I finally got my act together and with a great deal of help from family and friends, I got my kegerator set up!  I followed the plans laid out by bbum’s efforts (MAJOR THANKS DUE, TOO – both for plans and hands-on help) documented here — eventually I’ll write up my experience, since I did wind up learning a few things in the process and adjusting the plans to make life a bit easier.

But the point of this post – is that I set up the kegerator to have dual 5-gal dispensing powers – a store brew and a home brew, so what to make for my inaugural keg brew?  A long time favorite – Oatmeal stout.  Turned out to be a great choice:

Based on a clone recipe for Oscar’s Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

• 7lbs Alexanders Pale Malt Extract
• 1lb flaked oats
• 1lb briess grain
• 1lb briess wheat malt
• 1lb chocolate malt
• 1lb briess roasted barley
• 2oz Kent Golding (60 min)
• 1oz Kent golding (5min)
• English ale yeast (WPL002)

4:00 pm – start 6 gal water on burner

4:25 – temp hit 150ºF, add the grains and kill the heat

5:05 – add malt and bring to boil

5:40 – add bittering (60 min) hops

6:35 – add aroma (5 min) hops (immersion chiller immersed at 6:25)

6:40 – chill!

7:22 – at 70º – transferred from boiling pot to fermentation bucket and pitched yeast

I left it in the s00n-to-be-kegerator-chest-freezer unpowered in the garage at a relatively steady 75º for 9 days, then transferred it directly to a new (used), cleaned (PBW), sanitized (idophor), corny keg by opening the spigot on the bucket and running the beer to the bottom of the keg (via sanitized tubing).

Due to some new (used) keg related challenges, I wasn’t able to crank the pressure on the keg to 30 psi that day, but I was able to fill the keg headspace with CO2 so at least I felt like the beer was ‘safe’.  I left the keg in the kegerator at around 35º.

Oh, I took a thief-taste from the keg – this batch turned out to be delicious!

After a few days I managed to resolve the keg troubles and got the pressure cranked up to force-carbonate.  Day one – didn’t quite get it high enough – and I’d foolishly left the Keg of sierra nevada pressurizing at 30 PSI – oooops – note to self, get an inline valve to kill the gas line to the other keg while pressurizing a homebrew.

Day 2 – better but not perfect – de-pressing the Sankey coupler from the SN avoided over pressurizing it.

Day 3 (another 12 hours at 30 PSI and 35º) – we done!  Beer is so full of win.  Now I just need to figure out a way to bottle a few from the keg so I can give away a few bottles!