Here in the Midwest, the weather is something that you just accept as being screwed up. For example, back when I was in high school, one day the temp was 90°F, and the next day it snowed. At least that's how I remember it. Anyway, brewing here in the winter is kind of something that you just accept as only happening when the weather gets crazy warm and everything falls into place - kids are off doing something, no errands to run or places to be, SWMBO doesn't mind...and lately, the weather has just been downright cold. Last time I brewed in the winter my chill water froze - in the hose! As such, I've finally commenced on something I've been meaning to do for at least a year - put a collar on my chest freezer. Things have been so downright depressing of late that I needed to actually get something going that I've really wanted to do, and the best part is that the cost was really almost nothing (okay, that doesn't include the cost of the freezer, but that aside...) - the wood cost MAYBE $10 tops. Screws and such are a few dollars, so basically under $20.
I haven't finished with the gas and faucet connections, but plan on having my home brewed root beer on one tap (for the kids, of course), and two other taps to go along with the two on the mini fridge kegerator. Just killed off two kegs of Two Brothers weiss - one Ebel's Weiss, one Bonfire Dunkel - so it's looking like I need to get brewing again. If only the weather would cooperate....
2 comments:
That's a pretty neat job Mike. Can I ask why a chest freezer rather than a regular refridgerator? Is it simply a better shape to take the kegs? I assume the temp control has been adjusted not to make beer popsicles. Hmmm, now there's an idea...
I was in the process of purchasing a chest freezer for the house and figured why not get a second for lagering? It's connected to a Johnson A419 temp controller which works perfectly, so it holds the temp of the freezer at whatever temp is set on the controller. It shuts off the power to the freezer so it stops cooling.
The cost of a new freezer was just a bit more than a used fridge without the worries of having to constantly recharge the system.
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