Common Draft Beer Hardware
If you want to get involved in brewing and serving your own draft beer, or you just want to set up a home bar to serve beers made by companies from all over the world, then you need to learn about the basic parts involved in creating a draft beer system. As you get started on your draft beer adventure, it is essential that you have a strong foundation to work with.
Keg Types
All kegs are not created equal. Each type of keg has its purpose and you need to know what types of kegs would work best in your home serving system.
The Cornelius
A Cornelius keg has a capacity of 5.0 gallons and it is often referred to as the home brewer's keg. If you see a Cornelius keg, then it might look familiar. That is because the Cornelius is common in the soft drink industry and is used extensively by Coca-Cola and Pepsi. The Conelius keg holds about 40 pints of beer, measures 9-inches in diameter and stands 23-inches tall.
Sixth Barrel
The Sixth barrel is capable of holding just over 5 gallons of beer at 42 pints. It's compact size makes it ideal for home bar owners looking to serve draft beer from multiple taps within a limited space. The Sixth Barrel measures 9 1/4" in diameter and stands 23 3/8" tall. Your typical kegerator can fit two sixth barrels in the space intended for a single half barrel.
Quarter Barrel and Slim Quarter
The Quarter Barrel and Slim Quarter both hold 7.75 gallons of beer and both can hold 62 pints . The slim is convenient if you need a keg that holds a quarter barrel, but you do not have the space for a full quarter. It measures 11 1/8" in diameter and stands 23 3/8" tall. By comparison the Quarter Barrel measures 16 1/8" wide and stands at only 13 7/8" tall. The Quarter Barrel is a popular keg, but the Slim Quarter gets more attention from home bars because of how convenient it is to use.
Half Barrel
The Half Barrel holds 15.5 gallons and is the largest keg available. This is what people are referring to when they say a "full keg." For a home bar, the Half Barrel is convenient because it can be put into a kegerator and keep beer fresh for months, provided you are using a CO2 dispensing system and not an air pump. Each Half Barrel holds about 124 pints of beer, measures 16 1/8" in diameter and stands 23 3/8" tall.
Keg Taps
A tapped keg valve will create the pressure necessary to push beer up to your beer lines. You just need the right kind of keg tap to create the connection with the valve. The terms "tap" and "coupler" are interchangeable, so don't let that confuse you.
U.S. Sankey - D-Type
Sankey is the most common brand of taps used and the D-type tap is the one that works primarily on U.S. brands of beer.
European Sankey - S-Type, A-Type, G-Type
There are three Stankey taps that cover just about every European brand available. The keg will let you know what type of tap you need.
Guinness Stankey - U-Type
Guinness, Harp, John Courage and Smithwicks all utilize the U-Type Stankey tap.
Schneider Stankey - M-Type
The Stankey M-type tap works on the brands Schneider, Veltins and Zwiec.
Regulators
The gas you use in your beer dispensing system needs regulators in order to keep an eye on gas levels and tell when it is time to get a new tank. Your gauges will also alert you to any dangerous pressure levels that will need immediate attention.
Most kegs utilize Co2 to push beer up through the tap, but some beers utilize nitrogen. For example, Guinness requires nitrogen instead of Co2. Check the keg before you make your purchase to determine if you will be using Co2 or nitrogen.
The most common types of regulators are:
- Primary CO2
- Primary Nitrogen
Faucets
There are three basic types of beer dispensing faucets; standard, creamer and stout.
Standard
A standard faucet can be used for any brand of ale or lager and is the most common type of faucet used.
Creamer
A creamer faucet is much like a standard faucet in that it can be used for the same types of lager and ales as a standard faucet. The biggest difference between a creamer and standard faucet is that a creamer faucet can be pushed back further during the pour to create a foamy head to your beer.
Stout
The stout faucet can only be used with stout beers, so be sure to check your beer to determine if you need a stout faucet or not.