GEAR Beer keg install
IS THIS THE ULTIMATE
WORDS BY PAT CALLINAN
Forget stashing a carton of beer in the back of the fourby, I’ve decided to fit a full-sized beer keg and refrigeration system.
Behind the coffee machine in the back of my Ultimate Amarok sits a 50-litre commercial beer keg and 2.6kg CO2 bottle. I know, I know, I’ve got a problem. But it’s a fine problem to have my friends.
The beer starts its journey in the keg (warm) and is then piped through the fridge. I've used six metres of beer line, an Andale chiller plate, a chiller coil and then out she comes through a tap at the front of the fridge. This means I can pull at least four schooners and they'll all be ice cold. Wait around 20 minutes, and you can pull four more. If I need to pull beers continually, I'll just fill it with an icy slush, and should be able to run it permanently. I have previously used mini kegs in the fridge, and they're great, but you do lose capacity for food.
With this system, the beer can stay warm in the keg (as it's commercial beer), and the chiller elements take up very little room in the fridge. So, there's still plenty of room for food.
The keg is recessed on the slide in its own Camp King cradle and is tied down using wire cables (he says as a single tear of joy rolls slowly down his cheek). And what started as a funny gimmick has turned into quite a practical mod. Firstly, it holds a lot of beer. I’m talking 250 pots or almost six cases. Secondly, you have no rubbish. I just have a set of acrylic schooner glasses, which I keep chilled in the ARB Classic fridge. And finally, you can fill up at just about any pub. I’ve used a D-type coupler, which allows me to access all of the CUB (Carlton United Breweries) range. This is your Fat Yaks, your Carlton Dry, VB etc. A full keg of Carlton Dry is priced at around the $377 mark at my local, the Lapstone Hotel.
“I can tell on my phone through the RedVision App just how much beer I have in the keg at any time”
Of course, it could be downright dangerous to go into the bush with not enough beer, so Redarc has custom-made me a flowmeter, so I can tell on my phone through the RedVision App just how much beer I have in the keg at any time. Sometimes life is just too glorious for words, and that sometimes is now.
The 78-litre ARB fridge/freezer sits upon a Clearview Easy Slide, bringing the whole unit down nice and low. And there’s an additional clip-on table from Clearview that grabs you some handy additional bench space for when I’m pouring beers for mates in the outback.
IS THIS THE ULTIMATE
THE DOCUMENTARY – BUILDING THE ULTIMATE 4X4
The documentary ‘Building the Ultimate 4X4’ will air on Network TEN in Australia on Jan 19, 2020. If you miss that, go to MR4X4.COM.AU for the full build including extended videos on each of the modifications – it’ll be live on the same date the TV show airs.
Behind the coffee machine in the back of my Ultimate Amarok sits a 50-litre commercial beer keg and 2.6kg CO2 bottle. I know, I know, I’ve got a problem. But it’s a fine problem to have my friends.
The beer starts its journey in the keg (warm) and is then piped through the fridge. I've used six metres of beer line, an Andale chiller plate, a chiller coil and then out she comes through a tap at the front of the fridge. This means I can pull at least four schooners and they'll all be ice cold. Wait around 20 minutes, and you can pull four more. If I need to pull beers continually, I'll just fill it with an icy slush, and should be able to run it permanently. I have previously used mini kegs in the fridge, and they're great, but you do lose capacity for food.
Forget stashing a carton of beer in the back of the fourby, I’ve decided to fit a full-sized beer keg and refrigeration system.
WORDS BY PAT CALLINAN
GEAR Beer keg install
With this system, the beer can stay warm in the keg (as it's commercial beer), and the chiller elements take up very little room in the fridge. So, there's still plenty of room for food.
The keg is recessed on the slide in its own Camp King cradle and is tied down using wire cables (he says as a single tear of joy rolls slowly down his cheek). And what started as a funny gimmick has turned into quite a practical mod. Firstly, it holds a lot of beer. I’m talking 250 pots or almost six cases. Secondly, you have no rubbish. I just have a set of acrylic schooner glasses, which I keep chilled in the ARB Classic fridge. And finally, you can fill up at just about any pub. I’ve used a D-type coupler, which allows me to access all of the CUB (Carlton United Breweries) range. This is your Fat Yaks, your Carlton Dry, VB etc. A full keg of Carlton Dry is priced at around the $377 mark at my local, the Lapstone Hotel.
“I can tell on my phone through the RedVision App just how much beer I have in the keg at any time”
Of course, it could be downright dangerous to go into the bush with not enough beer, so Redarc has custom-made me a flowmeter, so I can tell on my phone through the RedVision App just how much beer I have in the keg at any time. Sometimes life is just too glorious for words, and that sometimes is now.
The 78-litre ARB fridge/freezer sits upon a Clearview Easy Slide, bringing the whole unit down nice and low. And there’s an additional clip-on table from Clearview that grabs you some handy additional bench space for when I’m pouring beers for mates in the outback.