You need a keg to keg beer

Obviously when you want to keg beer, you’ll need a keg.  The best type of keg for homebrewers is the old Pepsi style 5 gallon kegs.  They are also referred to as Cornelius kegs (after one of the manufacturers) or Corny keg.  I’m not sure what the options in other countries are, but in the United States this is the best choice.

These Pepsi kegs are perfect for homebrewing

You can find these kegs brand new for $100-130 USD.  It’s not a good deal though.  You can find these kegs used for anywhere between $15-35 USD.  You can get better deals if you shop around and buy a pack of 4 kegs.  They are usually in poor condition on the outside, but the inside is spotless.  It does not matter what the outside looks like as long as the inside looks good and the keg can hold pressure.

You may need to replace some of the rings on the keg.  These are the rubber rings which attach to the posts, the lid, and the liquid and gas tubes on the inside.  Some homebrew shops and online outlets sell a set of these rings for $4-5 USD, but you can buy a bag of a hundred from McMaster-Carr.  Here’s the part numbers and links:

Dip Tube O-Rings
5/16″ ID x 1/2″OD x 3/32″ width
9452K172 BunaN #109
Pkg 100/$1.89

Post O-Rings
7/16″ ID x 5/8″ OD x 3/32″ width
9452K23 BunaN #111
Pkg 100/$2.15

Lid O-Rings
3 1/2″ ID x 4″ OD x 1/4″ width
9452K218 BunaN #417
Pkg 10/$12.50

(Reference: St. Paul Homebrewers Club)

You might need to replace the posts if your kegs are in really poor condition.  So far I’ve been lucky and all my posts and poppets arrived in good condition.  If you are unlucky, you can find new posts online at Northern Brewer or possibly at your local homebrew store.

You also need a CO2 cylinder and the fittings

Once you have a keg and you’ve filled it, you’ll need to carbonate your beer.  This requires a regulator, a CO2 tank, tubing and fittings, and a tap to dispense your beer.

The fittings are the gas and liquid disconnects which attach to the keg.  The gray disconnect attaches to the gas post, and the black disconnect attaches to the liquid post.  To tell the difference between the posts, the gas post usually has notches and has a star like pattern to the edges.  The liquid post looks more like a hexagon, and does not have notches in the edges.

Most homebrew shops will sell you all this equipment as a draft system.  Some places will omit the CO2 gas tank from the list of items in the draft system.  I think omitting the CO2 tank is a much better deal, because many homebrew shops will exchange CO2 tanks but they will not fill it for you.  It’s similar to the propane tank exchange at your grocery store.  The exchange works out cheaper too, because you just need to pay a deposit for the cylinder.  You don’t need to buy one.  I had a hard time finding a place in Denver to fill my CO2 tank, and I wish I had one to exchange (I do travel to Aurora now to fill it).

Your best bet is to find a place that does gas cylinder excahnges. It's easier than finding a place to refill the tank.

The regulator in most kits is a dual gauge regulator.  This means it displays the dispensing pressure and the pressure remaining in the CO2 cylinder.  I’m not sure how useful the “remaining pressure” gauge is, since it will stay at one pressure (based on temperature) and then drop to zero when it is empty.

Another gauge is a double gauge regulator has two dispensing pressure gauges.  It’s great for if you want to carbonate or dispense at two different pressures.  I use mine to carbonate two different styles at two different pressures.

…and a tap to serve the beer

When I’m serving my beer I usually use a picnic tap.  It looks similar to the taps you might have seen in college, but it does not require you to pump your beer full of air.  You can also hook your beer up to a bar system with beer taps, but it’s something you get when you get deeper into kegging.  For now, all you really need is the picnic tap.

So that’s all the equipment you need to start kegging.  Just a keg, a regulator, CO2 cylinder, and all the fittings.  After you clean your keg, all you need to do is pour the beer in and carbonate.  It is MUCH simpler than bottles, but it does require a bit more investment.

© 2009 – 2010, fermentarium. All rights reserved.

Please see the fair use guidelines for republication. If you would like to submit articles to fermentarium.com, please review our Guest Post Guidelines.

