More Beer Less Bother

[Heltor Chasca]

I’m extremely new to home brewing and so far I’ve been very jammy. My Admiral’s Reserve and Elderflower champagne have been fantastic and I’m hoping my beginner’s luck lasts for my batch of Smugglers Special.

The question is probably easily answered, but I found my King Keg ran out of beer far too quickly! Maybe after 3 weeks and I didn’t give that much away.

So the serious issue is: Should I invest in a second keg to make something a little different to keep up the variety, remove the temptation to finish it off so quickly and allow the finer qualities to develop etc? How many kegs should the below average (just) drinker have given that the 1st stage fermentation is quicker than the final conditioning and while the fermentation vessel would normally be sitting idle, I could be cracking on with making a second (or third) keg?

What have you found to be an ideal scenario? What should I be thinking about doing given that I am a novice still learning the ropes with beer kits?

[OldSpeckledBadger]

You have two choices: drink less or brew more. If you're getting through a keg every three weeks then you need to be brewing every three weeks and you'll need at least three kegs working in rotation, probably four.

[trucker5774]

Badger is almost right...............you need at least 473 kegs and 200,400 bottles. Well, that works for me. I only run out of beer on days with a letter Z .

[Normski]

Just buy one more keg at a time until you have the exact number that works for you. Me i have 5 kegs an two FV's. an about 200 bottles. That does me.

[chris_reboot]

likewise.

started with one keg, soon went to 2, then 4 now 6.
and over 100 bottles.

Believe it or not, i dont drink that much (1 pint a day tops).
I like the variety, and well conditioned beer.

[moobli]

like they all said

its a bug and i havent tasted a drop of mine yet
but ive got two fv's two pressure kegs
and bottles and demijohns of tc and lidl wine going
and im being very good and havent touched a drop yet
but it gets you i have a good troll through here and things i like the look of or any bit of wisdom i find i jot down in a brew book(notebook)
which is in my back pocket everytime i go out just in case
i jot down bits of kit i might like or use then if i see it cheaper than else where i make a note andd so on

abandon hope all ye who enter here

[adchesney]

Dear Folks

Where is a good place (price) to get the Cornelius kegs?

regards

ADC

[mickhew]

For me, the cornelius route looks too expensive. I have 2 barrels, if they are both full ,I just put another kit into 2ltr pet bottles.

[PureGuiness]

I've got 4 barrels and a set of PET bottles. That's more than plenty for me and gives a choice of well matured beers.

[lukesharpe]

Dear Folks

Where is a good place (price) to get the Cornelius kegs?

regards

ADC

If contact Norm through Ebay, he can sort some kegs out for you.

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/normannumpa&s ... X:SELLERID

[Brupert]

You load of old lashers, I'm disgusted with the lot of you

[Heltor Chasca]

Thanks all. 2nd KK purchased and awaiting a (repaired) Brupak IPA to fill her up. I get the jist from this I will slowly be purchasing more vessles etc. Heh heh....hc

[Normski]

Thanks all. 2nd KK purchased and awaiting a (repaired) Brupak IPA to fill her up. I get the jist from this I will slowly be purchasing more vessles etc. Heh heh....hc

Remember not to spend all of your money on kegs and to save some for the beer to fill them with. I have a lot of different containers for my brew. I have KK Top Taps & Bottom taps and a few budget kegs too. They are all fine once you know how to use them. Pet bottles work well but I find the 2l ones are a bit big, but the 1l are just about right. I've got quite a lot of Grolsh bottles, they are very convenient, it’s easy to rinse them and put the lid back on to keep them clean. Asda sell them for about 1.60 with beer in them, so they work out good value. I tend to use crown caps on the bottles that I intend to condition for a longer time. You’ll think I’m tight, But I keep my used crown caps and reuse them. I'm careful when removing them. And they work fine. I've never had a problem with them. I always submerge the bottles under water to test for bubbles after filling and to give them a wash. If there are any leaks you will see and can correct them. It’s not that I’m tight; I just prefer to spend my money on the ingredients that go in the brew. Honest guv.

[Heltor Chasca]

You’ll think I’m tight, But I keep my used crown caps and reuse them. I'm careful when removing them. And they work fine.

I'll go with this too. Just like me heh heh.

I'm using up loads of emty beer bottles and loving the mish mash mixture of shapes and sizes to add character. I've just cleaned up some rather interesting shaped bottles from St Peter's Brewery in Suffolk and now ther's no beer in them I've realised they are GREEN bottles.

Is this a problem? Should I avoid green?

BTW: The mild from St Peter's is very nice indeed. All the best...hc