Using old bar equipment for home brew

[simon12]

I may be able to get for free any of the equipment from an old night club that closed down over 2 years ago. There is no refrigeration stuff left but all the beer taps and lines are in place and there are a few kegs still attached. The taps are in sets of 3 that are stella strongbow and fosters so no casks. Can any of this be used for home brew and what else is needed?

[Derek1]

I may be able to get for free any of the equipment from an old night club that closed down over 2 years ago. There is no refrigeration stuff left but all the beer taps and lines are in place and there are a few kegs still attached. The taps are in sets of 3 that are stella strongbow and fosters so no casks. Can any of this be used for home brew and what else is needed?

If you plan to/do use Cornelius or Sankey kegs for your homebrew, then the taps could certainly be used, if you plan to dispense three different brews at once. The lines should be discarded if they've been there for two years. I use Cornelius kegs, so can't comment on if the kegs would be useful, but would assume they would be if they're Sankeys.

If you're happy for your homebrew not to be real ale in the true sense, (as it will be dispensed by carbon dioxide) you could probably use the kegs and taps as a starting point for a nice system to dispense your homebrew. You'd also need a carbon dioxide cylinder, regulator, gas lines and beer lines, and this sort of set up would probably benefit from a Cornelius or similar chiller.

Depends how far you are already with your homebrew - if in doubt, take anything you can get for free, and put it on ebay if you find you don't want it - the three taps seem to sell well, as I bought one recently for £50 or so. I'm not sure about the kegs on ebay though, as it may be that the brewery still has legal ownership.

[Kev888]

The taps and fonts would definitely be worth having, as would the keg couplers - there are several different styles of coupler (which aren't compatible) so you may want to settle on one type for your own setup, but the others would go on ebay (don't leave the coupler-to-beer/gas-line fittings behind). Also keep an eye out for gas regulators (primary and secondary) particularly if adjustable and/or with gauges, and any gas management boards etc. CO2 types are most common in homebrew (typically they will be on grey gas lines) but pubs will typically also have various sorts of mixed gas too and some homebrewers use it. Though regulators may be out of safety-test date if its been closed for a while.

There may be gas-powered flojet pumps, which aren't commonly used in small home setups, though they could be sold on. Similarly there may be cellar buoy type fob detectors which aren't that common in home setups. Gas cylinders can be problematic as you really need a local supplier and most will only fill/exchange their own cylinders. Old beer lines may be more trouble than they're worth, though if they are in a clean state it could be worth keeping an eye open for a length of python if any is accessible. Used push-fittings aren't ideal but they can add up in cost so if they're free...

But very sadly, Kegs are usually still the property of the brewery, as these would have been essentially lent to the pub (not owned by it) and so taking them for your own use could count as theft. That would be the major cost if you wanted to make use of the free bits; look at crusader kegs to get an idea of prices and sizes available to the homebrewer (their postage is also costly for individual kegs). So could be good to sell on or if you wanted to buy into kegs anyway, but not so good for getting a free complete setup. Although... ASD has been selling used polykegs which are intended to be disposable but can be re-used by homebrewers, and these have a type of keg fitting (I forget which type), so maybe all would not be lost.

Cheers
Kev

[simon12]

Thanks guys. Had a meeting earlier and its looking likely I will be able to get this stuff. I will likely come back with pictures of what I have if I get it for more advise. I think there is at least 6 sets of 3 taps so there will be plenty to put on ebay.

[stuey]

Kegs and casks ALWAYS belong to someone, be it the brewery or the receivers if they have gone bust. Your best course of action in this instance is to call Kegwatch. They will arrange collection at no cost to yourselves and will repatriate the containers with the owners for a fee. The fee, although difficult to accept at times, is a damn site less than paying for a new cask.

[Kev888]

It should really be the responsibility of whoever takes possession of the club, but if it falls to you then yes that is one course of action. Though if it were a small local brewery you could instead call them and let them decide if they want to collect the kegs themselves or pay Kegwatch's ransom; very often breweries will make regular delivery and collection rounds to other places nearby.

There are in fact 'some' cases where the kegs may be owned by the place dispensing them, such as brewpubs and that kind of thing; even you or I can go out and buy new kegs so theres no law against it (though certain organisations may wish there were). But its rare and is certainly not going to be the case here, where the kegs are from big brewery brands like fosters etc.

Cheers
Kev

[stuey]

I don't quite get the second part of your post Kev... I think you are essentially agreeing with what I said in my reply in that the containers belong to someone and thus taking them without permission would be tantamount to theft.
I agree about the Op contacting the brewery direct if they're a smaller micro
.. That is certainly what we prefer people to do if they find our casks.

[seymour]

...That is certainly what we prefer people to do if they find our casks.

Where do you work, stuey?

[Kev888]

I don't quite get the second part of your post Kev...

Sorry, I'm probably being unclear again! Yes I was agreeing with you that as the kegs are obviously from breweries they will be their property, and not the new bar owner's - even if they don't realise that!

I wasn't quite certain what you meant by the 'always' part though. So for completeness I just wanted to mention the caveat that not 'all' kegs are necessarily the property of third-party breweries, there is some legitimate ownership by small brewpubs etc.

And in fact increasingly by homebrewers, as cornies start getting more scarce. Its too early to make much impression as yet, but I'll be interested to see how kegwatch is able to adapt once these start getting legitimately sold on ebay regularly.

Cheers
Kev

[stuey]

No probs Kev I wasn't very clear with my always comment!
I guess all I am trying to say is in total agreement with you....
Containers, wherever they are, always have an owner and that owner is very rarely the publican who is offering them (unless of course they belong to the publican!)
It seems to be a common misunderstanding amongst a large majority of publicans that they can offer containers to all and sundry. Our drayman is told at least once a week to "take all of them if you want"
I suppose I am particularly sensitive to container theft and misplacement. We took over as the owners and directors of Howard Town Brewery May this year. We bought a container stock of just shy of 800 with a declared "around a hundred missing". That "about a hundred" turned out to be 224 missing. At 72 quid each that soon adds up!
Thankfully months of detective work and driving around has reduced the numbers missing to 104. Not quite so bad.
Sadly the previous owners were a little slack at collecting empties promptly and their tracking system was next to useless
In terms of Kegwatch managing the legitimate sale of containers it will come down to the marking and embossing on the container.
Trading standards and others insist that containers have indelible markings showing the name of the owning brewery and a telephone number. This is normally seen embossed into the container somewhere and often on a welded stainless plate as well on steels. Plastics tend to be laser etched.
No identity markings mean the owner can't be proved so I imagine they couldn't prove it either way.

[stuey]

Seymour... Howard Town Brewery nestling on the edge of the Peak District. Brewery established in 2005. We took over 1st May this year following previous directors retirement.

Sorry for the hijack! I've got my coat