I just kegged my first batch of beer and if I have only one thing to say about the experience, it’s that I will never go back to bottles again.  I ordered a Brew Logic 4-keg system for myself over Christmas.  It arrived Saturday and finally I got to play with it.  There was a bit of a fiasco trying to get the CO2 tank charged on Saturday, but I managed to get out today and do it over lunch.   Just in time too, since the Red Rye Ale I made in November is done dry hopping in secondary, and needed a home.  I was bound and determined not to put this one in the bottle.  I just gave the keg a quick rinse in sanitising agent, purged the lines, racked the beer into it, and threw 20psi on it.  Almost too easy.  I cut the gas on the main tank, and will check back in the morning to make sure the line is still holding pressure.  If so, I should have a fresh batch ready to pour by the weekend.

I’m so excited to finally have my kegs because  I was really beginning to dread bottling day.  It was making the hobby feel like more work than I was really ready to deal with now that I have so little time on weekends.  I also really felt guilty drinking my own beers in any kind of real quantity knowing what kind of work went into the batch, and also know how much work a new batch would be.  Now that the bar is lower, I’m looking forward to stepping up production and exploring new varieties.

Technical specs on today’s session: 5 gallons of rye ale into the keg to be served at 58°F, force carbonating at 20psi.  I’ll give it a taste this Saturday and see where we stand.  I’m looking forward to it!  This batch will have been 8 weeks in the making.

Now I have to finish the Keezer project.