Easy Keg 5L

[Victor Churchill]

I have three Hobgoblins (red centre, soft black surround resusable bung) and an Old Speckled (black centre, hard red plastic surround non-reusable bung).

First use, MYO Bitter, November '19, two kegs + bottles; one keg leaked and had to be transferred to a different dispenser and drunk quickly (ah such a shame). My notes said 'taste better than expected' )

Second use, MYO Bitter Jan/Feb '20, Three kegs + bottles, two came out 'lively', one had suspect leak from bung, had to transfer to bottles and re-prime. Drank one keg via built-in tap, one via Klarstein air-powered dispenser (not CO2). Still drinkable 5 days after tapping.

Third use, MJ New Zealand Pilsner July 20, 3 kegs + bottles, one keg flat - suspect air leak from bung. "O.K. ish" drink served from the Klarstein, though pretty flat.

So my main issue hasnot been metallic taste but rather, losing pressure.

 

[terrym]

I have three Hobgoblins (red centre, soft black surround resusable bung) and an Old Speckled (black centre, hard red plastic surround non-reusable bung).

First use, MYO Bitter, November '19, two kegs + bottles; one keg leaked and had to be transferred to a different dispenser and drunk quickly (ah such a shame). My notes said 'taste better than expected' )

Second use, MYO Bitter Jan/Feb '20, Three kegs + bottles, two came out 'lively', one had suspect leak from bung, had to transfer to bottles and re-prime. Drank one keg via built-in tap, one via Klarstein air-powered dispenser (not CO2). Still drinkable 5 days after tapping.

Third use, MJ New Zealand Pilsner July 20, 3 kegs + bottles, one keg flat - suspect air leak from bung. "O.K. ish" drink served from the Klarstein, though pretty flat.

So my main issue hasnot been metallic taste but rather, losing pressure.

Try a smear of vaseline on the bung surfaces where it mates with the keg which may stop leaks, although not guaranteed to work.

 

[Ashman]

I bought one of those easy keg pressure release valves (listed set at 2.5 bar). Chucked in some malt extract to an easy keg with some Nottingham yeast. Put the easy keg in a sealed picnic container. Left it for a couple of days and then decided once I saw bubbles round the side of the bung Seal (Krausen) thought if the pressure relief valve Fails this might be go bang. Tried the tap and dispensed about 60% of the 5 litre. The stuff came out like Guinness with cascading bubbles, fizzing but was cloudy.

Anyway didn’t feel it all safe but what I am tempted to do is use as no-chill and maybe the Mylar balloon method from the other thread. Or I could buy a Spunding valve setup. Has anyone pressure fermented safely in one ?

 

[Leon103]

I bought one of those easy keg pressure release valves (listed set at 2.5 bar). Chucked in some malt extract to an easy keg with some Nottingham yeast. Put the easy keg in a sealed picnic container. Left it for a couple of days and then decided once I saw bubbles round the side of the bung Seal (Krausen) thought if the pressure relief valve Fails this might be go bang. Tried the tap and dispensed about 60% of the 5 litre. The stuff came out like Guinness with cascading bubbles, fizzing but was cloudy.

Anyway didn’t feel it all safe but what I am tempted to do is use as no-chill and maybe the Mylar balloon method from the other thread. Or I could buy a Spunding valve setup. Has anyone pressure fermented safely in one ?

WTF.. they are for dispensing not fermenting.
To save injury or mess please stop now.

 

[Ashman]

WTF.. they are for dispensing not fermenting.
To save injury or mess please stop now.

Yeah it wasn’t an original idea as there is a commercial version here but it is the safety aspect. So probably not worth the risk.

https://www.braufaesschen.com/en

 

[Gerryjo]

WTF.. they are for dispensing not fermenting.
To save injury or mess please stop now.

 

[terrym]

Yeah it wasn’t an original idea as there is a commercial version here but it is the safety aspect. So probably not worth the risk.

https://www.braufaesschen.com/en

To be fair, the kegs Braufasschen are selling look exactly the same as the kegs that are used for many commercial beers. So the discharge (relief) valve they sell is the part that makes the process work. However if they are standard lined steel kegs they suffer from a metallic taste in the beer after a few re-uses as folks find out (in my case after a single re-use) so there is always a risk the beer from this process will be similarly affected. And what happens if the krausen somehow blocks the valve. I think avoid comes to mind.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I remember a couple of members showing pictures of bulging mini kegs i dont know if this is a common problem but this sounds like a solution -

Thanks guys! Just to remind anyone interested all 5L Kegs are double walled!

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...d-c02-dispenser-15-discount.90544/post-971133

 

[MagnusTS]

91 pages on using 5L mini-kegs?
@Chippy_Tea any chance of a pinned summary / guide on how to use mini-kegs?
I'm off to start reading from page 1.

