How to keg homebrew step by step
HOW TO KEG YOUR HOME BREW (ft. @NewAir Single Tap Kegerator)
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home brewing doesn't have to be overly
complicated add some yeast and a few
days later you got alcohol
but the final piece of the home brewing
puzzle is carbonation and while bottling
can be an inexpensive way to get started
if you bottle enough beer you'll
naturally want to upgrade to kegging
it's quicker easier and nothing beats
pulling on your own home tap for
bubbling brews on demand
i'm trent mucho and this is the brew
show let's get kegging
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when i started brewing beer and
fermenting at home i bottled everything
there's something special about bottle
conditioned beer and i do think it helps
the brewer appreciate all the hard work
that goes into making beer after weeks
of waiting
but to me it's painstaking to clean
sanitize fill up and then cap dozens and
dozens of bottles
it can take hours depending on the size
of your batch and if you don't take
precautions you can end up with some
wicked bottle bombs that can destroy
your hard work and your motivation to
try brewing again
that's where cajun comes in to make
brewing fun it's like filling one big
bottle instead of a bunch and you can
dial in the carbonation to be exactly
how you like it all with the benefits of
no explosions
yay
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probably the biggest reason brewers
don't initially get into kegging is
price
sure it can be more expensive than a
reused glass bottle and some caps but it
doesn't have to break the bank
i'll show you a few options to get
started including some diy ways to save
but if you're looking to get started
with no work needed i got you covered on
that too
i promise you kegging is not hard at all
and anyone can do it you just need to
familiarize yourself with some basic
equipment
when we strip away all the fancy
components of a kegen system at the
minimum kegging requires a keg
a co2 tank
a pressure regulator and a way to pour
the keg is what holds our beverage and
there are a few options for kegs but on
homebrewing scale the popular choice is
the cornelius keg or corning keg
i went over kegs a bit in my bottling
versus kegging video so check that out
for some additional info but to recap
corn and kegs were once used for sodas
and now have a second life as our beer
kegs and there's two types ball lock and
pin lock
it doesn't matter what you get but it's
a good idea to be consistent to save on
parts needed
usually they can hold five gallons but
you can find smaller or bigger ones
of course you can buy new but they're
going to be way more expensive so try to
find them on craigslist offer up or at
your local homebrew store they'll have
the best price and used is perfectly
fine here it should cost you anywhere
from 30 to 60 depending on your luck
and if the keg is older you may want to
replace some of the gaskets and o-rings
for a couple bucks these will help the
keg hold a tight seal when under
pressure the basic idea is that gas goes
in one post and liquid comes out the
other the liquid side has a dip tube
that goes all the way to the bottom
while the gas tube is short
the co2 tank is what holds the carbon
dioxide or simply co2 this is what gives
the bubbly mouthfeel we love in our
brews
they commonly come in 5 or 10 pound
sizes but sometimes bigger or smaller
again the homebrew shops and local
community boards are your friend to find
them
usually if someone is selling a keg they
might also be selling a co2 tank so it
doesn't hurt to ask depending on where
you find them they can be about 50
getting one is the first step then
filling it is the next
google your local welding supply shop
and give them a call to see if they can
do it for you sometimes homebrew shops
can also fill in
but don't get too attached to your tank
most cases they just swap it out and
give you a pre-filled one so save your
stickers for something else
i have a 10 pounder it'll last me about
six to nine months depending on how much
i brew
the pressure regulator is how you
control the amount of pressure going
into the keg this determines the amount
of bubbles or how carbonated your drink
is it attaches onto the co2 tank these
can be expensive around 70 dollars
but you do want a reliable one that can
accurately measure the psi going into
your keg and hopefully it'll last many
many years
and just remember to take it off before
taking your tank to get filled
lastly is a way to pour or more
accurately a way to move the gas and
liquid around to get yourself a filled
glass of fizzy drink
it just takes a few inexpensive
accessories
tubing that goes from the regulator to
the keg usually sold as gas line
a gas quick connect the type depends on
your keg ball lock or pin lock
then tubing from the keg with a liquid
connect
the tubing is usually sold as beer line
and comes in several materials vinyl is
a popular and inexpensive starter option
and then some sort of tap the cheapest
being a cobra or picnic tap
finally just some hose clamps to keep
the tubing from flying off or leaking
precious beer or gas
a quick way to check if you have leaks
is to spray some star sand on the
connection points if it bubbles then
there's a leak
just tighten it down and then check
again
that's all kegging is
gas goes from the tank into the keg you
set the amount of pressure via the
regulator and after a few days that
forced co2 will absorb into the liquid
in the keg
giving bubbles the amount of pressure is
determined by the style of drink and
your personal preference but there are a
lot of charts and calculators online to
help you and they take into
consideration your desired carbonation
and the temperature of your brew
most times i set the pressure to 10 psi
and it takes about 7 days to hit full
carbonation
but of course there are some tricks to
getting it fizzier faster
