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Random Beers

ctenidae

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That's a pony keg, so it holds 6.6 gallons.
When I was brewing my own I hdd Cornelius kegs (the kind soda premix used to come in) running through an aluminum coldplate (all salvaged from when the bar I ran switched from Pepsi products to Coke), so I could have run up to 9 brews at a time, if I'd had either that many Corny kegs or time for brewing. One keg (5 gallons) would never last through 9 brewing cycles, though.

The next 12 pack, which I will be starting this evening, is from Two Brothers Brewery. Don't know much else about it.
 

ski_resort_observer

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ctenidae said:
That's a pony keg, so it holds 6.6 gallons.
When I was brewing my own I hdd Cornelius kegs (the kind soda premix used to come in) running through an aluminum coldplate (all salvaged from when the bar I ran switched from Pepsi products to Coke), so I could have run up to 9 brews at a time, if I'd had either that many Corny kegs or time for brewing. One keg (5 gallons) would never last through 9 brewing cycles, though.

The next 12 pack, which I will be starting this evening, is from Two Brothers Brewery. Don't know much else about it.

The owner advises it is not a pony keg...this one holds 9.1 gal. I am starting to feel caught between a keg and a hard place....lol

He likes the fact that he did not have to build anything, the whole set-up is done for you. It's a small refridgerator with CO2 tanks built into the back. Plug it in, put the keg in, connect the hoses and start pouring.
 

ctenidae

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9.1 gallons? Never heard of it. Interesting. US Standards are 7.75 gal (1/4 bbl) and 15.5 gal (1/2 bbl), though I think the Euro standards are more common- 50 liter (13.2 gal) and 25 liter (6.6 gal)
 

SkiDog

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ctenidae said:
One keg (5 gallons) would never last through 9 brewing cycles, though.


what do you mean here? The cornie kegs I use last forever...you need to replace seals occassionally, but thats standard stuff....I have cornies that are 10 + years old before I got them and I have used them for MANY MANY brews....I think im misunderstanding..


I also have no idea what a 9.1 gallon "keg" is...never seen one...

M
 

ctenidae

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One keg would nevere last through 9 cycles, meaning that if I had hooked up 9 kegs, keg #1 would be emptied way, way before keg #9 got filled, so I'd never, ever manage to get all 9 lines running. Hell, we had 2 kegs, and they were never both on line at the same time.
 

SkiDog

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ski_resort_observer said:
If you guys are serious beer drinkers you need to have a kegernator in your place. My firend is a serious beer drinker and this thing is amazing. Luckily, I am not a serious beer drinker, if I was, I probably would not survive the month I will be staying here until my place is ready over in Waitsfield.

He gets it from the local brewery, you get the keg refridgerator for free with all the accessories and I think the keg holds 10 gal of beer. Tho I am not a big beer drinker, on a hot day, getting a frosty mug out of the freezer and pouring keg beer, it's pretty nice.

kegernator.jpg

Looks like a regular run of the mill half barrel in there....and sure enough...heres a link to how much it holds....15.5 gallons

Anywho...I used to build these things myself out of full sized refridges.....all that parts are easily available....plus..you can actually buy the unit listed at like sears...all ready cept for the beer itself.

http://www.cockeyed.com/inside/keg/keg.html

M
 

SkiDog

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ctenidae said:
One keg would nevere last through 9 cycles, meaning that if I had hooked up 9 kegs, keg #1 would be emptied way, way before keg #9 got filled, so I'd never, ever manage to get all 9 lines running. Hell, we had 2 kegs, and they were never both on line at the same time.

Gotcha..yeah...I couldnt have that many going at one time either... I like beer... BUT.... ;-)

M
 

ski_resort_observer

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This will be my last post on this subject....lol A beer novice should never get in the middle of a bunch of serious beer drinkers.

The owner says it is not the same size keg(the 15 gal size) we drank in college some 40 years ago. If it was he would not be able to get it into his kitchen by himself. The owner just got back from one of his trips to Amstradam mainly to drink good beer. He is a Heineken/Amstal fanatic. The man knows his beer.

He says his keg is 9.1 gal, good enough for me. He gets it from the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, Vt, formally the Catamount Brewery. He says he was not even aware this size keg even existed until 6 months ago. Why would he buy one at Sears if he gets it free from the brewery?

I posted it thinking it was a fun way to have tap beer at home, not a "guess the keg size" post.........lol All this has made me thirsty so I think I will grab a frosty mug from the freezer and pour one.
 

ctenidae

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When there's no snow, we'll latch onto damn near anything to talk about.

I don't know your friend, and mean this in the best possible way, but being a Heineken/Amstel fanatic would not qualify someone as a "man who knows his beer" in my book. The Dutch have done much better thing with beer than those two.
 

ctenidae

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Third 12 pack is from Two Brother's Brewery outside of Chicago. Quite good.

