Tag: Keezer

September 7, 2023 – Underestimated Project Costs

September 7, 2023 /

I have heard it said that one of the most underestimated costs of a building project is the cost of fasteners. And, I do believe it. I think about a pound of specific Simpson Strong Tie nails cost $5. According to the packaging, it contains 120 nails. Each bracket is supposed to have all the nail holes filled. That means that one pound nails about 10 brackets. You can see how this all adds up.

I recently (and finally) completed my keg manifold. The whole goal was to make the process of flushing the line easier to do. I came up with this idea after finding a little mold growing on the spout at the end of my first keg.

At first, I was ignorant. I thought that if I kept the line full then everything would be alright. That was before I realized that the spout was not full. Since I started flushing the line, I haven’t really had a problem. I will say that having to flush the line does give me second thought about actually using the keg. I have to balance the ‘Is it worth it?’ equation.

Then, along came our anniversary party and I realized that there is another kind of keg that real breweries use. While I did have most of what I needed to dispense for an event, I was ill equipped to handle the leftover volume. So, now my manifold needed to accommodate both my homebrew kegs as well as the occasion where I would have a leftover keg. This meant more connections and fittings.

I don’t really know if I made my life any easier. I can say that I spent of $150 on fittings. With that, I can say that I should be able to move my CO2 cylinder from the keezer to an event without disassembly of the setup. And I can move the flush keg over without completely disassembling my current dispensing setup. I can swap keg styles without replumbing everything. Maybe not easier, but at least better.

There is a dizzying array of fitting types. Some are for air, some are for liquids, some contain lead and others not. I have talked about my pantry mentality in other aspects. Even here, I feel like I should order one more than I need. But, when I tallied the cost for my order, I took a step back. I don’t really need a spare of each type. It added another 30% to my order cost.

If you do your design right, order spare plugs or the male part of the fitting. That way the female and more expensive part can stay in place and you can swap different configurations in and out of the setup much more economically. This is what I did.

End Your Programming Routine: I have loved these projects since I was a chemist. In fact, my favorite part of the job was building the apparatus to do the work, not the science part. It is kind of like a Lego kit for adults. So, I have been acquiring parts for months and now it is finally done. I actually have room to put more kegs in, maybe expansion is in the future?

February 16, 2022 – Brewing and Keezer Project

February 16, 2022 /

I’m going to do something that I haven’t done in quite a while. That is to make beer. But of course, I cant just do something that I am proficient with, I have to amp up the complexity and number of variables.

A long time ago, I tried to brew a lager beer (2003ish). That is done at temperatures between 45 and 60. I had a refrigerator that had temperature control but it just didn’t work well. I am not totally sure why I failed but I thought that I would do it again. Part of what is causing me to do it now is that I am watching my plum wine settle and I can see the temperature going between 48 and 58 depending on the day. That is just setting in the basement, no refrigeration required.

A couple of years ago, my friend gave me a keezer. That is a freezer that has been converted to hold and dispense kegs. This is also new to me. I have never kegged beer before. It allegedly reduces the clean-up (mostly bottling time). That is the biggest reason I have moved away from brewing.

So, in order of my issues

  1. Time spent on the brewing and bottling process
  2. Cost of materials, there is little money saving brewing
  3. The quality of what I was making was substandard, in my opinion

Combine those three together and I think you can see why I stopped. Or should I say shifted focus. If you remember a long time ago, I wrote about looking for free or cheap sources to brew. Hence the plum wine, they were given to me. Just to punctuate this a bit more my kit costs $50. That is malt, hops and yeast in sufficient quantity to make 5 gallons.

5 gals * 128 oz/gal = 640 ozs

640 oz / 12 oz/bottle = 53.33 bottles yield

53.33 bottles / 6 bottles = 8.88 six packs per batch

$50 / 8.88 = $5.63 per six pack

Now, that might sound alright given that I am seeing Modelo or Corona at $11-13 per six pack. However, the other factors time and effort as well as results come into play. Generally speaking, this is going to be a low alcohol content batch. The more things that go in, the price starts to go up. Malt extract is $5/pound and hops are running more like $15/oz. That means if you are brewing an imperial IPA with lots of hops and alcohol you are getting closer to $10 a six pack or about what you are going to buy it at.

I purchased a brewing kit that is styled as a Mexican Lager. I am shooting to have this ready for Cinco de Mayo. Hopefully, I have given myself plenty of time but not so much that it is gone before we get there! If all goes well, then something else I have never done is all grain brewing. That can save quite a bit of money. So, who knows maybe this is the key to getting back into brewing beer again?

I want to try kegging. I want to try lagering. I want get this keezer working to see if I would rather like to keep going, expand or get rid of it myself. If it works out, then it is going to figure prominently in the wine cellar design as well. This all ties back to the basement cleanup efforts. See my crazy logic?

End Your Programming Routine: This is going to be a quick mini-series on brewing beer, specifically what I did. I had talked about writing on brewing in my About page and some of my early writings, but I have rarely done it. I suppose it goes back the time and the cost. I am looking forward to kicking this process off.