I’ve been doing some preliminary research into kegging my beer now that I have a keg and a workable refrigerator in the basement. Pricing for the equipment I need is pretty standard across the two vendors I’ve researched with, and goes something like this:

• A refrigerator thermostat: $80
  This converts any chest freezer into a fridge at a constant temperature.
• A Co2 system for a soda keg: $200
  I’d like to have a real sidemount tap so that I can pour from the front of the fridge instead of opening it each time.
• A keg cleaning kit: $50
  I suppose I’ll need something like this if I’m going to get serious.

I got some good ideas from Mr. Scout’s setup, as well. In order to fit standard soda kegs, most chest freezers need a height extension, which is usually just a 2×4″ frame around the top of the freezer. This is how mine came to me. Mr. Scout used vinyl decking 2×4″ on his, and insulated it with pink foam around the inside, which is what I’m going to do with mine (as well as moving the tap to the front).

One thing is for sure: I’m excited to sample the Hefeweizen this weekend; it’s had two weeks to finish in the bottles and hopefully it’s ready for consumption.

* * *

Meanwhile, the list of non-brewing things I’d like to purchase gets longer while the amount of ready cash remains small. In loose order, they are:

1. New sunglasses—I will be stapling them to my forehead.
2. Roof rack for the CR-V—we need this before leaving on summer vacation.
3. A new watch—hopefully I won’t crack the crystal in two weeks’ time.
4. A set of Scout manuals—they finally rescanned the originals, so they’re worth the money. And long overdue.