French Country Ale- low carbonation, medium hops, malty, like a good brown ale. Great color, almost more red than brown. Very tasty, highly drinkable.

Weiss- good wheat beer, maybe a touch too fruity, a touch too little hops. Not much sediment in the bottles. Not fantastic, but acceptable.

Bitter End Pale Ale- good, light pale ale. Could have stood a touch more hops, and maybe a bit more fizz.

Overall, good beers. Light on carbonation, as appropriate for weiss and browns, making for very smooth, drinkable beers. Coolest part is they list the original and specific gravities, IBU's, and ABV on the labels. Mostly a "fun" item, but you can taste the 14 IBU swing between the weiss and the pale ale.
 

ctenidae

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Two new ones, one Russian, one Polish:

Moskovyan- Proof the Russians should stick to vodka. Very yeasty and bready, the head is thick and unnatural looking, not a very good beer. Pretty bad, really. Mercifully, the bottle is only 11 ounces, so it's over quickly.

Harnas- "Of the Polish Highlands" Who knew Poland had "highlands"? Nice Polish type beer. Medium brown color, thin, lacy head, solidly hopped but not overpowering. Definately a drinking beer. They're only 6% ABV, too, so by Polish standards you could drink a lot of them.
 

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ctenidae said:
Two new ones, one Russian, one Polish:

Moskovyan- Proof the Russians should stick to vodka. Very yeasty and bready, the head is thick and unnatural looking, not a very good beer. Pretty bad, really. Mercifully, the bottle is only 11 ounces, so it's over quickly.

Harnas- "Of the Polish Highlands" Who knew Poland had "highlands"? Nice Polish type beer. Medium brown color, thin, lacy head, solidly hopped but not overpowering. Definately a drinking beer. They're only 6% ABV, too, so by Polish standards you could drink a lot of them.

CT- maybe the beer was stored poorly? Not that I would have high expectations for a Russian beer...
 

ctenidae

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It wasn't skunky, so I don't think it was a storage issue. I've had one other Russian beer that wasn't much good either. Though, it was in green glass, and that's never a good sign...
 

SkiDog

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ctenidae said:
It wasn't skunky, so I don't think it was a storage issue. I've had one other Russian beer that wasn't much good either. Though, it was in green glass, and that's never a good sign...

Yeah Green Bottles = badness....same for clear...bad news...

Brown bottles are the only way to go..I also like the idea that Sam Adams uses with the taller 6 pack carriers. There is speculation that even the lights in the coolers at the beer store have the possibility of "skunking" beer. Mostly ultra violet light is the culprit. I never let it sit long enough to get effected by light :D

It is light not temp changes that ruins good beer though...

M
 

roark

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SkiDog said:
Yeah Green Bottles = badness....same for clear...bad news...

Brown bottles are the only way to go..I also like the idea that Sam Adams uses with the taller 6 pack carriers. There is speculation that even the lights in the coolers at the beer store have the possibility of "skunking" beer. Mostly ultra violet light is the culprit. I never let it sit long enough to get effected by light :D

It is light not temp changes that ruins good beer though...

M

Yup, I wish Sam Smith & Newcastle would ditch their marketing schemes and get some real bottles!
 

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ctenidae said:
Two new ones, one Russian, one Polish:

Moskovyan- Proof the Russians should stick to vodka. Very yeasty and bready, the head is thick and unnatural looking, not a very good beer. Pretty bad, really. Mercifully, the bottle is only 11 ounces, so it's over quickly.

Harnas- "Of the Polish Highlands" Who knew Poland had "highlands"? Nice Polish type beer. Medium brown color, thin, lacy head, solidly hopped but not overpowering. Definately a drinking beer. They're only 6% ABV, too, so by Polish standards you could drink a lot of them.

Isn't there a Russian Imperial Stout that is rate very highly on BA? Maybe it's not made by a Russian brewer.


I had a stout by a micro brewery out in Holyoke, the last of a six pack, and it was very good. I'll have to go back and look on the label for the name, but I'd def. recommend it.
 

Marc

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ctenidae said:
Isn't there a Russian Imperial Stout that is rate very highly on BA? Maybe it's not made by a Russian brewer.

Here's the top Russian Imperials, according to BA: http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers?style=84

None are made by Russian brewers.

Go figure.


Well, I don't blame them too much. They're all too drunk off the vodka to brew a good batch of beer.






I hope that wasn't xenophobic is some way but I have a feeling it was.
 

ctenidae

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Actually, according to Michael Jackson (Real Beer, not Real Queer (sorry, couldn't help it)), and BA (BeerAdvocate, not Baraccus), the Russians still drink kvass, which may be an example of the earliest form of beer. However, from the descriptions I've read of it, there's probably a good reason why the rest of the beer drinking world moved on to better beers.
 
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