Easy Keg?

[oz11]

Evening all!

Does anyone use these for dispensing their brew?

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/aca ... _Kegs.html

Good points/bad points?

Cheers!

 

[Mark1964]

No but theres a guy on ebay sells them cheap

 

[commsbiff]

:hmm: Could be very useful for parties. I suggest you buy one and tell us what it's like

 

[taity]

bought last week should be here this week

 

[commsbiff]

Nice one Taity - be sure to come back and let us know what it's like :thumb:

 

[Mark1964]

I think the man on ebay sells them by the dozen or half dozen

 

[Vindiv8]

Looks interesting, I use bottles as I have no where for large kegs to live, but they are so much work. Let us know how you : get on please.

 

[taity]

got the easy keg today looks good . only time will tell how long it will last but a lot better than bottles . tight squeeze to fit on a shelf in the fridge . but think i will like it prob get a few more say 5 as that would do a whole batch of brew . defo better for storage :

 

[ceejam]

I've got 4 of these that I got when buying beer from my Local Micro Brewery - Stewart Brewing - and I realised I could pull the bungs out and wash them :grin:

I will be putting my 2nd homebrew into them!

 

[oz11]

I have used these. I have the type with an integral pull-out tap and a valve on the top which you turn to let air in.

I have found the following:

The pressure is enough to dispense most the beer without needing to let in air, only the last pint or so needs the valve opened.

The downside of this much pressure is that you can get a pint of froth when you first come to use it unless you are very gentle and carefully open the tap.

Once emptied the only difficulty is removing the bung on top that houses the valve. I try not to put anything sharp and metallic under the rubber as I worry about scratching the keg. I grab the rubber with a pair of pliers and pull it out that way. If anyone has any tips to remove one of these easily and simply I'd be grateful. The first one I did resulted in the air turning blue while I was tring to get the bloomin' thing out.

 

[garywhitehouseman]

How easy are the easy kegs to fill ?
Can you do them manually ?
If you fill them 100% do they pop their bungs or buckle when they change temperature?
Do you need to leave a headspace like on a bottle of beer?

Gary

 

[ceejam]

I just put the end of the sy[hon tube into the easykeg and let it fill.

The stated 5 litre capacity leaves a headspace, I have been known to slightly overfill to get a full 9 pints and no had an issue with buckling or popping bungs.

I had a relatively high level of carbonation in my mexican cerveza and this was fine out the kegs.

 

[garywhitehouseman]

Thanks Jamie that is interesting to know

How long do beers last in the easy keg, both bright beers and real ales and filtered beers?

Gary

 

[ceejam]

The longest I've left them is a couple of months from filling to emptying, don't see why it would be any different to bottling or pressure barrel if you leave them sealed.

A week from opening & starting to drink they get a bit flat and past their best taste wise.

 

[nightsod]

I've got a couple of these I was keeping to grow plants in.
I didn't imagine I could reuse them for booze, but it looks as if I might be able to? ANyone tried with a 5ltr keg from a commercial brewer?
Mine are from Wantsum and Adnams, and they look identical to the linked-to kegs.

 

[tbert33]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but was wondering if any one is still using these Easy Kegs if so how have you found them? Are you still using them? would you recommend?

Im looking to let a few wines age and the size of these is perfect for what i need.

 

[wilsoa1111]

hadnt thought to use them for wine-could be a problem in that they are sealed-think is better to bulk age with airlock but probably would take an airlock-PET 5l water bottles from tesco £1 -are also popular and easy enough to fit w airlock

 

[ceejam]

Yes, still doing my bit of recycling.
I use brand new bungs everytime - the ones with the red valve are easy to remove, pull the top off, push the little centre into the tap and then lever the rubber out with a plastic (kiddies) knife.

Rinse the keg out and the centre bit of plastic comes out.

I've also started recycling the yeast from the ones I get from Stewart Brewing - not brewed with it yet though.

 

[steve6690]

I read in the description that these keg can be primed or gas'd,

The question I have is, I have a reusable keg from a local brewery but on their easy kegs the gas cylinders seem to be an integral part of the keg and look as if they can't be removed.

Does anyone have some picture of the kegs in the link please.


As I would rather pay an extra £10 per keg and get some beer with them if they are the same.


Cheers.

 

[MacKiwi]

Hi Steve - I use these, both ones I've purchased from an online homebrew store, and ones from a brewery that I re-use. They are the same kegs, apart from the branding.

I don't see any gas cylinder though - so are we talking about the same thing? The kegs at the top of this thread are the ones with the red tap at the bottom, and wee valve in the top. Once you've opened the valve, the contents drain via gravity (once the initial pressure has subsided).

These kegs cost £5 to buy new online, so if you can get a full one for £15, the beer is only really costing you £1 a (metric) pint. If it's decent beer, that's not bad :)

I prime mine, and so far this has worked ok. I normally batch prime and then fill bottles and mini-kegs from the same bucket. One poster in some thread indicated that the kegs had a maximum priming rate much below what you would normally use for bottles, but I've not been able to find this info anywhere.

You asked for a piccy...

Note the red tap at the base. The other 5 litre kegs you see have no tap, and use some little CO2 cyclinder and a tap that goes int the top valve. I've never used these.