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Post by bklmt2000 on Aug 7, 2020 14:12:55 GMT -6
I've got a keg of sparkling water going now (which is pretty damned tasty, and not surprisingly, going rather fast), but I'm hunting for ideas about what else I can keg/serve from my kegerator besides beer.
Been reading up a bit on nitro cold-brew coffee, but the consensus is mixed on whether or not to serve cold-brew with straight N2 or 75/25 N2/CO2 beergas.
Anyone got any ideas?
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Post by Seven on Aug 7, 2020 14:14:17 GMT -6
Homemade kombucha? Carbonated milk?  |
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Post by Ken on Aug 7, 2020 14:19:55 GMT -6
That's the second time I have heard 'carbonated milk' today and I'm getting a little twitchy.  I think you first have to think about what you like to drink, generally. No point in serving something you don't like. My kids always asked me to fill a keg with lemonade (we used to make Crystal Light a lot) and then carb it and put it on draft. I never did it but I can see it now: They wouldn't stay away from it for the first few days and they might even finish it and then ask for another. Then I would make another and it would sit there taking up valuable space in my draft fridge. I would have to swap out the beer line too, probably. Any type of fruit juice? The store is filled with so many flavors now. My son likes Minute Maid watermelon. Fill a keg with that and carb it. B, do you mind me asking... do you think you could go with low-ABV beer? I ask because Radler is all the rage now too and a 4.5 to 5% beer mixed 50/50 with whatever soda you choose comes to 2.5% or less... the same ABV as Stiegl Radler. It probably won't fly in the winter but maybe a Berliner Wiess at just 3%. I'm just thinking out loud. |
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Post by bklmt2000 on Aug 7, 2020 14:43:08 GMT -6
That's the second time I have heard 'carbonated milk' today and I'm getting a little twitchy. I think you first have to think about what you like to drink, generally. No point in serving something you don't like. My kids always asked me to fill a keg with lemonade (we used to make Crystal Light a lot) and then carb it and put it on draft. I never did it but I can see it now: They wouldn't stay away from it for the first few days and they might even finish it and then ask for another. Then I would make another and it would sit there taking up valuable space in my draft fridge. I would have to swap out the beer line too, probably. Any type of fruit juice? The store is filled with so many flavors now. My son likes Minute Maid watermelon. Fill a keg with that and carb it. B, do you mind me asking... do you think you could go with low-ABV beer? I ask because Radler is all the rage now too and a 4.5 to 5% beer mixed 50/50 with whatever soda you choose comes to 2.5% or less... the same ABV as Stiegl Radler. It probably won't fly in the winter but maybe a Berliner Wiess at just 3%. I'm just thinking out loud.
No worries, and no harm in asking. I think beer is off the menu for me indefinitely, especially after yesterday/last evening.
What worries me (besides the embarassment I made of myself in front of my wife and son) is, the beer I sampled (an O-fest) was the same recipe I've made for years, and it was ~5.5%. I routinely brewed and drank beers stronger than that for well over a decade without issue, but one pint of last night's O-fest absolutely clobbered me. It was pretty bad. |
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Post by OldMan on Aug 7, 2020 15:12:28 GMT -6
<i> It was pretty bad.</i>
Did you get naked?
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Post by jimdkc on Aug 7, 2020 16:02:16 GMT -6
Toying with the idea of a reduced-calorie root beer. Not "diet", because we don't like the flavor or side effects of artificial sweeteners, but just reduced sugar.
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Post by gusso on Aug 7, 2020 16:27:07 GMT -6
That's the second time I have heard 'carbonated milk' today and I'm getting a little twitchy. I think you first have to think about what you like to drink, generally. No point in serving something you don't like. My kids always asked me to fill a keg with lemonade (we used to make Crystal Light a lot) and then carb it and put it on draft. I never did it but I can see it now: They wouldn't stay away from it for the first few days and they might even finish it and then ask for another. Then I would make another and it would sit there taking up valuable space in my draft fridge. I would have to swap out the beer line too, probably. Any type of fruit juice? The store is filled with so many flavors now. My son likes Minute Maid watermelon. Fill a keg with that and carb it. B, do you mind me asking... do you think you could go with low-ABV beer? I ask because Radler is all the rage now too and a 4.5 to 5% beer mixed 50/50 with whatever soda you choose comes to 2.5% or less... the same ABV as Stiegl Radler. It probably won't fly in the winter but maybe a Berliner Wiess at just 3%. I'm just thinking out loud.
