Serving
Quality Beer From A Kegerator.
A kegerator draft system is in many ways like a car
or truck. You need many parts in the engine to make
the vehicle go; however not all of the parts need
to run smoothly for the car to run. And that is the
same way with a kegerator draught system. You can
have all the required parts to serve beer on tap;
however you can be serving off tasting, flat, unappealing
less enjoyable beer; if part of the keg system is
not working properly. Thus, we will review a few easy
methods to keep your kegerator beer tasting fresh
and enjoyable.
Also
see: Best Ways to Serve Your
Beer From Your Kegerator Draught System.
Five Ways
To Maintain The Quality Of Keg Beer On Tap.
1. The first is to prevent oxygen from entering
the keg .
Your
keg of beer must be kept pressurized with CO2 or else
you will lose all quality flavors in the beer. The
beer will go flat and develop a ‘metallic’
flavor that tastes awful. So it is essential you use
a CO2 system to keep pressure
on your beer inside of the keg . You can use a
standard hand pump on a keg that will be consumed
within 24 hours. However, to keep your keg beer in
your kegerator fresh for any extent of time you must
have an efficient running CO2 system. Our kegerator
kits come with the instructions you will need to set
up and maintain a quality Co2 system to keep your
beer tasting the freshest.
 |
Born
On Date Tag - Most of the time the born on date
is stamped directly onto the top of the keg.
NEVER buy a keg that is older than 30 - 45 days.
|
2.
Second, the beer must be consumed in a reasonable
amount of time.
Draft beer
is generally freshest with in 30 to 45 days after
the beer has been shipped from the brewery. Most kegs
have the ‘born on ‘ date stamped on the
top of the keg or on a piece of paper attached to
the keg. Keep this in mind whey you go to buy the
your keg from the distributor never buy a keg that
is 'older' than 30-45 days or else you run the risk
of buying bad beer that you can't return. And don't
buy a keg to save money if you cannot consume it in
a reasonable amount of time, you will be doing yourself
a favor to only buy as much beer as you can consume
in a week. Another alternative is to buy smaller 1/4
keg barrels and 1/6 keg barrels which can be a good
solution to enjoying quality, flavorful beer . Actually
KegBooty.com recommends buying smaller quantity for
the time between the parties that you need less than
a full keg in a week. ( Like the picture of the kegs
below. )
3.
Third, the beer must be kept cold, but not too cold - Kegs WILL Freeze.
The 30 - 45 day expiration date usually assumes the
beer will be kept below 40 deg F. Higher temperatures
greatly accelerate spoilage which can lead to an off
taste. The entire system, including the hoses, must
be kept cold, from the keg to the faucet. A good rule
is to treat beer the same way you would treat milk.
Another tip here is don’t go over board and
freeze your keg. This can lead to problems too. The
characteristics of beer in a keg that has frozen are
foamy servings. Beer itself will not completely freeze,
the water within will freeze at 32 degrees, however
the alcohol won't freeze. (Alcohol actually will freeze
at -173 degrees Fahrenheit). So be careful with you
keg. We at KegBooty have frozen a few kegs transporting
them from the keg store and regretting leaving them
in the back of our truck at sub 0 degree conditions.
We now put them in seat belts in the front of the
truck when the temps get too cold.
 |
Be
careful! Kegs left for too long in cold conditions
can lead to freezing thus foamy beer. |
4.
Fourth, the system should be cleaned after every keg
or every two weeks, which ever is longer.
Line cleaning
kits for home systems are available for between $30-
$80 dollars. Please
click here for more extensive discussion of keeping
your kegerator clean and serving fresh beer.
5. Fifth, you must keep the glassware in very good
condition.
(For the true beer connoisseur – we don’t
actually do this ourselves – a bit extreme)
To achieve the freshest beer a cleaner should be used
designed for bar glasses and rinsed very well. Always
allow them to air dry, do not towel dry. If you freeze
your glasses, don't put them in the freezer until
they're dry. The extra condensation that freezes will
water down your beer when you serve your first draught.
Click
here to learn more about how to properly serve beer
out of a kegerator.
If you are interested in a kegerator
conversion kit please click here.
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