Easy Keg 5L

[MyQul]

So far primed them with 12gm sugar but soon runs out of steam and needs a little CO2 help. What worries me is I am not sure what sort of pressure they can take. All sorts of stories about bulging kegs from over priming. Let's face it. They are designed as a disposable item.

They can at least take the pressure of 20g of sugar, as thats what I prime my MK's to

 

[GermLish]

I emailed the company. I'm pretty sure there is a EU norm or a law for it

 

[MickDundee]

I emailed the company. I'm pretty sure there is a EU norm or a law for it

This would be very handy to know. I am planning a couple of pseudo lagers and an American wheat beer but was thinking that would mean I'd need to bottle the whole batch in order to get the carbing right!

 

[Wrongway]

Many things are, especially nowadays, but always remember that the British Seagull Outboard Motor was originally designed to start-up and push an assault craft loaded with troops across the Rhine.

After that it was "job done" and as far as the Army was concerned they could fall to bits ...

... but some of the WW2 models are still out there as noisy as hell, smoking like twitch heaps and still running! :thumb: :thumb:

As I've just invested good money in nine MK's I definitely don't regard them as "disposable"!

I don't think they are designed to be thrown around when empty. I believe they have a plastic liner inside which easily ruptures if the keg is dented which can happen when empty I presume. But in the expert hands of the knowledgeable folk here I am sure they will have a very long life :)

 

[geigercntr]

Very late to the thread, so apologies for: 1) asking a question already answered and 2) being too lazy to trawl through 86 pages to find out...

With the 5l leyland set up (with CO2 tap http://www.leyland-home-brew.co.uk/mini-keg-system-with-co2-tap-717-p.asp) does the CO2 just provide a bug-free blanket to extend life, or does it aid carbonation too?

Sorry for the newbie question, I've only ever bottled so far... :)

 

[stephenmanuel]

The first few pints will come out without a cartridge if there is secondary fermentation. After that, the gas cartridge is needed to force out the beer. At this stage, the head is provided by the CO2 cartridge and may not be as long lasting as the first few pints. It may be possible to force CO2 into the beer without secondary fermentation by turning the regulator up and rolling the MK around a bit, but I have not tried that yet.

 

[GermLish]

Just got the answer from the producer Wecomatic GmbH

Die 5l Fässchen sind bis 4bar Überdruck ausgelegt

The 5l kegs are designed to withstand up to 4bar overpressure :thumb:

 

[MickDundee]

Just got the answer from the producer Wecomatic GmbH



The 5l kegs are designed to withstand up to 4bar overpressure :thumb:

Apologies but I'm completely clueless when it comes to this kind of thing - number crunching is my game rather than pressures etc!

What does this mean for our beer? How many volumes of CO2 for a standard beer? Will it handle my wheat beer without exploding?

 

[GermLish]

Apologies but I'm completely clueless when it comes to this kind of thing - number crunching is my game rather than pressures etc!

What does this mean for our beer? How many volumes of CO2 for a standard beer? Will it handle my wheat beer without exploding?

German Wheatbear has from 6.5g/L to 9g/L CO2.

Here is the table for force carbonation (Spundtabelle): http://hobbybrauer.de/forum/wiki/doku.php/spundungstabelle

 

[Leon103]

The more I use these kegs the more the annoyed I get. My first keg i drank was lovely and carbed, but I didn't screw the co2 in enough so ended up using the bottom tap towards the end/middle of the keg.

The second one wasn't carbed enough but got the co2 going. Just opened a Pilsner keg that's been lagering for about 10 weeks and despite priming with 20g table sugar it's not really carbed.

It's drinkable but I am not really a lager drinker and I was keeping this as a cold fizzy drink for a hot day and serving at bbqs.

Not sure what j am doin wrong. The only thing I now is the first keg I used a grey Bung whilst the other two are the red/black type. Any thoughts?

 

[Dutto]

Just got the answer from the producer Wecomatic GmbH



The 5l kegs are designed to withstand up to 4bar overpressure :thumb:

That is great news! :thumb: :thumb:

Many thanks! :thumb:

 

[Dutto]

....... Just opened a Pilsner keg that's been lagering for about 10 weeks and despite priming with 20g table sugar it's not really carbed.
........

It sounds as if you have held the MK at a low "lagering" temperature.

If this is the case then the sugar may not have had the chance to be turned into CO2 and alcohol; hence the lack of carbonation.

Regardless of the type of beer in the MK (or KK or bottles as well) I suggest that you let the brew carbonate for at least a week at 18-20 degrees before putting it somewhere cooler to condition.

