How to Keg Oat Milk (Bricco Blends!)

Today I answered a customer’s question about kegging Bricco Blends oat milk. In my opinion, kegging it is the way to go! You can make oat milk right in the keg, it takes no time at all, and it extends the shelf life of the milk. Plus, what’s cooler than oat milk on tap?

Also, I must gush about this client a little: Blip Roasters. Their merch and packaging design is sooooo cool. And their shop takes the whole Italian cyclists with espresso vibe and translates it to motorcycles. It’s kind of like Flat Track here in Austin, but they have community rides and such. I feel super humbled looking at their website. I guess if you’re ever in Kansas City, MO, check them out!

Hi!

This is Litsa, the creator of Bricco Blends. I'm so pleased to hear you like our product! I'm happy to answer your questions about kegging. We've been using Bricco Blends at my own shop here in Austin, Dear Diary Coffee, and we've figured out a thing or two.

Type of keg

We use a 5 gallon pony keg and nitrogen for pressure. Our oat milk line goes directly to the tap. We tried out passing oat milk through a nitro infuser box, and that was a mistake!

Mixing method

This part is so easy! We just use a common household drill and a paint mixer attachment. I would say a good rule of thumb is to blend 1 minute for each gallon. So we blend a 5 gallon pony keg for 5 minutes. It's probably overkill, but the better the blend, the more creamy the oat milk. You can get an attachment at any hardware store for $10, but we sprung for this food grade one just to be safe.

Recipe

To make 5 gallons of oat milk, fill the keg part way with water just so powder doesn't stick to the bottom. Then dump in 5 quarts of powder and 2.5 cups of oil. Fill the keg the rest of the way up with water and blend. Because of the shape of the keg, there really isn't much splashing at all, so you can get it pretty full.

Cleaning

I clean the kegs the exact same way I clean our brewer urns. A pony keg happens to fit under our brewer as long as we use a large funnel instead of a filter basket. We use the PAKZ brand cleaner. It's magic!

If this method isn't an option for you, I think just cleaning the keg at the warewash works: soap, rinse, sanitize. We have a tiny bar sink, so that's why I like just using the brewer.

Shelf life

As far as I can tell, kegging oat milk greatly extends the shelf life because it's a low-oxygen environment that's consistently cold. We blast through a keg a day, though, so I'd be interested in your experience too.

Unkegged Bricco Blends only lasts 3, maybe 5 days if it's not pasteurized. Honestly, the shelf life depends on the cleanliness of the container it's stored in and the temperature it's kept at.

Oil

Yes, you need oil in your recipe. Without it, you're just not going to get a very good latte foam. Or rather, the foam won't be as stable. To my knowledge, the oil does not impact its shelf life.

I developed a product called Bricco Blends Olio which is 10% sunflower lecithin and 90% sunflower oil. The lecithin makes the blend even more creamy (it's commonly used in chocolate). I don't mind sharing the recipe with you because making it yourself is cheaper than buying it from me! I know that sounds weird to say, but ultimately, I want you to have great success with Bricco Blends oat milk.

I've tried canola, sunflower, soy... all oils seem to perform similarly. I think you might pick your oil based on price or taste.

Video

So far we've just made one little video about it, but hopefully it helps!

https://youtube.com/shorts/DcKxoN6xosM

Hopefully that helps!

P.S., your shop looks so cool! It reminds me of Flat Track here in Austin, but you actually have a motorcycle community. Wow, and your product packaging is fantastic. Boxes of coffee? That's so cooooool.

Cheers,

A. Litsa