Kegerator FAQ
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What temperature should I keep my beer?
Cold, is generally preferred, but usually a 34-36 degrees will be what you want.
At what pressure should I keep my beer?
This is waffley information, so be careful relying on it too much, but this is how I understand things right now.
Ideally beer should be dispensed by gravity. This means that the pressure delivered by your CO2 tank should precisely equal the pressure it takes to get beer from the keg to the faucet and no more. Once its in the faucet the beer should roll downhill and into your glass, kazaam. Beer being forcefully ejected from the faucet ala a soda fountain is not desirable. Details on this are below.
Even if you get the pressure exactly right for pouring, pressure also effects the carbonation of the beer. The higher the CO2 pressure, the more CO2 that will be absorbed into the beer. Additionally, different beers/types of beer require different pressures for the 'perfect' amount of carbonation. This carbonation need should be accounted for when a brewer says a beer should be served at X pressure. The problem being that changing the serving pressure to suit the brewer could disrupt the careful balance as described above.
What to do. You can really only control two variables in this system: The length/type of beer line, and the pressure coming out of the CO2 regulator. In the ideal world this would mean that you set the regulator to the brewery defined value, and then cut a length of hose that results in the correct pressure drop. If they recommend a higher pressure, cut a longer hose, less pressure would need a shorter hose. This is a bit unrealistic, unless you are serving only one or two beers and don't mind swapping out lines and fittings for a new keg. More likely is that you will pick a middle of the road pressure requirement and cut your hose to fit that and deal with the slight imperfections when a higher or lower pressure is asked for.
Now that I've made this really complex, read this for a short answer on how long your line should be.
Do I need special "beverage grade" CO2?
The concensus appears to be "no". See this thread on rec.crafts.brewing for all the gory details. Correction welcome here, as there appears to be no other authority.
My Kegerator is frozen, help!
- If you are building your own kegerator this is likely to come up sooner or later (especially if you are modifying a freezer to do it). It is shockingly easy to freeze a keg when you are already keeping it just a few slight degrees above freezing for that frosty pour, so don't be surprised if one day you pull the tap and nothing comes out.
- Fear not, as anecdotal evidence shows that kegs can be frozen solid and yet be thawed out and drunk! It is, however, unknown under what conditions a keg may burst, and frozen kegs tend to result in foamy beer so it is generally ill advised to freeze your beer.
