After my series on building the kegerator last week (or was it two weeks ago?) I have been pouring the Maibock and the IPA perfectly. It is really nice to have beers on tap again. It is also crazy to think that I will have two more to go once these are gone!

I just got another payment in my PayPal, so that means another beer kit! Whoohoo! Now I just have to figure out if Midwest will accept pick up instead of paying for delivery.

Cheers,
Tony

My Surly clone spent two weeks in the primary. When I checked the gravity last week there was still a bit of cap and the gravity was about 1.030. I’m finally racking today to secondary. No, I haven’t checked the gravity, but the cap has gone down and frankly, even if it is way high I want to get it off the cake in the bottom of the primary.

Three ounces of hops go in the secondary first. Three ounces! That is the most I’ve dry hopped with, ever. This one should be pretty darn good!

Cheers!
Tony

The previous kegerator post on fridge doors, here.

Drilling the holes for the shanks was pretty straight forward, and I didn’t think everyone needed a progress picture. Placement of the holes in the door is dependant on the shelving on the inside. I have heard of folks removing the weatherstripping and inner pannel of shelves and replacing that with plywood. If the fridge you are working on is small, that is a good way to pinch out a little more wiggle room on the interior.

This fridge is big enough for two or three kegs and the cylinder without me taking out the door innards. As an added bonus, that leave me room to stack bottles or cans in the door. Maybe a pint glass or three to keep them cool.

Make a mark on the door where you want the tap to come out. I used a tape measure to place them equally apart and centered on the door, but it really doesn’t make that much difference. I used a level to make sure the two taps were on the same line with each other. It wouldn’t do to have crooked taps.

Drill using a hole saw. I’ve tried using spade bits for wood with limited to no success.

I use a 7/8th inch bi-metal hole saw, the exact size of the shank. Measure before you buy, but I guarantee having the right tool makes the job so much easier.
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Here’s a quick one for everybody. What is the worst thing to happen to a kegerator? Spilled beer of course. What is the easiest way to spill beer? Open the freezer door into the taps. As you might imagine, I have a few tap handles, so I didn’t want to compromise my collection by using stubby tap handles and I didn’t want to set the taps so low that the freezer door wouldn’t knock into them.

My solution?

That is a “heavy duty mirror clip”. There is another one facing the other way on the freezer door. When I open my fridge door only the fridge door opens. When I open the freezer door the clips catch each other and both doors open!

Yup, it works like a charm. I’m so smart sometimes I hurt myself.

Cheers!
Tony

Here is the previous entry of my ongoing series.

I needed to replace the tubing on the gas side because at one time or another I ended up with some beer in the line. This may send purists into a panic when I type the next part, but I wasn’t too worried about it. There is always CO2 in the line so not much can grow in the beer.

The problem came when I took my kegerator down for a year and put the cylinder in the garage, regulator, hoses and all.

This is what happened to the beer in the line:

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Here is the beginning.

Once I gathered up everything I needed to reassemble my kegerator, it needed to be cleaned. The biggest thing was taking apart the shanks, faucets, quick disconnects and barbed swivel nuts. The quick disconnects for ball lock systems come apart very easily:

Unscrew the top and take the O-ring, spring, clear peg and disconnect body and drop them into a warm One-Step solution. When you reassemble the quick disconnect make sure that the small end of the peg points down.

By the way, I am very fond of warm One-Step solutions for this kind of application, it seaps into the nooks and crannies of the ball lock collar, getting all the crud out. Notice the little speck of nastiness on my hand? That came out of the GAS QD! I need to clean these more often! The black beer QD’s were… worse.
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This past Saturday I had a minor mishap with my brewing procedure. I like to hold the muslin grain bag over the opening of the plastic bag of cracked grains. Then I pour the grains into the steeping bag over the kettle. I have never slipped my grip… until Saturday.

The muslin bag was a bit small, and the grains slipped loose. I lost half right into the brew kettle!

Now what?!?

I carried the whole works into the kitchen and started fuming. Pulling out a strainer, I stretched the steeping bag over the strainer and prepared to dump out the already darkening water.

Thankfully cooler heads prevailed, my wife noticed my distress and suggested straining it over the other brew kettle. Sadly, that was occupied with my pre-boiled top up water.

We ended up with a three gallon, a one  gallon and a large mixing bowl full of my grain tea! BUT, once it was all strained, back into the kettle it went and back on the heat.

Thankfully the rest of the brew progressed without any more trouble.

Cheers!
Tony

I started the kegerator rebuild project this weekend. Through the process I have been taking pictures. During the following week or two I will be posting up the different steps to get to the finished product. I’m looking at about two posts a day on this to avoid one looong post. The other reason for this is to make it easier to search specifically for what you are looking for.

I will be able to into more detail with each step rather than giving a quick sentence and moving on.

To start, here is the project fridge:

The first step in getting a fridge ready is to make sure the kegs and carboys can fit properly. The best way for an upright fridge like this one is to build a sturdy shelf across the bottom so the compressor shelf can be used. I don’t trust the glass or plastic shelf that comes with the fridge, I prefer to build my own. In this case, a simple cut of plywood worked perfect.

Yeah, it looks ugly in there, remember this is my REbuild!

More later!
Cheers,
Tony

A quick clarification about regulators. There is some confusion about single, double, and dual gauge regulators. Blatantly taking pictures from Midwest Homebrewing Supplies, here is the quick break down.

A single gauge regulator only displays the pressure going to the keg.

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I am done brewing. After two years of only mediocre beers coming out of the new house I am fed up with the hobby completely. The last three batches that I’ve done recently haven’t even finished fermenting so I’ll throw in those beers as well, but I warn whomever buys them, they probably aren’t that good.

Included in the deal are five or six carboys, five kegs, two shanks, four faucets including everything you need to pour a perfect stout. Brew a Guinness clone with the equipment and pour it like the pro’s. Also included are three gas cylinders, two for CO2 and one for the beer gas. I’ll even throw in the hole saw for installing the shanks through a fridge wall or door.

I have seven years worth of brewing trinkets, three brewing books and an unopened red wine kit. Absolutely everything beer and brewing related has got to go. I want my garage shelves back and my wife wants the laundry room back.

First reasonable offer takes it all.
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