Hope this helps. :thumb:

 

[Leon103]

It spent two weeks @ 20c I suppose I could pull the other keg out of the beer fridge for a few weeks

 

[GermLish]

It spent two weeks @ 20c I suppose I could pull the other keg out of the beer fridge for a few weeks

Did you lube the bung with petroleum jelly?

 

[Leon103]

Did you lube the bung with petroleum jelly?

Yes I did....

 

[GermLish]

Yes I did....

Hm, it's hard to say what went wrong, it depends on sooo many factors:

What yeast did you use?
How long was first fermentation?
What was the final alcohol content?
What temperature was the first fermentation?
Did you cold crash it?
What temperature was the beer when kegging?
What sugar did you use?
Did you put the sugar in the beer or the keg?
What temperature was the second fermentation?
How long was the second fermentation?

To be honest, a lager is extremely temperature sensitive because of the yeast. Also if some alcohol content is arrived the yeast will die.

On the other hand I know that these kegs are sold in supermarkets, so the system itself can't be flawed. This why I decided to go with these solution. Okay, professional breweries normally don't use secondary fermentation for carbonating beer, they rather use forced canonisation because it's mach easier to handle in large scale production.

However, also there is a solution. for example you could buy a counter pressure filling unit for these kegs (http://www.wecomatic.com/5-l-party-kegs/22/filling-unit-for-5-l-party-kegs/cans)

Think the way to go to rescu your Pilsner would be forced carbonation using the party/professional tab with CO2.

Beer brewing is normally a natural process and I would rather try to find the flaw in the process than in the technology used. In Egypt 2000 years ago they had not this kind of technology and got pissed too

 

[Leon103]

Hm, it's hard to say what went wrong, it depends on sooo many factors:

What yeast did you use?
How long was first fermentation?
What was the final alcohol content?
What temperature was the first fermentation?
Did you cold crash it?
What temperature was the beer when kegging?
What sugar did you use?
Did you put the sugar in the beer or the keg?
What temperature was the second fermentation?
How long was the second fermentation?

To be honest, a lager is extremely temperature sensitive because of the yeast. Also if some alcohol content is arrived the yeast will die.

On the other hand I know that these kegs are sold in supermarkets, so the system itself can't be flawed. This why I decided to go with these solution. Okay, professional breweries normally don't use secondary fermentation for carbonating beer, they rather use forced canonisation because it's mach easier to handle in large scale production.

However, also there is a solution. for example you could buy a counter pressure filling unit for these kegs (http://www.wecomatic.com/5-l-party-kegs/22/filling-unit-for-5-l-party-kegs/cans)

Think the way to go to rescu your Pilsner would be forced carbonation using the party/professional tab with CO2.

Beer brewing is normally a natural process and I would rather try to find the flaw in the process than in the technology used. In Egypt 2000 years ago they had not this kind of technology and got pissed too

Thanks for the reply. To answer the questions it was Mj bohemian Pilsner yeast fermented at 10.5c for 3.2 weeks and final abv was 5.5%.
I then cold crashed for 3-4 days and brought the temp up to 18c for the same period before I kegged and made one bottle. I primed with standard lidl sugar at 20g per keg and put the sugar directly in the beer. I believe I put the sugar in first for one keg and second for another BUT I can't remember which is which.

This was kept at 18c for 2 weeks/ may have been a few days over. Then lagered for at least 10 weeks.

The Pilsner has some fizz but not half as much as a keg primed at 14g. It's a nice brew but needed that Pilsner fizz.

I use a party star tap to pour so the co2 forces the beer out of the keg but won't carb it further

 

[GermLish]

This was kept at 18c for 2 weeks/ may have been a few days over. Then lagered for at least 10 weeks.

You know that the yeast should have the same temperature for first and second fermentation because this is the optimum work temperature?

Only at the end of the 2nd (or for forced carbonation at the end of lagering) you should raise the temperature for one to two days (Diacetyl rest)?

You treated a lager yeast like an ale yeast.

http://beersmith.com/blog/2014/01/24/brewing-the-perfect-lager-at-home/

 

[Leon103]

Hmm. Followed advice on here and other sources. The bottle I did was carbed up though.

 

[GermLish]

Hmm. Followed advice on here and other sources. The bottle I did was carbed up though.

Maybe you had more yeast in the bottle than in the kegs.

If the taste is alright I would connect a tap, open the CO2 a bit and leave it in the fridge for a day or two.