Don't forget to "like" fermentarium on facebook

Related Posts

1. How to connect multiple kegs to one CO2 tank
2. How to clean a homebrew keg
3. 6 tasks you need to start for your home brewing season

Kegging beer is very simple.  Fill the keg, connect gas, then drink.  Once the keg is empty, cleaning a keg seems a bit more daunting.  Cleaning a keg is very simple once you know the steps.

It's much easier to clean one keg than 40 bottles.

Gather your equipment

First assemble the equipment that you will need:
•    PBW cleaning powder (or equivalent)
•    StarSan sanitizer (or equivalent)
•    7/8 inch wrench
•    O-rings if you plan on replacing them
•    1 dirty keg

A 7/8 inch wrench is used to remove the posts.  You can use an adjustable wrench, but this one makes it much easier.

Rinse Keg

To start, rinse out the keg with water.  This will remove any larger particles or left over beer.

Clean Keg With Cleansing Solution

A wrench like this is manditory for kegging

PBW cleans all given enough time

Next pour out the PBW solution.  Save some of the solution in a bowl or jug.  You will use this solution to clean the keg posts.  Unfasten the keg posts and place them into the bowl.  It is ok if the poppets come out, but be careful not to lose them.  Rinse out the keg with water.  Make sure there are no particles stuck to the inside walls of the keg.  Rinse the keg until you no longer smell any chemicals.

Rinse Keg

Rinse off the keg parts.  Make sure you rinse the parts inside and out.  The dip tubes should be rinsed inside and out.

Clean and Lube Keg Parts

Remove the rings on the dip tubes.  Place a small amount of keg grease on the rings.  You can buy this grease at most homebrew stores local or online.  Place the rings back on the tubes.  If you are replacing the o-rings, toss out the old ones and replace with new ones.  Most homebrew stores will sell the o-rings individually, or you can get a great deal on the o-rings if you buy 100 of them online from McMaster-Carr.

These are the different keg parts you'll need to clean

Make sure there is still some grease on the ring.  You can be a bit liberal with the grease.  The grease is odorless and tasteless, and it does not dissolve in beer or water.  (You will discover just how well it doesn’t dissolve when you try to wash it off your fingers later)  Remove the poppets from the keg posts and apply a bit of grease to the tops of these.

Resecure parts

The keg lid is really three parts if you count the release valve

Place the tubes back into the correct locations.  The short tube is the gas tube, and should be placed in the “in” spot.  The longer dip tube is for the beverage, and should be placed in the “out” spot.  Replace the poppets into the posts and secure the posts back onto the keg.  You’ll notice that one of the posts has (should have) notches in the sides of the post.  That post is the gas post.  The other is for the beverage.

Clean and lube keg lid

Remove the o-ring on the lid, and clean both thoroughly.  Liberally apply grease to the o-ring.  Make sure the grease covers the o-ring.  The grease will help seal the lid to the keg, and make it less likely for leaks.

This is the stuff I use to lube the rings. It's water insoluble and makes a great seal

Sanitize and pressurize keg

Create 1 gallon of a sanitizing solution using StarSan, or some other no-rinse sanitizer.  You can create this solution in the keg.  Seal the keg, and again shake the keg.  Wait for about a minute after shaking.

Push the sanitizing solution out of your keg using your CO2.  This will make sure that the sanitizing solution touches everything.  Once the keg is sanitized, it is ready for use.  Keep the keg under pressure until you plan to use it.  Keeping the keg under pressure will protect the keg from mold or bacteria until you are ready to use it.  It will also help you spot any slow gas leaks that you might find.

Once you’ve filled the keg with beer and carbonated it, your next step is to empty the keg.  Happy drinking!

© 2008 – 2010, fermentarium. All rights reserved.

Please see the fair use guidelines for republication. If you would like to submit articles to fermentarium.com, please review our Guest Post Guidelines.

Don't forget to "like" fermentarium on facebook

Related Posts

1. What do you need to start kegging beer?
2. What do you really need to start brewing beer?
3. How to read a Hydrometer