 

[RichardM]

91 pages on using 5L mini-kegs?
@Chippy_Tea any chance of a pinned summary / guide on how to use mini-kegs?
I'm off to start reading from page 1.

Can you write the summary when you get back to this point?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

91 pages on using 5L mini-kegs?
@Chippy_Tea any chance of a pinned summary / guide on how to use mini-kegs?
I'm off to start reading from page 1.

@MagnusTS

The thread is too long to make a summary so why not start a new one then i will lock this leaving a link to the new one as a last post here.

A new thread is probably the way to go as this one is so old when we moved to the new forum software it made a lot of the early posts look like this -

Waitrose have the Hobgoblin for ã13. So you're paying effectively ã7 for the 5 litres of beer. That's 70p per equivalent 500ml bottle.

�ã72 + VAT and postage, minus 5% member discount.
Geterbrewed do the ibrew tap-a-draft system for �ã55

 

[Ashman]

Can you write the summary when you get back to this point?

Start...
Seen these mini-kegs. Are they good? Size is great.

towards end of thread. Getting metallic taste- is this normal ? Help, Beer tastes of metal. I ditch my keg after a few brews, etc. Beer went flat. Dumped my mini kegs.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Have a look at the post below by forum sponsors Gareth Davies of Dark Farm, i haven't heard any complaints about metallic taste, ditching kegs or flat beer -

Gareth Davies
THBF Sponsor


Hi,

With the nights drawing in and the Christmas looming whats better than to start stock piling your homebrew to get your through the festive season.

So to help we are relaunching the HBF 15% off discount for ALL forum members. The 15% discount will only be available on ALL our keg and tap combos and for a limited time only. Sale items not included.

darkfarm.co.uk
darkfarm.co.uk/5l-mini-keg-beer-dispenser/
darkfarm.co.uk/10l-mini-keg-beer-dispenser/

If you you want to receive the discount all you that to do is message me via HBF.

Don't forget if you want additional kegs or taps or a custom setup email me your wish list and we'll get back to you with a price.

Happy brewing!

Gareth

Full thread here - Dark Farm Shop Mini Keg and C02 dispenser - 15% Discount | The HomeBrew Forum

 

[MagnusTS]

Have a look at the post below by forum sponsors Gareth Davies of Dark Farm, i haven't heard any complaints about metallic taste, ditching kegs or flat beer -

Wow, those Dark Farm 5L kegs look amazing.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Wow, those Dark Farm 5L kegs look amazing.

Some members have bought them so they may add a review when they see this.

 

[MagnusTS]

@MagnusTS

The thread is too long to make a summary so why not start a new one then i will lock this leaving a link to the new one as a last post here.

A new thread is probably the way to go as this one is so old when we moved to the new forum software it made a lot of the early posts look like this -

Thanks @Chippy_Tea, but I think I'll just persevere with this long thread, so everything is in one place. I am up to page 16 now (circa 2015), and it has been very informative.

I have question for people who use these kegs with (or without) the excellent looking "Party Star Deluxe Tap":

Do you have to choose what bung to use depending on how you intend to serve the beer?
That grey bung with the middle that pushes through if you are going to use something like the Party Star?
Or the pressure release type bung (black outer, red inner) if you plan to use the integrated gravity tap in an Easy Keg?

Could you buy a commercial beer and replace the bung and fit a Party Star attachment while it was still full (and dispense with the Party Star Tap)?

 

[Brew_DD2]

I jumped in with both feet a few years ago with 5l easykegs and party star deluxe and was quite happy initially. Eventually I gave up because the beer was often very foamy and then the metallic taste came. The plastic lining fails very quickly. Go for Corny kegs or the small stainless ones that Dark Farm sells.

 

[MagnusTS]

I jumped in with both feet a few years ago with 5l easykegs and party star deluxe and was quite happy initially. Eventually I gave up because they was often very foamy and then the metallic taste came. The plastic lining fails very quickly. Go for Corny kegs or the small stainless ones that Dark Farm sells.

Oooops. Too late. I just ordered a Party Star Starter kit...

 

[RichardM]

Do you have to choose what bung to use depending on how you intend to serve the beer?
That grey bung with the middle that pushes through if you are going to use something like the Party Star?

Or the pressure release type bung (black outer, red inner) if you plan to use the integrated gravity tap in an Easy Keg?

Yes

Could you buy a commercial beer and replace the bung and fit a Party Star attachment while it was still full (and dispense with the Party Star Tap)?

Yes

 

[Ashman]

I did rig mine up so I could tap commercial kegs with the black outer bung ( ghost ship style). In practice I replaced gas line with end stop as when I connected beer flowed up that line too. Oops. It worked ok ish using keg pressure although initial tapping is messy and having a tap next to my desk was not the best idea :). Also I got to a point where the pints wouldn’t pour but removing end cap to add gas line resulted in a huge beer outflow.

I do need to check dimensions for putting alternative keg for homebrew in there as it’s pretty much all ready to go tap wise.