right now. There are charts and calculators out there that make it pretty easy. You simply need to know your serving temperature and ideal amount of carbonation (in volumes of CO2). I usually go with 2 vols for British ales and stouts/porters/brown ales and 2.4 for just about everything else. Certain styles like saisons and lambics would be higher, but I don't tend to brew Belgian styles.
I just started kegging as well back in October and it has been great. I had the most success with just reading up about it online, and watching 'how to' videos. I'm a visual learner myself, so watching someone do it once is usually all I need. I found this video helpful: Good luck! and welcome to the addictive hobby
Thanks man! Ya I already bought the "How to Brew" book on Amazon and have been reading for days now. A lot to take in but I've alreayd learned so much. I'm stoked for my first batch and don't expect anything perfect. Shooting for "drinkable" lol The co2 purge is a great idea! thanks for that. Ya from the looks of the picture it's not the same style hook up as on my kegerator. Normal kegs have that singular hook up you know that the coupler has the gas and beer line in one unit. A style G like this: But these ball lock kegs look like it has two seperate hookups for gas and beer possibly?
You have Sankey kegs, not ball lock. You can possibly convert the Sankey to ball lock but it might be best to just buy a ball lock keg (or 2) and the disconnects.
Correct. Commercial kegs use the Sankey format like you included in the picture. Ball lock kegs will have two separate lines - one "gas in" line from your CO2 tank, and one "beer out" line from your keg to the tap. The CO2 and beer hookups look the same, more or less, but are actually a bit different, so you wouldn't want to reverse them. The kegs are generally marked "in" and "out," so it's important to look before you couple. Here are what your hookups will look like. Obviously, you will need beer line, as well: http://www.northernbrewer.com/ball-disc-1-4-barb-liq http://www.northernbrewer.com/ball-disc-1-4-barb-gas
FYI the cheapest I've been able to find for kegs are below: New for $75 - I bought four http://www.homebrewing.org/AIH-New-5-Gallon-Corny-Keg-Ball-Lock_p_5100.html Used for $60 http://www.homebrewing.org/5-Gallon-Cornelius-Keg-Ball-Lock-Used_p_70.html They are often even cheaper on craigslist if you can find them. Pin lock are cheaper yet. My personal opinion is to avoid buying used from unknown sources since they will be holding pressure. I'm sure many many homebrewers have purchased from craigslist in the past with no problems, just not something I'm into.
I recently ordered 2 reconditioned ball locks for $98. Have not received them yet: http://www.kegglebrewing.com/Two-Re-conditioned-5-Gallon-Ball-Lock-Keg_p_53.html
Practice with a gallon of Star San. It's cheap, cleans your gear, and if something goes wrong it's not a 5 gal batch of beer you're dumping.
Thanks so much for all the help guys! And for the links on cheap kegs! I'm stoked now! Just one more question. Those of you that have kegs, are you force carbonating or are you still conditioning with sugar and waiting the two weeks for carbonation? And whats the pros n cons of those?
Most keggers do not prime with sugar, because there's no reason to, unless it's to meet CAMRA requirements.