No worries, and no harm in asking. I think beer is off the menu for me indefinitely, especially after yesterday/last evening.
What worries me (besides the embarassment I made of myself in front of my wife and son) is, the beer I sampled (an O-fest) was the same recipe I've made for years, and it was ~5.5%. I routinely brewed and drank beers stronger than that for well over a decade without issue, but one pint of last night's O-fest absolutely clobbered me. It was pretty bad. |
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Post by gusso on Aug 7, 2020 16:28:56 GMT -6
Sorry, still not fully acclimated to this site. Believe me, I'm sure I've done worse! Take a mini break than get back on the horse!
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Post by bklmt2000 on Aug 8, 2020 8:14:07 GMT -6
Apparently hopped tea is a thing. We do drink a good amount of tea in our house, so for me, this idea has potential.
After some reading up on how it's made, sounds like something I can enjoy like a beer, and not worry about alcohol causing me problems.
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Post by Leftympfrmde on Aug 12, 2020 8:47:43 GMT -6
The gf has discovered hard selzter. So I have a tap dedicated to that now.
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Post by Ken on Aug 12, 2020 9:04:52 GMT -6
The gf has discovered hard selzter. So I have a tap dedicated to that now. Do you make your own? Water + vodka (or whatever) + some kind of fruit juice, lemonade, frozen concentrated something or other + bubbles = hard seltzer. This is clearly NOT what B2000 has in mind because he's trying to avoid alcohol but it's interesting. If we can make beer, wine and mead, we can make (and carb) just about anything. Still waiting for SEVEN to corner the carbonated milk market. |
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Post by Leftympfrmde on Aug 12, 2020 12:52:20 GMT -6
The gf has discovered hard selzter. So I have a tap dedicated to that now. Do you make your own? Water + vodka (or whatever) + some kind of fruit juice, lemonade, frozen concentrated something or other + bubbles = hard seltzer. This is clearly NOT what B2000 has in mind because he's trying to avoid alcohol but it's interesting. If we can make beer, wine and mead, we can make (and carb) just about anything. Still waiting for SEVEN to corner the carbonated milk market. I've done the easier way with vodka and flavoring (food save essential oils work really well). going to try it with corn sugar and champagne yeast. Can always omit the booze! |
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Post by poptop on Aug 13, 2020 6:10:43 GMT -6
Honest thought there was a law that prohibits using kegs for anything but beer. Sorta like ripping a tag off a mattress or pillow.......
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Post by Leftympfrmde on Aug 13, 2020 6:34:37 GMT -6
Honest thought there was a law that prohibits using kegs for anything but beer. Sorta like ripping a tag off a mattress or pillow....... As far as hard selzter, using vodka and flavoring is perfectly acceptable serving at home. Commercially, the TTB really frowns on that. Its gotta ferment. |
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Post by bklmt2000 on Aug 13, 2020 7:01:45 GMT -6
After lunch, I'm going to try my hand at making hopped ice tea. Plan on making 2 kegs: one to be carbonated and served via CO2, and one to be served on beergas (3/1 N2/CO2). I bought some decaf Earl Grey loose leaf tea, and the plan is to cold-brew it (basically let it steep in a keg, cold, for a couple of days, then remove the tea) and also cold-dryhop (the hops will stay in the keg until it blows, just like with beer). I'm still holding out some hope to be able to enjoy beer in the future, but at the moment that's a ways off (as in, probably a year or so), so for now, I'm working on getting my diet squared away and my health improved. In the meantime, I've read that hopped ice tea is has become popular as a substitute for beer, and I do miss my hops, so I'll give this a go.
If this works out well, I can see keeping it in the rotation even if/when the day comes I can enjoy beer again, experimenting with different tea/hop combos, etc.
And if beer ends being a permanent "no", then I have a fallback option to work with.
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