It's Keg Season! (part 2 of 2)

      Yesterday, I explained how to use the chilly winter temperatures to refrigerate your keg, thus avoiding the utility costs of a kegerator.  Today, I'll explain another way to avoid using a kegerator.  It is actually very simple.  Still, I know a lot of homebrewers who overlook this option, even thought it is a lot of fun!  Basically it requires consuming all of the beer (invite some friends) in one sitting (you might be able to push it to two days).  Most people have probably been to a party or cookout where somebody has brought a keg of beer and left it sitting in a tub of ice to be enjoyed.  However, when I do the same exact thing with my homebrew keg, I get funny looks.  Maybe most brewers are too proud to have their beer treated like a keg of bud at a frat house, but if you have a lot of people, a five gallon keg won't last long even if it is being properly enjoyed (i.e. not being pumped down somebody's throat while they do a handstand).  Even if you don't have a tap, just bring your CO2 tank and regulator.  Guests will be pleased that they don't have to hassle with the annoyance of pumping the tap (or arguing with the know-it-all who is trying to tell them that they pumped it too much/little).

      If it is cold outside, stick the keg outside for a night, but even if it is hot outside you can just clear out a little space in your refrigerator.  Even though it takes up a bunch of space, it only has to be there for one night, and then it will be gone.  You can either naturally carbonate the beer (more on that later), or force carbonate it using the guidelines I posted yesterday.  The great thing about finishing the keg in one night is you don't need to balance the keg system.  (Balancing a keg refers to adjusting the PSI at your regulator to maintain carbonation in the keg, and adjusting the length of the beer line to achieve a lower PSI at the tap to allow for a good pour.)  You can just take your carbonated keg and set it to a lower PSI for dispensing.  Although the beer will actually be loosing carbonation, it won't happen fast enough for drinkers to notice.  Technically, it is the same concept the majority of people employ when they use a tap.  They only pump in enough pressure to dispense the beer, not carbonate it (which you couldn't do with air anyway).  The keg will be gone before the beer goes flat.  Even if you couldn't finish a keg and it went flat, you could always re- carbonate it (hopefully you won't have to resort to this).
      With temperatures dropping, it is finally cold enough to use your garage as a not-so-precise kegerator (see part 1), and with all the holidays it's a great time to have a party and finish up a keg in a night or two.  So, I officially declare it keg season... as soon as my replacement part arrives in the mail.