Adventures in Kegging

So I got my stout kegged over the weekend.  In the picture below I'm using the Co2 to flush the oxygen out of the keg before I fill it with the beer.  

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 This is a thermostat regulator that basically turns my chest freezer into a giant fridge.  I currently have it at 35 degrees.

 And here you can see the whole set up.  I have room to expand for at least three more kegs, and I could fit a 3 gallon in there as well if I mount the co2 on the out side.


The second keg that you see there is a batch of old fashioned cream soda I made to play with the kegs and learn the system before I ruined a batch of beer on them.  I think I have the carbonation all figgured out right and I'm glad I did this.  Also, who doesn't like cream soda?

HME Chocolate Stout.

Having little of the proper equipment I ventured to create a stout.  So first I needed a good fermenting bucket.  And I came across this 'Vittles Vault' pet food container.  I melted a hole in the top of the lid and screwed a fitting through to attach a blow off hose.  Which was pretty much over kill because I was doing a 5 gallon batch in a 10+ gallon fermenter.

Then I snagged a 2 gallon cheapo stainless steel pot that I had previously used for a sourkraut project.  Added in the ingredients and ran through the boil.  I also used a one cup coffee strainer to add the bittering hops.  It was a pain in the ass, but it worked.

And here is the final product.  Now I'm off to set up my kegs for some old fashioned home made cream soda while I wait on my stout to ferment.

Apple Cider

Seems I always forget to post as things are happening.  So once again, a little catch up.  Two weeks ago I bottled a batch of cider in 1/2 gallon growlers with a little raw cane sugar to carbonate.  I cracked one yesterday and it worked out pretty well.  I think it will carb up a bit more with further bottle conditioning.

 I kept this one real simple.  All it contains is three gallons of "pure apple juice" kroger brand.  Very important to make sure there are no additives or preservatives as they will kill the yeast.  And some Lavlin 1118 yeast.  Oh, and a clove. A little clove goes a long way with this sort of thing.  I left in it the primary for 4 weeks and then bottled right off the lees.

Now I need ideas for some dish I can serve mass quantities of cider with.