The Bar Towel

What are the minimum equipment requirements for getting away from bottling every batch of homebrew, and into kegging it? I've gotten the impression that Cornelius kegs strike a good balance between cost and convenience. Thoughts?

For higher gravity brews I would prefer to bottle, but for more sessionable ales like mild ale or wit, I'd like another option.

Keg, CO2 tank, regulator, hoses, and something to dispense is all you need, whether its a tap and tower setup or some cobra taps.

viggo wrote:Keg, CO2 tank, regulator, hoses, and something to dispense is all you need, whether its a tap and tower setup or some cobra taps.

Thanks.

Based on what I've read, converting a refrigerator into a kegerator is the most cost effective approach. Any recommendations on local sources for hardware, taps, etc.?

depends on how local you want. simgo has some stuff. mashing heads. niagara traditoin in buffalo has a good selection. and if you're in windsor/detroit, my personal favourite adventures in homebrewing has everything your heart could desire.

grub wrote:depends on how local you want. simgo has some stuff. mashing heads. niagara traditoin in buffalo has a good selection. and if you're in windsor/detroit, my personal favourite adventures in homebrewing has everything your heart could desire.

have you ordered any cornies from any of these or other places? how was shipping?

im finding it a little hard finding decently priced cornelius kegs around

thanks

stephan wrote:have you ordered any cornies from any of these or other places? how was shipping?

im finding it a little hard finding decently priced cornelius kegs around

i've got cornies from adventures, but it was in person (as are all my purchases from them). they're pretty light, so i wouldn't expect shipping to be terrible if you can at least find them in the country. unfortunately, i don't know of anywhere over here that has them for sale at a decent rate.

Finding 5 gallon ball lock kegs at a reasonable price seems to be much more difficult than expected. I can't justify the shipping cost from the US...at least not at this point anyway.

Anybody else have any luck sourcing them in Ontario recently?

If your desperate, they sell for 35-40$ US in Rochester at Beers of the World, used.

Or you can always buy them new for much higher cost at your local homebrew store. In Pttawa, they go around 110$ at DeFalco's I believe.

I bought all mine used.