Bottling is my least favorite part of the homebrewing process. Last week, Cheryl helped me bottle the Cherry Wheat I started in June. It took us about 3 hours to clean, sanitize, fill and cap the 50 bottles, and then clean and stow the equipment. It’s time consuming and a lot of work. Fortunately, there’s an alternative: kegging.
In order to get the most out of kegging, I’ll need a kegerator. I was considering a compact refrigerator conversion project (like this), but I’m hesitant to drill big holes in a brand new appliance. While doing some research, I came across a better [for me, at least] plan: the chest freezer kegerator. It’s simple, practical, and completely reversible.
After shopping around a bit, I settled on an 8.9 cubic foot Whirlpool freezer (EHL090FXRQ). It’s the perfect size for 5 cornelius kegs and a 5 pound CO2 tank (on the compressor hump). It weighs about 90 pounds, and has a fairly small footprint. I’m planning on putting it on casters so I can roll it around the basement.
Yesterday I acquired the freezer, a thermostat, kegerator conversion kit and a pair of corny kegs. Today, I’m heading back to Lowe’s for some lumber and miscellaneous hardware, stain and some roundover bits for my new router.
I’ll post pictures as the project progresses.
(photo: stevem_nyvi)