first is burst carbonating which is
setting the psi to a higher amount for a
shorter amount of time
an example would be setting to 40 psi
for 24 hours and then releasing the high
pressure and dialing back the regulator
to about 10 psi
you should get a good carb amount in a
day or so or you can always do the rock
and shake technique where you apply
pressure and shake or rock the keg for a
few minutes until it's carbonated
this definitely works as ch can attest
to and that is how you carbonate your
beer in 30 minutes but it always makes
me a bit nervous of over carbonating or
even accelerating oxidation but do
whatever works for you
oh and a note on overcarbonating if you
do get too much pressure in just pull
the pressure relief valve or push in the
poppet on the gas side of your keg a few
times a day until the pressure is
lowered into your range it's a fairly
easy fix so don't worry the length of
tubing also helps with the perfect pour
10 feet of liquid lines is the sweet
spot for 10 psi of pressure
that length of tubing helps restrict the
flow so you don't get foamy pores
but there's also some flow regulators
for taps that you can use but i'll save
that for another episode
oh and gas lines can be any length so
just do whatever needed to reach the keg
so at the cheapest option you can get
these items and just start kegging the
trouble is that for the best results you
need the liquid to be cold for the co2
to fully absorb in a workaround that
i've found is that if you can fit your
keg into the fridge until it's cold
then take it out and apply the pressure
then disconnect and put the cake back in
the fridge with your tap it might take a
few extra days of this back and forth
but it works
and then you just need to add pressure
when the keg runs low
but that's why kegerators are so great
because you can put all that stuff into
a mini fridge add a tap and it looks and
performs much better
but it does come with some extra costs
the first being the mini fridge itself
scour the internet for cheap used ones
and check the measurements of the
interior to be sure your keg can fit
then you need a way to regulate the
temperature of your fridge so add in a
temp controller that you can plug your
fridge into it uses a thermometer to
keep the fridge on and only at the temp
you desire
and lastly you'll need some sort of tap
tower and the tap itself
which pricing can vary on but are sold
on homebrew websites
the diyer just needs to drill a large
hole in the top of the fridge and attach
the tap tower and tap
boom you got a no frills kegerator
you can totally put the co2 tank inside
the kegerator but if you're limited on
space you can always drill a hole in the
side or the back just big enough for the
gas tubing to go through that way your
tank can be on the outside
just check with your fridge specs to be
sure you don't drill into any cooling
coils in the walls that can kill the
fridge
if you're thrifty you can find good
deals on these items especially the
fridge which can be very expensive to
find or if you're really lucky you can
find ones already made for you online
for those of us who are not as handy
today's partner newair has you covered
new air just launched their first single
tap kegerator nkr058mb00
which comes with all the bells and
whistles you could want
this kit includes a co2 tank pressure
regulator a temp control setting panel
and all the parts to assemble a single
tap tower
and there's some pre-drill holes in the
back for you to keep your gas tank on
the outside saving you even more room
speaking of which it's huge on the
inside and i plan to upgrade the single
tap to a triple tap eventually to be
serving even more
it's a nice upgrade from my diy k
creator that's always had some bugs
it's sometimes nice to go with the pro
versions so you can have some peace of
mind
big thanks again to new air for the
support and if you're interested in
getting your own new air kegerator i
have a link below for you plus when you
use my discount code the brew show
you'll save 10 on your purchase
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the only thing i needed to do once
assembling my new kegerator was to swap
the liquid lines to be 10 feet and swap
out the gas and liquid connects to fit
my ball out kegs just a heads up the kit
does not come with a keg so you'll need
to get that
so while there is a bit of setup and
cost to get started kegging in the long
run the time you save is priceless i can
kick a 5 gallon batch in about 15
minutes and then be drinking a fully
carbonated beer by the next day that's a
saving of at least two weeks right there
and moving forward your only cost will
be gas and the occasional replacement
parts or tubing tubing should be changed
every year at least
as far as cleaning goes it's a good idea
to clean and sanitize the entire keg
between brews for the best results and
to minimize contamination issues
you can disassemble the posts on the keg
to really get in there and clean but i
only fully take apart my kick maybe once
every other beer
a good pbw soak inside followed by some
star sand does the trick
once you finally pour your first glass
straight from the tap you'll see that
it's all worth it
you have your own pub right there in
your house and you'll feel motivated to
keep that keg full by brewing more
and before you know it you'll have some
crazy nine tap keezer and be brewing
every weekend
feel free to blame me for getting you
into kegging
i didn't mention this but there's a ton
of cool accessories and customizations
you can make for your kegging system and
i hope to show off more caking related
topics in the future so if there's
anything i missed or if you have any
questions be sure to let me know down
below
i hope you got something out of this
video and if you did be sure to hit the
like button thanks for watching cheers
and happy brewing
[Music]
you
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