Outdoor Beer Dispensing Phase 1.5 w/Beef

This post should really be titled: Outdoor Beer Dispensing Phase 2, but time got away from me and in the end, the people holdings cups didn't care about the missing .5.  When you last left me, the stock tank was drilled, tapped and filled.  The only thing missing was the lid.

Although my temporary tarp solution was certainly easy, I wanted something solid for the top that would not only be a great place to store glasses, but provide better insulation for the ice.  The height of the corny kegs, with their connectors attached, unfortunately sat a few inches higher than the rim of the stock tank.  Dropping a piece of plywood across the top was not an option.  I needed to build a collar.

In order to make the lid secure, I cut 4x4s to match the oval shape of the stock tank.  From there, I used a dado blade to cut channels in the 4x4s. Once completed, the 4x4 ring sat over the top lip of the tank providing a stable solid base for a piece of plywood across the top.

So, why isn't the project complete?  First, the 4x4s looked horrible from the side. I need to wrap them with a thin piece of wood to make it more presentable.  This, coupled with some varnish for the exposed surfaces will give the wood some protection too.  The second reason?  I had to add two more taps!  Yup, the Outdoor Beer Dispenser isn't for 3 beers, it's for 5.

Thankfully, I can just fit all the kegs in...barely.  Once the final two taps are installed and the top finished, the project will be complete (the bar towels are providing a temporary wood covering).  In the interim, Phase 1.5 still aimed to please, which is great because when the Backyard Brewing Society hangs out, they like choices...and facial recognition homebrew labels.  As the evening wears on, it might be hard to remember which tap you liked most.  It is, however, much easier to remember you liked Dave, Mike, Drew or squatting Eric.

The Brewers also like meat, and along with the beer, we had plenty of both.

Since you never cook BBQ for just one meal, I spread out 26 pounds of Brisket and Boston Butts across two grills to not only last the afternoon, but the coming weeks.

Although I've been using the Saffire religiously to smoke, I needed more space and had to put a kettle to use too.  Both grills performed great and I feel as though I'm getting more used to the kamado process versus my modified kettle smoking.

It ended up being a 13 hour affair, but that's OK when you have all day to smell your work.

The brisket was sliced, the pork was pulled and just about everyone spent a good amount of time going from tap to tap to tap.  As usual too, everyone brought some hellacious sides to go with the main course. It was a foodpocalypse.

Is there really any better way to spend an evening than enjoying good food and great beer?  Uhh, no, in case you actually had to consider another answer. I could probably call the beer dispensing project completed without a peep of a complaint, but I still think it needs a few more tweeks.  The next time we get together, I promise to complete the last .5 and probably have some more BBQ too.