Easy Keg 5L

[terrym]

Talking of over carbing ........
I have been using easy kegs for the best part of a year now with no drama, however, the last two kegs I’ve opened have been a nightmare. Masses of foam and the sediment is all churned up so a very soupy pint.. The beer tastes okay but looks horrid.
The two kegs were from different brews : one from December and one from March 19.
I know with the December brew I wasn’t planning to use kegs but changed my mind at the last minute and had already batch primed at 100g sugar for 23l ( so approx 4.4g/l). The March brew ( a golden ale) I primed at 15g per keg. I’ve used 15g previously without the excess foaming and churned up sediment.
The sediment didn’t settle over the week or so I had the keg open for ( party star delux)
Is this an over carb issue ( the kegs didn’t distort) or am I missing something here??
Thanks all

Are you fully confident the primary had completely finshed before you packaged your beers?

 

[Hoptimus Prime]

I was till you raised the question :-)
I put 15l into the easy kegs and the rest of each brew into bottles. The beer in the bottles is fine so I had been assuming that the primary fermentation was all done when I packaged. Would bottle conditioning make such a dramatic difference compared to conditioning in the kegs ?

 

[Rodcx500z]

I bagged a hob gob gold the other week in b&m 9 quid in Rochdale, was a couple of weeks near its sell by date I drank it and chucked it I didn't know you can re use them, MyQul it is 4.2 abv has a nice citras taste and not to bitter a guess would be 30 ish ibu's

 

[MyQul]

I bagged a hob gob gold the other week in b&m 9 quid in Rochdale, was a couple of weeks near its sell by date I drank it and chucked it I didn't know you can re use them, MyQul it is 4.2 abv has a nice citras taste and not to bitter a guess would be 30 ish ibu's

Sounds quite nice

 

[Rodcx500z]

Sounds quite nice

One of my favourite ales, just buy one bottle

 

[MyQul]

Anyone know if you can fill mini kegs so there not entirely full? I normally make 10L batches but usually take a couple/few hydrometer samples before/during/after fermentation so a 5L MK may only be 4.5L or so full. Would this be ok

 

[DixeySJ]

Anyone know if you can fill mini kegs so there not entirely full? I normally make 10L batches but usually take a couple/few hydrometer samples before/during/after fermentation so a 5L MK may only be 4.5L or so full. Would this be ok

I do much the same - I find if I start with a 23L recipe and scale it down by half, I end up with about 11L in the fermenter, which just nicely fills two mini-kegs. If filling short, then the best thing is to prime the kegs with your chosen fermentable (I use a small amount of DME) and keep them at room temperature for a couple of days, venting off the gas after 24-48 hours. This should expel most of the air and the CO2 will form a protective layer. I have also found that with care, a keg can be kept drinkable for up to a week by much the same technique. I have been trying to think if there is way to add some CO2 like I would in a plastic barrel, but haven't come up with anything yet! Possibly somebody inventive and technically skilled on this forum might know?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I filled short primed and it was fine.

 

[MyQul]

I do much the same - I find if I start with a 23L recipe and scale it down by half, I end up with about 11L in the fermenter, which just nicely fills two mini-kegs. If filling short, then the best thing is to prime the kegs with your chosen fermentable (I use a small amount of DME) and keep them at room temperature for a couple of days, venting off the gas after 24-48 hours. This should expel most of the air and the CO2 will form a protective layer. I have also found that with care, a keg can be kept drinkable for up to a week by much the same technique. I have been trying to think if there is way to add some CO2 like I would in a plastic barrel, but haven't come up with anything yet! Possibly somebody inventive and technically skilled on this forum might know?

I filled short primed and it was fine.

Thanks chaps :hat:

 

[MyQul]

I have also found that with care, a keg can be kept drinkable for up to a week by much the same technique.

When you open a MK do you open the bung to vent C02 first then pour from the gravity tap? Or do you leave the bung closed and just pour from the bottom gravity tap. Then say vent from the bung 12-24 hours later to expel the air? Basically how soon after you've had a few pints from your MK do you vent it to expel the air?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

First one I bought last Xmas I vented all the gas by mistake/ignorance and the beer was flat next day. Now I don't vent until the pressure drops so no flow, then vent to use gravity to get the beer out. After pouring close the vent.

 

[Victor Churchill]

View attachment 21673 View attachment 21674

Just done my first brew into re-used supermarket kegs yesterday.
Got a couple of Hobgoblins and an Old Speckled; salvaged the bungs from the Hobgoblins but had to destroy the hard pplastic bung from the OSH. I have a third Hobgoblin keg I did not use, which I used the bung from in the OSH .

