I had a drinking problem.

Is this the sign of a problem? I guess it all depends on the way you look at it. I do have a drinking problem. Well, I did have a drinking problem. The problem is that I didn't know what to do with all the empty bottles after I finished them.

This is where they end up first, on the side of my desk. As I write the posts for my blog and make the roster moves for my fantasy football teams, I would drink them, then line them up to the side when they were finished.

By the way, I have the best record in one of the leagues thank you very much.

Anyways, eventually there would be too many empty bottles. They would start to crowd my keyboard and get in the way of my monitor. So I would move them to a box on the floor. I am conscientious about the environment, so I saved them to recycle. Actually, the city gave us a recycle bin so it leaves more room in the regular trash can.

Eventually, the bottles start to get in my way again, so I start a new box. It is a vicious cycle. A cycle that finally ended last week, with 96 empty bottles on the floor. That's right, in less than a month, I ended up with 96 (ninety-six) empty bottles of some great beers. That is like what, 3 - 4 beers a day on average? Not to bad if you ask me.

But no more. I have given that up. I have solved my problem. I am going to stop drinking.....from bottles.

From now on, I will drink from a keg. The bottles take up to much space, and I hate carrying them to the recycle bin. It is all the way outside. No more. Just fresh kegged beer from a tap for me. It is such a great thing to be able to take a mere 18 steps to refill my glass, which I will wash and use over and over again.

See, I care about the environment.

-Prost!

I am so cool!

Just when I thought I couldn't be any more popular, it happened. I am.

A kegerator will make you a very popular person. Not just in high school, but anytime. I figured my friends would think it was cool and want to come over to drink the "Free Beer". But I had no idea that my friend list would grow to include my friend's friends, and my even wife's friends.

Of the 3 beers I have on tap, I figured the Samuel Adams Boston Lager would be the most popular. Quite the contrary. It has been the least popular by far. I'm not sure if they don't like it, or just like the others more.

The most popular beer has been the Four Peaks Kilt Lifter. I bet the keg is nearly empty now. All it took was one Saturday night. Guys lined up for it all night long. It was a surprise as well as a let down. I am happy I got the Miller Lite drinkers to drink a good beer. But I am bummed out that they have nearly finished off my keg.

So the keezer is fully functional and pouring liquid gold for everyone, pint after pint. Or in my case, liter after liter. (I guess the metric system isn't all bad now that I think about it). So if you get the time, feel free to stop by for a beer. Everyone else is.

-Cheers!

A's or D's?

I told you I had a funny story about my kegs. It is funny, but I feel like an idiot. So much that I can laugh at myself and share the story with you, my close friends.

You might have noticed that I have been building a kegerator, aka "HIT - Home Intoxication Kit". And if you follow my blog, you will know that I love beer from Europe, in particular Germany. So why wouldn't I tap a few German kegs for my personal enjoyment.

As luck would have it, my local beer specialty store had a bunch of 5 gallon kegs on sale. Could you imagine my excitement when I read Paulaner Oktoberfest and Bitburger for $32.00 each. Are you kidding me? How freaking sweet is that!

At that time, I wasn't ready to buy any kegs because the kegerator wasn't finished yet. My plan was to go back and pick them up on Tuesday night. In the mean time, I needed to buy some German "A" system keg couplers. Damn, they are expensive. Nearly $30 more than a standard American "D" couplers. (Who would think that A's would cost more than D's) But I needed them, so I bought them.

With everything ready for the Germans to come home on Wednesday, I made the trip to buy the kegs. I walked down the long isle of amazing beers with a big grin on may face. I wasn't here to buy single bottles this time. I was going to buy, a keg. No, not just a keg, but 2 German kegs.

My smiling face soon turned to a look of anger, then disappointment, followed by embarrassment. You see, that smoking price for the 5 Gallon kegs of sweet German beer was correct. However, I was overcome with excitement that I didn't notice the L instead of the G.

Yep, they were liters. Not gallons but liters. They were those stinking over sized beer can kegs with a spicket on the side. My first thought, "Shit! I just spent $150 on fucking A couplers. What the hell am I going to do with them now"?

Those aren't kegs. They don't count. There should be at least 5 gallons in a keg, not 5 liters. All that time wasted in elementary school preparing us for the stupid metric system was a complete waste of time. Remember, we were going to be switching to the metric system. But it never happened. I guess they didn't get the memo.

That brings you up to date. I exchanged the A's for D's (I love D's, They are my favorite). All is well again. As long as my kegs show up tomorrow, I will be ok. Some day, I will get a German beer in there. I don't know when, but some day.

-Prost!

CO2 is a Go.

We are almost there. I'm still waiting on the kegs though. They were ordered and confirmed this morning. I double checked. I am going to pick them up on Friday night. They better be there, or there will be hell to pay!

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In the mean time, I need to get everything else ready to go. I want to finish as much as I can now so all I have to do is "tap" the kegs, and I am ready to go.

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So, this is where I am as of 5 minutes ago. I just hooked up the CO2 tank. It worked perfectly. I pressure tested the system and everything looks great. I am going to let the tank sit in the keezer to see what happens to the pressure.

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From what I have read, and been told, the pressure drops when the CO2 tank is inside the freezer instead of being outside.

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I'm not happy with the temperature probe just hanging there. I am looking for a better way to have it in there without being in the way. But for now, it will do.

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Friday night, I will hook everything up and take some more pictures. I will post them for you to drool over. Just kidding. But I sure was envious of all the other guys who made keezers before I did. I am thankful that they were nice enough to post the pictures and give steps and directions on how they did it. I hope I have returned the favor.

