Carbonating 5L Mini Kegs

[Baker]

Hi All

My wife got me a Klarstein beer tap for Christmas and its been really good with shop bought 5L mini kegs, the system doesnt use CO2 injectors and keeps the keg pressurised with an air pump.

All previous brews I made were bottle conditioned with mixed results, often taking months before they are ready to drink. My concern with conditioning in the keg will that it takes just as long and I cannot see if its ready so if its not ready I have opened a full keg.

Is it possible to inject the kegs with CO2 after racking and allowing it to condition this way or would I need to buy a full injector and tap?

 

[Dutto]

Hi All

My wife got me a Klarstein beer tap for Christmas and its been really good with shop bought 5L mini kegs, the system doesnt use CO2 injectors and keeps the keg pressurised with an air pump.

She sounds like a keeper!

All previous brews I made were bottle conditioned with mixed results, often taking months before they are ready to drink. My concern with conditioning in the keg will that it takes just as long and I cannot see if its ready so if its not ready I have opened a full keg.

All I do is carbonate with 3g of Brewing Sugar per litre, keep it nice and warm for two weeks and then sit it on the shelf for another two weeks before drinking. The secret of waiting is to reach "Critical Mass" so you don't have to rush anything."

Is it possible to inject the kegs with CO2 after racking and allowing it to condition this way or would I need to buy a full injector and tap?

The Party Star and Flexi Tap systems allow you to carbonate a brew but it costs quite and bit in CO2 cartridges and the tap you have is a perfect way to keep pressure on the keg; if it is finished in a week or less.

Enjoy! :thumb:

PS

I've given up using a tap and just put one of these in the top after carbonation.

https://www.brewuk.co.uk/easy-keg-bung.html

 

[MickDundee]

I don’t know about the air pump one, but I have one of the Klarstein machines with CO2 injector tap and I love it.

As Dutto says, 3G per litre is a good rule of thumb, although I go slightly lower (about 10g/12g per keg) for stouts and higher (20g) for American Ales.

 

[Baker]

Thanks, I was worried slightly with the yeast settling at the bottom but after all that does add to the home brew experience.

 

[Fil]

the yeast that settles below the dip tube of a tap gets sucked up with the initial test pour and is easily dis-guarded, movement and josstles will of course disturb more sediment bringing it within the 'suck-range' of the dip tube..

conditioning with pressure at a low temp as per a larger SS keg can be done as long as you keep the pressure low as to not 'blow' the keg. 10mm od tube can work with the standard bungs.. but some sediment is still unavoidable unless you stand for a few weeks in a bright tank before kegging. And since most beers benefit from a period of maturing post/durring carbonation imho a priming charge is probably the best option.

my #1 tip for mini kegs is to use strong string/cord (dental floss works)wrapped under a bungs lip to extract/pull the bung without damaging the minikegs protective film finish..

 

[Leon103]

What are you brewing that takes months before it is ready?

 

[Baker]

What are you brewing that takes months before it is ready?

First brew was Bloc Party Amber Ale kit and the second brew was a APA. Both we very bitter for a long time

 

[sdt7618]

Enjoy! :thumb:

PS

I've given up using a tap and just put one of these in the top after carbonation.

https://www.brewuk.co.uk/easy-keg-bung.html

I use the other one, but push the plastic middle in after the first pint and the replace with another one when finished pouring. Did my first keg with the plug the wrong way and ended up with a keg of ale all over the fridge

Got 10 for the price of a keg, really enjoying how simple they are, and totally reuseable

https://www.brewuk.co.uk/minikeg-bung.html

 

[private4587]

I tend to use 15g of table sugar per keg, but i have a couple of lagers on the go and i don't think this will be enough. Does anyone use these for lagers and if so what amount of sugar do you use per keg?