Switching to Kegging & Session Stout

About a month ago I decided to switch to kegging.  The main reason for this was that despite its start up cost, kegging is significantly easier than bottling.  No more washing and sanitizing bottles over and over again!  It also allows me to serve my beer faster from the date of packaging.  Carbonation via CO2 injection takes a mere week and a half on average, compared to the three week carbonation period required for bottle re-fermentation.  That being said, some types of beer benefit from bottle re-fermentation or extended ageing (which is much easier to do in bottle than in keg).  Therefore, my kegs will be used for simple day-to-day beers, while I will continue to bottle beers that are high in complexity, alcohol, funk, or a combination of the three.

A simple keg set-up consists of only a few parts:

Fridge:  Kegged beer and beer lines must be kept cold for optimal serving!  Any old fridge will do, so long as it can hold you kegs and lines and keep temperature between 35F and 45F.

Tap:  This is what you will use to control the flow of beer.  I opted for a 'pass-through' style tap, that is fitted through a hole drilled in the front door of the fridge.

Beverage Lines:  These carry your beer from the keg to the tap.  They must be food grade, and kept clean!

Keg: Homebrewers typically use soda kegs as they can be opened up for easy cleaning.   Your kegs have in and out fittings on the top, which connect to opposing fittings on the lines.  These hold 5 gallons, which is why most homebrewers also make 5 gallon batches.

Gas Lines:  These carry CO2 from your tank to your keg.  Without CO2 you couldn't carbonate your beer by injection, and there would be no pressure to force the beer out the tap.

Regulator:  This dictates the flow of CO2 of your tank.  Flow control is important to generate a good pour.

CO2 Tank:  Industry graded tanks for CO2 storage.  They hold your CO2.

After thoroughly cleaning and setting everything up (which takes a little bit of getting used to, and can be painstaking/messy) you are ready to hook up your beer.  Sanitize and fill your keg, and set the regulator to the correct pressure (this will vary based on beer style, storage temperature and a million other factors).  Allow to sit pressurized for 3-14 days until full carbonation is achieved.  Pour and enjoy!

I designed a simple recipe for a Session Stout that would let me make quick use of my fridge.  After receiving all my kit and checking to make sure it all works, I wanted something on tap ASAP.  This low gravity and low alcohol stout would take a quick 10 days to ferment and only 10 more to carbonate.

"Let Them Eat Keg" -- Stout/English Mild

OG: 1.039

FG: 1.011

ABV: 3.7%

IBU: 20

SRM: 35

Grain Bill:

5 lbs Maris Otter

1 lb Caramel 20L

1 lb Pale Chocolate Malt

8 oz Caramel 60L

8 oz Black Malt

Hop Bill:

2 oz Styrian Goldings (2.4%AA) @ FWH

Yeast:

1 pkg WLP002 English Ale Yeast

built to a cell count of ~160 billion

Brew Notes:

mashed @ 156F for 60 minutes

Fermentation Notes:

Fermented at 68F

Tasting Notes:
Pours just barely black with a thin beige cap that dissipates quickly leaving no trace.  Soft aromas of cocoa, woody hop and a hint of roasted malt.  Mildly sweet malt notes give way to a subtle roasted finish.  Mouth feel is moderate to low, low carbonation and thin body.

Although not a bad beer, I would certainly change some things next time around.  This lacks the gusto one usually associates with a stout, even if it was designed to be low-alcohol (it's a lot harder to get the same amount of flavor into a low ABV beer).  It comes off a lot more like a British Style Mild.  Next time this beer will be mashed higher and have oats added to the grist for more body and better head.  I'd also like to see a bit more malt character, I would up the 60L to a full pound, and perhaps change half of the Pale Chocolate for Chocolate Malt, and all of the Black Malt for Roasted Barley.  Hops could be increased as well.

Hope you enjoyed!