Kegs Galore
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Sunday evening, after the kids were in bed, I was joined by a few good friends from my neighborhood as well as Bob from ATK's neighborhood in tapping my new kegs of beer.
A while back, my wife agreed to get me a 2-tap kegerator for my birthday. Fantastic. It is a lovely piece of gear that holds 2 5-gallon homebrew kegs. I had to swap out a few parts and pieces because the kegerator, while boasting a 2-keg capacity, comes with parts for commercial kegs. Homebrew kegs require different hook-ups. But some simple swaps of a few inexpensive widgets later, I am pumping kegs!
I currently have a British Pale Ale and a Scottish 80 Shilling Ale (the heaviest of the lighter Scottish beers) on tap right now. This weekend, I plan to get an Irish Red in a fermenter so that when one of the kegs blows, I should have another beer finished and ready to go. And this is my goal; two beers in kegs, one beer in a fermenter. Always fresh beer on tap!
I still plan to bottle some beers, especially my bigger beers like the Russian Imperial Stout that need to be bottle conditioned and aged. But for the most part, I plan to serve-up pleasant, drinkable "session beers" out of my taps.
Having now disassembled and reassembled the kegerator and all of its parts, it is a very intuitive, easy-to-use and easy-to-clean appliance. Between batches, I can partially fill a keg with some cleaner, put it under pressure, and force cleaner and rinser and even sanitizer through the lines. And once every few batches I can easily take apart the whole thing and clean it; it is exceedingly easy.
Though Mrs. Smitty tried not to show her unbridled excitement at having a fine Scottish beer whenever she wants it, I caught beaming grins when she thought I wasn't looking. I just want to point out to people: Mrs. Smitty likes beer, likes my homebrewing hobby, bought me a kegerator, and likes hockey. I won. Game over.
The little makeshift kegerator I made just to get used to kegging and what all goes into it is slated for the dump, unless one of our esteemed readers wants it.
2 comments:
If I was close to brewing, I would take the old kegerator.
Put a post on your facebook page. Someone will take it. It's better than the dump.
"Always fresh beer on tap!
I would have a huge gut if I did this.
"Mrs. Smitty likes beer, likes my homebrewing hobby, bought me a kegerator, and likes hockey. I won. Game over."
I think I have more feminine hobbies than your wife. Yes, you did well. You really should be nice to her.
If this was my wife’s post she would say:
“Mr. Bob likes coffee and tea, eats vegan meals I cook, buys me cookbooks and enjoys interior design. I won.”
As for the beer. The Scottish 80 Shilling Ale was very good. It was subtle but had lots a nice flavors that a more seasoned beer aficionado could better identify. It has a touch of bitter, but not a lot, which suits my taste. The Brit was good (really excellent) too, but the Scottish Ale won the day.
I would have a huge gut if I did this.
Strangely, having all that beer right there in front of me actually inhibits the amount I drink. It's like...I take it for granted.
The Brit was good (really excellent) too, but the Scottish Ale won the day.
Thanks, Bob. That means a lot. I am always paranoid-nervous and self-conscious about my beers.
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