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If you have any questions about anything, please let me know. I will do my best to tell you how I did it, and why I did it. It wasn't to difficult to build by any means. I wish I would have done it sooner. I'm happy I have one of my own now.

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-Cheers!

I ordered my kegs!

I just got home from the BevMo. It was a kind of a big deal. I ordered my kegs. Not exactly the selection I wanted, but they will do just fine.

I decided to order 3 different 5 gallon (or so) kegs.

1. Samuel Adams Boston Lager. I needed a session beer. A beer that friends and family will enjoy and not make that hops face.

2. Flying Dog Old Scratch Lager. I love this beer. I am so happy that they actually had it available in something other than a 15.50 gallon keg. This is a great beer that I will enjoy while it lasts. And it is a beer that I will give to those whom I feel are worthy of a quality beer.

3. Four Peaks Kilt Lifter. A local favorite. Brewed here in my home town, it has quite a following. It really is a great brew. I'm sure it will last longer than the others, but that is what I want. It is the beer that I will drink on special occasions.

Taps 4 and 5 are reserved for home brew. I was supposed to brew this weekend, but plans changed. So I will have to wait a while before I can tap the final two spots. I wonder if I can wait that long.

I also made another trip to the beer store. I got the CO2 tank filled. As soon as I am done typing, I am going to hook it up. I wish I had the kegs to get everything set up. But I have to wait until Friday night. I have to go back to the beer store tomorrow. It;'s kind of a funny story. I will tell you about it tomorrow.

I will post the pictures tomorrow. So until then.

-Cheers!

Kegerator is almost done

I am almost finished with the Kegerator. All I have to do now is hook up the CO2 and the kegs. Here are some pictures of what I did.

First, I cut the wood and assembled the collar. I checked the fit to make sure all the gaps were close. It was hard to keep it flat. I used the concrete garage floor. It is flat enough for my needs.


I wanted to be sure the corners were as tight as possible. Therefore, in addition to the 8 screws holding the collar together, I added some angle brackets on the inside. Simple enough, 4 screws.



The next thing I did was fill the holes with wood filler. You can see it here in the screw holes. I also filled the areas where the wood was screwed together. I wanted it to be smooth when I painted it.

Then I took the collar off, sanded down all the wood filler, and painted it white. I used a kitchen semi-gloss white. I wanted it to resist moisture and mold. This is what the Home Depot recommended I use.



I'm sorry didn't get a picture of the weatherstripping between the collar and the freezer. But what I did was lay down a 1" wide layer of 1/4" thick adhesive backed weatherstripping all the way around. It worked out well. It fills in all the gaps between the collar and the freezer for a tight fit.

I was worried about the weight of the lid pulling the front end of the collar up. So I added these little brackets. I made a tiny hole in the freezer lip to get that little screw in there. I hated doing it, but it gives me a little more confidence in the strength of the collar.



Here you can see the back side of the freezer. This is the one hinge with the spring in it. The other one doesn't have one. I don't know why, but it works. Everything worked out well with the alignment. I used the same holes in the lid, made 2 new ones in the wood collar, and used the original top holes for the bottom.

The next step was to drill the hole for the temperature controller. I used a 1/2" drill bit to make the hole. I am going to fill the hole with something after I stick the probe through it. Not sure what yet, but I will fill it to try to keep the keezer sealed the best I can.


You can also see the manifold in there. I screwed it to the collar. I had to buy a 6 piece unit because they didn't have a 5 piece. O well, it was cheaper than adding an extra one to the 4 piece. I plan on having 5 kegs in it eventually.

Here is the inside of the keezer as of right now. I am letting it sit flat before I plug it in. You can also see the rubber mat I added. It is an entry mat from the Home Depot. It is a 24"x36" rubber mat, and fit perfectly. I traced the hump and cut it out. Not bad for $7.00

So this is where I am at right now. My plan is to plug it in tomorrow morning. It will be cold by the time I get home. Good thing, because I am picking up 2 kegs on my way home from work. I will put them inside and let them settle for a day. This will give me time to sanitize the lines and hook up all the plumbing and air lines.

If all goes well, I will be able to pour my first pint on Wednesday. So check back and see how it goes.

-Prost!

Kegerator is still in the works

Well, my plan didn't work out exactly how I thought it would. In fact, I am still working on it right now. I just came inside to write this post and let you guys know where it stands. Here is the status thus far.

I started this morning by opening my new saw. O so sweet! I love it. Powertools rule.

Anyways, on to the fun stuff, cutting the wood. I measured all the pieces to make sure they were the right side. I cut the four pieces in a few minutes. No big deal.

Next came the screwing (that's what she said!). This is the most difficult part. The pieces have to align up as close as possible, and as flat as possible. I laid the pieces out on top of the freezer first, but that wasn't working. So I set everything up on the garage floor and started drilling.

I drilled pilot holes first to help with the 2 1/2" screws make it all the way in. Then I simply screwed 2 in each corner. Then to help keep everything a little more secure, I screwed some brackets on the inside.

Because I am a bit of a perfectionist, I started sanding. I don't know why. It is going to be completely covered inside the bar. But I can't help it. So I sanded, and sanded. Then I used wood filler to fill in all the cracks and screw holes. I even sanded down the high spots so the frame would fit more flush to the freezer.

Now, I am painting. I am using a semi gloss kitchen paint. It resists moisture and mold. So it is perfect for what I am doing. I have a couple coats on there right now. I am going to let it dry over night.

Tomorrow, I will add a couple more coats in the morning and let it dry until the afternoon. Then I will screw the hinges back on and the hard part is done. Then all I have left it the plumbing.

I will post pics tomorrow.

This is so much fun. It is going to be even more fun to put it in my room and drink beer from it.