Beer dispenser

[Stefan]

Hi there,

I fairly new to the beer making game and have a question around dispensing the beer:

Is there anything out there to chill and dispense homebrewed beer? I saw something called beer hawk but its for ready made 5l kegs.

I need something that i can fill my beer in, plug in so it stays cool and pour like a draught.

Would greatly appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction...

Thanks!

 

[Clint]

Google...
Kegerator,keezer,cornies,
That's what a lot of people tend to do...
Or you could buy plastic pressure barrels...King Keg are the better ones..

 

[GeorgieV]

Yes, search for kegerator or keezer.

 

[Horners]

Believe Klarstein do a chiller/ dispenser unit for 5L minikegs. Not seen one in action so can't comment on how good they are but seem to remember @MickDundee of this parish had one.

 

[Banbeer]

This is my kegerator and the kegs are at the bottom



This is an old pic from when I was building it, it has three taps now and I can fit three kegs in.

 

[Clint]

This is my kegerator and the kegs are at the bottom

View attachment 41358View attachment 41359

This is an old pic from when I was building it, it has three taps now and I can fit three kegs in.

I suspect I need one of those...

 

[Banbeer]

I suspect I need one of those...

Wish I'd done it a lot sooner mate.

 

[MickDundee]

Believe Klarstein do a chiller/ dispenser unit for 5L minikegs. Not seen one in action so can't comment on how good they are but seem to remember @MickDundee of this parish had one.

Yeah I used mine a lot for about 2 years and really liked it, but in the end was fed up of the lining in the kegs disintegrating and either having a gusher keg or metallic taste. Someone needs to invent a “halfway house” between these kegs and the Darkfarm/iKegger style minikegs - hard wearing but compatible with these dispensers.


Went back to just bottles for about a year then went to corny kegs last summer.

 

[MagnusTS]

Someone needs to invent a “halfway house” between these kegs and the Darkfarm/iKegger style minikegs - hard wearing but compatible with these dispensers.

That s a great idea.

 

[Stefan]

Thanks a lot everyone! It really helped

 

[gavp1979]

I would also suggest a kegorator/corny kegs. I built one during the first lockdown and love it.

 

[MagnusTS]

Google...
Kegerator,keezer,cornies,
That's what a lot of people tend to do...
Or you could buy plastic pressure barrels...King Keg are the better ones..

What does everyone think of plastic pressure barrels?
I started off with one many years ago, but didn't get on with it. It didn't seem to hold pressure, and I got flat beer. I switched to glass bottles after the 1st brew and gave the pressure barrel away.
But to be fair, I didn't really know what I was doing, it was probably quite a cheap one I got with a starter kit, and I didn't give it much of a chance.

But my eldest lad at Uni is now after cheap beer, and would work out perfect if I could brew him a batch and just stick it all in one pressure barrel for him to take away.

Any recommendations and tips for using pressure barrels?
I have been looking at the King Keg ones after @Clint post above.

 

[jeg3]

What does everyone think of plastic pressure barrels?
I started off with one many years ago, but didn't get on with it. It didn't seem to hold pressure, and I got flat beer. I switched to glass bottles after the 1st brew and gave the pressure barrel away.
But to be fair, I didn't really know what I was doing, it was probably quite a cheap one I got with a starter kit, and I didn't give it much of a chance.

But my eldest lad at Uni is now after cheap beer, and would work out perfect if I could brew him a batch and just stick it all in one pressure barrel for him to take away.

Any recommendations and tips for using pressure barrels?
I have been looking at the King Keg ones after @Clint post above.

I've got two top tap king kegs. Use them exclusively for low carb ales which is mostly what I brew. They aren't comparable with a corny setup with a kegerator bit also much cheaper.

The cap seal and tap seal may need vaseline to prevents leaks and they shouldn't be overtightened. Mine have dispensed 20+ brews so far without problems

 

[MagnusTS]

I've got two top tap king kegs. Use them exclusively for low carb ales which is mostly what I brew. They aren't comparable with a corny setup with a kegerator bit also much cheaper.

The cap seal and tap seal may need vaseline to prevents leaks and they shouldn't be overtightened. Mine have dispensed 20+ brews so far without problems

Thanks, that's very helpful.

Do you have a CO2 valve on your kegs?

 

[MagnusTS]

Can't work out which is best:

top tap or bottom?
S30 valve or 8g cartridge valve?

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

Believe Klarstein do a chiller/ dispenser unit for 5L minikegs. Not seen one in action so can't comment on how good they are but seem to remember @MickDundee of this parish had one.

I had one of the Klarstein ones before I started brewing my own. It was one that used a compressor instead of CO2 bulbs so saved money but pumped air (oxygen) into the keg to dispense. Ok if you drunk it all in one day but crap on day two if you didn’t. I’ve no experience of the ones that use CO2.
My current set up is in my profile picture.

 

[jeg3]

Can't work out which is best:

top tap or bottom?
S30 valve or 8g cartridge valve?

I've got S30 valves on my KKs. I live relatively close to the brewgas shop northwest of Birmingham so can pick up a cylinder easily.

The argument of bottom vs top tap is all down to personal choice Allegedly the top tap allows the beer to be drawn before it's fully cleared. I always leave it 3-4 weeks anyway, so it should be no less clear after that time in a bottom tap. There is also a concern about the float required for the top tap introducing infection, but I've never had any problems.

One issue inherent with the top tap is it will stop dispensing at a higher pressure when the keg is nearly empty because more pressure is required to dispense up through the float, but I can't imagine the differential is all that great.

Also just from an ease of use perspective, you can hold a glass under the top tap with the keg sitting on the worktop, with the bottom tap you need to raise the keg up somehow or have the keg positioned so the tap is over the edge of the worktop.

 

[MagnusTS]

I've got S30 valves on my KKs. I live relatively close to the brewgas shop northwest of Birmingham so can pick up a cylinder easily.

The argument of bottom vs top tap is all down to personal choice Allegedly the top tap allows the beer to be drawn before it's fully cleared. I always leave it 3-4 weeks anyway, so it should be no less clear after that time in a bottom tap. There is also a concern about the float required for the top tap introducing infection, but I've never had any problems.

One issue inherent with the top tap is it will stop dispensing at a higher pressure when the keg is nearly empty because more pressure is required to dispense up through the float, but I can't imagine the differential is all that great.

Also just from an ease of use perspective, you can hold a glass under the top tap with the keg sitting on the worktop, with the bottom tap you need to raise the keg up somehow or have the keg positioned so the tap is over the edge of the worktop.

Thanks for this very clear summary of taps and valves for KKs.

 

[Victor Churchill]

What does everyone think of plastic pressure barrels?
I started off with one many years ago, but didn't get on with it. It didn't seem to hold pressure, and I got flat beer. I switched to glass bottles after the 1st brew and gave the pressure barrel away.

When I first started brewing (John Bull/Geordie kit&kilo, you know the score) I used a pressure barrel, and did so for a good few years before amassing a collection of Grolsch and Fischer-Alsace fliptop bottles. To be honest I do not recall having the issues so many people here recount. I would use S30 CO2 cylinders (take an empty to the local HBS and swap for a full one for a few quid) : probably the first 30% - 60% of the brew would disppense under its own pressure and then just give a second of gas when drawing a pint. I knew no better, but experienced very few problems and was a happy bunny.
Nowadays you or your son would have trouble finding S30 refills but I believe there are ways round that. Nowadays I bottle just about exclusively, but I did bring out the barrel for an emergency packaging when I didn't have bottles to spare - it was fine.