To keg... Perchance to serve.

When I started out, making 5 gallons of beer on the stove seemed like a lot, but still a manageable amount. Enough that I might realize the dream of drinking a bottle of my own beer. Times have changed, and so have I. With ~10 gallons a time coming out of the new system we have finally embraced the awesome power of the keg!

Our first kegs - two cornies, a 5lb Co2 tank and picnic taps.

We are now primarily going to be serving out of Cornelius kegs (a smaller, more user-friendly keg style that is now deprecated from the soda industry). With this luxurious problem comes the dilemma of how best to store and serve from these kegs at temperature worthy of the fruit of our labor. Enter the keezer!

A scrap wood preview of what is to come.

This brings me to another aspect of homebrewing that I've been thoroughly enjoying. I have never considered myself handy and I'd never want anyone relying on my construction work, but homebrewing affords both the scope and flexibility of amateur DIY projects that make even this novice dream of grand feats of home improvement. We built our brewery stand and its not immaculate but it works and its a tank. We'll build our keezer and I've full faith it will delight and dazzle (potentially in unequal measure and likely proportional to the amount of contents consumed).

The taps and such came in this week, and we're still making decisions on the wood. However that hasn't stopped me from unpacking everything and checking out what we've got to work with in the mean time. Enjoy these pics from an evening reveling in the anticipation of work and victory yet to be!

Brewmaster Pete pours the primary pistachio porter - carbed up and ready to roll

Our chest freezer - 7 cu. ft. Should be enough for 5 kegs once we get the collar on

Ranco Two-Stage Temperature control

Myriad parts - Perlick 525SS faucets, faucet wrench, shanks, gas manifold, tubing (both 3/16" & 5/16")

The perfect pour - the porter's looking fine and tasting smooth

Do you like luxury?

Finally set the regulator to be read from within the freezer.

Lots to be going on with here, and lots to be explained. I'm planning on having my camera handy during the build that I might expound upon each step, its virtues, vices and place in the brewing cosmos. Goodnight for now, and cheers to a future of quality brews served right. For in that deep of keg, what beers may come....