Welcome & Kegerators

This is my first blog, encouraged by my son-in-law who has his own blog(s), and insisted I document my brewing ramblings online for my fellow home brewers.

I have been home brewing for seven years now. I was fortunate to have learned what real beer tastes like after moving to the beer Mecca of Washington state for a short period of time. Then, my daughter bought me "The Everything Beer" book and I found out that I could make these great northwestern creations myself. I've been hooked ever since. I've been lucky enough to win several awards for my beers, including Best of Show at the 2001 Great Frederick Fair for my Belgian Wit Ale (aka Front Porch Ale). I now live in Louisiana where most folks consider Coors Light a premium beer, so my mission to educate these folks on how to enjoy real beer has been heightened. I currently brew about one batch per month. If you can't buy it, you can make it yourself!

This past weekend, the time was right to bottle a batch of Front Porch Ale but I was pressured for time to produce a fireworks show on New Year's Eve for the kids. So to save time, instead of bottling two cases of beer, I racked them both into my new kegerator and my new 3-gallon Cornie kegs for draft enjoyment by all my family and neighbors. This is my 3rd kegging; I've also done a batch of Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and a homemade IPA recipe. If you've been thinking about a kegerator of your own, I encourage you to go for it!

Below I have included a video of that kegerator that I converted myself from parts purchased at BeverageFactory.com. All you need for this project is a cheap refrigerator, the parts from BeverageFactory.com, a drill with a couple of hole-saws, and a bottle of CO2 gas (and of course your beverage of choice). It's much easier than capping 50+ bottles every time you brew a batch of beer, and it is a party magnet.

This weekend I plan to brew a batch of Alaskan Smoked Porter. Or, it might be a Bridgeport IPA. I've purchased both all-grain kits from Austin Homebrew Supply. Hopefully, there will be more news to post at that time.

Until then, cheers!