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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator

Contents:
  Re: Homebrew Digest for December 10, 1988 (Dave Hollenbeck)
  kegging your beer (Jeff Miller)
  ADD ME (Carl DeVincentis)

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Date: Mon, 12 Dec 88 08:36:03 mst
From: Dave Hollenbeck <dbh at hpesdbh>
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest for December 10, 1988

>  
>  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>  
>  Date: Sat, 10 Dec 88 10:24:34 EST
>  From: hplabs!rutgers!vu-vlsi.villanova.edu!nlp (Nick Pine)
>  Subject: Kegging systems
>  
>  
>  A brewing supply store owner around here mentioned that one of his
>  customers used 2 beerspheres interconnected with tubes, one
>  fermenting and supplying CO2 to the other. . . I wonder how that
>  sort of thing would work, and how much it complicates scheduling or
>  compromises the brewing.
>  
>  --Nick 
>  

I just bought a CO2 setup from The Brass Corkscrew in Seattle.  For a
low low $110.00 I got a 5lb tank, regulator, 1-to-3 manifold and hoses.
I got a 7.75 gal stainless steel keg (the type has a name, but I forget)
from a friend for free.  Another friend says the tap is about $20.00 from
the local distributor.  This seems like a reasonable alternative to the
$50.00 plastic kegs which seem to have been described as problematic.
Although I have yet to keg a batch, it seems fairly simple: Brew and ferment
as usual, then siphon from carboy into keg, slap on the CO2 and drink (in
a few days, of course).
Also, for anyone who might be interested, the Brass Corkscrew also sells 5,
10 and 15 gal stainless steel kettles, and will add any combination of spigot,
screen, and temperature probe.

Dave

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Date: Mon, 12 Dec 88 10:29:53 CDT
From: Jeff Miller <jmiller at unix.eta.com>
Subject: kegging your beer

Boy it seems like I got stuck when I got my kegging system.  To clarify
my anxieties over the cornelius kegs I have the ball and socket type connection.
>From what Darryl says about the ease of his tap and pin (coke type) connectors
I would opt for those over the the ones I have.

I also wish I was as lucky as Darryl in locating used kegs for sale.  The
partyline I get from my restaurant suppliers and scalvagers is that the
soda industry people own the kegs and they don't get rid of them.  I was
able to find one place that had a few busted up kegs that didn't have tops.
When I looked through a mail order catalog for the parts to get the keg
in working order (cover, all the rubber fittings, new ball and socket
connectors) the cost sent the kegs to over $50.  Things that you may want
to look at in used kegs is that you probably want all of your kegs to
have the same connectors to avoid headaches and you should probably also
look for kegs that have a pressure relief valve in the top.  From what I
here the older kegs didn't have these and with the pressures that build
the keg can become quite dangerous.

Some other parts that you may want to add to your system would include
some low pressure blowouts that are typically sold for beer dispensing.
It is an inline regulator that blows out at something like 30 psi.  It
is great in the event that if your regulator should screw up you won't
get a major explosion.  I believe that some of these low pressure regulators
also come with check valves built in.  if you are going to have multiple
taps then you should have check valves in to prevent and back fill.  Some
people claim that check valves aren't necessary but they are pretty cheap
and after all this is your homebrew that your protecting.

When I keg beer I also top off the keg with some CO2 to keep the cap on
but I use only about 5 psi and I also follow the recommendation to use
less sugar.  Actually I usually use about 1/2 cup of light malt extract.

For serving I also like to dispense at about 10 psi.  The kegs work great
because yeast will fall to the bottom of the keg and get blown out on the
first couple of pitures.  After that there is no yeast to worry about.
I haven't had any real problems with excessive foam except when the
connectors didn't fit right.  Flow rate is pretty good but just a tad
slower then CO2 on a Golden gate tap.

Jeff Miller (jmiller at eta.com)

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Date: Mon, 12 Dec 88 13:51:26 EST
From: Carl DeVincentis <cdevince at ccm.bbn.com>
Subject: ADD ME

The idea of an electronic mailing list for homebrewers is a great one. Please 

add me to the list and I hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks
Carl DeVincentis

P.S. I know it's a little late now, but I'd be interested in hearing about 
some your holiday beer recipes.

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End of HOMEBREW Digest
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