Quantity of Beer in Kegs

[Clean Brewer]

Hello all,

Well, the time is coming near for me to get my keg set-up and just wanted to find out how much people brew when they have their kegs.

1.Do you just brew according to when a keg is just about to run out so you can just fill it straight away?

2.Do you brew and then C.C until the keg is empty and then clean and fill?

3.Do you just brew anyhow even if you have no spare kegs to put it in and just bottle it?

I would say that I would probably drink say 1 and a bit cartons worth of beer a week, so 1 keg would last say 2 weeks and if I had 2 kegs, that would last 1 month.

Im a bit worried about only brewing 2 batches a month(not enough) to feed my habit, it seems everyone on this forum brews quite regularly(more than twice a month) or does everyone just end up bottling?

Or, you have more mates drinking it aswell? I dont have any.... (well where I live anyway)

[Paul]

When you first get a keg setup you will drink double or triple what you are drinking now. Start brewing and having as much in cc as you can so that when a keg blows youve already got beer chilled and ready to go into it.

[KEG]

get a few cubes to age beers for secondary fermentation. then you can have a 'production line' running, with beers still getting some decent age.

[Tipsy]

I never have problems with spare kegs, they always seem to be empty

[Clean Brewer]

So really, 2 kegs would be fine and just have a couple cubes c.c??

Prob will get 4 kegs though so once 1 runs out I can hook it straight up..

[scanman]

I am a new keg system owner, and going to get 3 or 4 kegs myself. Tow does for now, but I already have brews backing up, and want to put them into kegs to mature a bit before carbonation. Cubes are a good idea but it means a bit more works racking to the keg. May as well rack straight from the primary to the keg if you ask me.
Each to his own of course.

[Clean Brewer]

Yeh, now that you say that, 3 would prob work out that way as(for now), and I could have 2 with ales(from primary), 1 for a lager and just have a lager or 2 lagering in cubes ready to go....

Would love more kegs but I really want to have a 2 tap set-up(cost more), can always look forward to Fathers Day, Xmas for more kegs, home brewing gives you the world of opportunity for presents...

Im just twisting my partners arm in succumbing to peacefully let me get a keg system, I just point to all the empty bottles on the kitchen bench after a few days and she always says "how many did you drink last night"?

[Iron-Haggis]

I've only just started kegging. Done two brews and put them into my two kegs. I put down a beer of wednesday that will hopefully be ready by the time one of the kegs is empty. At the moment what I'm looking at is another 1 or 2 kegs so then I can put a brew in one of the spare kegs while I wait to finish off a keg.

[drsmurto]

1.Do you just brew according to when a keg is just about to run out so you can just fill it straight away?

No, i have 4 fermenters so try to keep them full so i have beer that is ready to be drunk go into the keg instead of green beer.

2.Do you brew and then C.C until the keg is empty and then clean and fill?

Yes. Altho sometimes i cc inthe keg but i have 6 kegs and only 3 taps.

3.Do you just brew anyhow even if you have no spare kegs to put it in and just bottle it?

Yes and no, it depends on the beer. I brew 25L batches at the moment so i get approx 9 tallies after filling up the keg so have bottles for the upcoming comp season.

Cheers and beers
DrSMurto

[rwh]

1.Do you just brew according to when a keg is just about to run out so you can just fill it straight away?

I brew when I have an empty fermenter. Try to keep the fermenters full as extra time in the fermenter is generally good (greater than 1 week but less than four is my general rule). Lagers make it easier to keep fermenters full.

2.Do you brew and then C.C until the keg is empty and then clean and fill?

I prefer to CC in the keg. They're entirely impermeable to light and oxygen, and you can purge the headspace with CO2. Much much better than a cube or fermenter for this as a result.

3.Do you just brew anyhow even if you have no spare kegs to put it in and just bottle it?

Sometimes. I never seem to have trouble emptying my kegs though.

Or, you have more mates drinking it aswell? I dont have any.... (well where I live anyway)

Yeah, this is true. I would guess that I'm drinking well and truly less than 1/4 of the beer I brew these days. But I like brewing more than drinking, so it's fine by me. One thing I have found is that I brew beer for events, and chuck it in kegs, then take the kegs with me and use the CO2 bulb charger thing to dispense. Do this a few times a year and you can get through a fair bit of beer.

So really, 2 kegs would be fine and just have a couple cubes c.c??
Prob will get 4 kegs though so once 1 runs out I can hook it straight up..

You will probably need more than two kegs. But you can just get two and see how you go and get another couple later if you find you need them. I can pretty much guarantee that you'll need at least four kegs though.

Would love more kegs but I really want to have a 2 tap set-up(cost more), can always look forward to Fathers Day, Xmas for more kegs, home brewing gives you the world of opportunity for presents...

What type of taps are you going to use? You can always just install one, leaving space for a second when you get it.

[Clean Brewer]

What type of taps are you going to use? You can always just install one, leaving space for a second when you get it.

Ross at craftbrewer recommended the Celli taps with the flow control, I could probably get 4 kegs, 1 tap and a bronco tap for the second keg for now since its only me drinking the beer...