I found that very soon after the kegging I got some seepage up through the bungs on two of the kegs - as in the (not v good, sorry) pix. I mopped it up, figured I may have filled too full, drained a bit from the kegs, and checked that the twisty bung thing was 'right'. (i.e., not open)

How much head space do you leave in a 5l keg? Is there an easy way to judge it right? I was just going by eye and stopped when I had about 1cm space I thought.

Also, the twisty bits on the top of the bungs seem loose. Is that right? Seems dodgy to me.

Thanks...

 

[Paul Roberts]

I have the brewferm ones with the co2 tap but I get both to but foam .. once settled the beer tastes great but just a pain

 

[Victor Churchill]

images did not attach?

 

[skulltat280]

How much head space do you leave in a 5l keg? Is there an easy way to judge it right? I was just going by eye and stopped when I had about 1cm space I thought.

Also, the twisty bits on the top of the bungs seem loose. Is that right? Seems dodgy to me.

Thanks...[/QUOTE]


I haven't tried them yet but according to a YouTube video I watched he said to leave an inch but I suppose it depends on how much sugar you put in to prime

 

[Mungri]

View attachment 21673 View attachment 21674

Just done my first brew into re-used supermarket kegs yesterday.
Got a couple of Hobgoblins and an Old Speckled; salvaged the bungs from the Hobgoblins but had to destroy the hard pplastic bung from the OSH. I have a third Hobgoblin keg I did not use, which I used the bung from in the OSH .

I found that very soon after the kegging I got some seepage up through the bungs on two of the kegs - as in the (not v good, sorry) pix. I mopped it up, figured I may have filled too full, drained a bit from the kegs, and checked that the twisty bung thing was 'right'. (i.e., not open)

How much head space do you leave in a 5l keg? Is there an easy way to judge it right? I was just going by eye and stopped when I had about 1cm space I thought.

Also, the twisty bits on the top of the bungs seem loose. Is that right? Seems dodgy to me.

Thanks...

1cm should be fine. I've been using easy kegs for a couple of years now and that's about the amount of space I leave.
The twisty bit shouldn't be loose though. When you put the bung back together after using you have to line the two red plastic pieces up and press together. You should feel a positive click as they snap together.
Hope everything is alright for you.

 

[Ashman]

What are the dimensions of the bung and bung hole in the keg? Interested in the party star tap system.has Anyone got one? Can they be modded to a sodastream connection ?

 

[Wynne]

I have a party star and I’ve used it successfully with a carbonation cap (the type without a hose-tail) as an adapter and connected a gas disconnect and gas line from a regular CO2 cylinder and regulator, so you should be able to do the same from a sodastream cylinder fitted with a regulator. You need to keep the CO2 pressure low to avoid overpressurising and damaging the mini keg. Also, make sure that you don’t have any hop particles (e.g. from dry hopping) in the homebrew you are serving, as they will block the party star tap mechanism and it can’t be cleared easily.

 

[Ashman]

I have a party star and I’ve used it successfully with a carbonation cap (the type without a hose-tail) as an adapter and connected a gas disconnect and gas line from a regular CO2 cylinder and regulator, so you should be able to do the same from a sodastream cylinder fitted with a regulator. You need to keep the CO2 pressure low to avoid overpressurising and damaging the mini keg. Also, make sure that you don’t have any hop particles (e.g. from dry hopping) in the homebrew you are serving, as they will block the party star tap mechanism and it can’t be cleared easily.

Cheers. Useful info’. Do you use the party star tap or the inbuilt keg tap? The tap bit for me is the key selling point - it looks great!

As this thread has developed over the years there has been an explosion in use of CO2 products for tire inflation (there’s a few threads here and maybe buried in this one). Some co2 tools have basic regulation. But I noticed Specialized have a cO2 injector (I would use food grade cartridges). Pricey I think but could mount on top of the 5L keg into a bike valve. I’m unsure how accurate the trigger mechanism delivery would be.

 

[Wynne]

I use the party star tap with mini-kegs (which have no tap) and with easy kegs I use the built-in plastic tap and just use the party star tap to provide a low level of blanket pressure to allow the beer to flow freely. I have also made up a stainless stell fitting which enables me to connect gas and liquid disconnects to mini-kegs and easy kegs and use them with a party tap.