Growlers kegs etc

[Clint]

Hello all
Due to my further fiascos with my plastic barrel and the tedium though convenience of a bottled beer I've been looking at the 5 and 10 litre mini style kegs from places like Dark Farm and MM...
I like the idea of being able to stuff a couple in a big fridge and force carbonate with the fizzy thing...some you can buy with the tap and gas gubbins and then you can get a spare with just a screw on lid...I'm drawn towards the MM ones initially as the lids can be fitted with JG disconnects which would make the drinking continuum easy...do your spare kegs of beer need purging and venting for storage? Anyone got any? Are they great?

 

[Mangold]

I have a couple. They are good imo. I will often fill one and bottle the rest. That way if I am at an event I can take it with me.

The only downside is all the parts are expensive. Two 5l with the right tops can really set you back a bit.

 

[Clint]

So it'd be better to have all fitted with lids and connects ready to go...I notice some have a pressure relief pull pin thing...when filling and gassing do you vent any air to make sure they only have co2 over the beer?
How long does force carbing take and at what pressure?
Is it easy with those 16g bulbs?

 

[Banbeer]

Hi Clint, hope you are well, I've just started to use my 19L corny and that force carbs at 30psi overnight, the only times you need to vent is while purging after filling the keg with beer, this expels the oxygen and covers your brew with C02 to keep it safe etc. The purge would use probably a 16g bulb as this is set to around 2psi and needs to be done a few times, at least 3. You also need to let the pressure out to set the flow pressure, as 30psi would be too much and all you would get is foam, IMO you'd be better getting the soda stream set up (S20) but they are hard to get hold of at the moment I believe (I went for the 6.5kg C02 but the bottle is 85cm tall.

 

[Ivan W]

I have been using mini kegs for my last few brews and am very pleased wi them. They have a flimsy plastic cap for empty storage and rubber bung with an inner grommet to seal them when filled. When you want to breach them the long tube of the tap pushes the inner grommet to the bottom of the keg keeping the seal of the rubber bung in place as the tap clips onto the edge of the keg. The 16g bulb is attached to the tap and it's ready to serve.
The 16g bulb does not create enough pressure to carb up the beer however (its just an aid to serving it) so the beer needs secondary fermentation before it is kegged.

 

[kelper]

When I fill my mini kegs I normally fill till some foam overflows - that purges the air. I have 2 off 2L ones and a 5L one but I only have two taps. The other one just has a screw cap or a screw cap with release valve. I find 15psi for 24 hours is plenty, but I'm normally filling them from my pressure barrel, so the beer is already carbonated. You can fill straight from your FV and add a little sugar as an alternative.

 

[Clint]

I'm torn between making a kegerator or having a few kegs in varying sizes,5/10 or cornies to mix it up a bit,that I can fill,force carbonate then tap with a couple of sets of taps on disconnects. I plan on getting a tall larder type fridge to keep a few in to chill them down. I could then bring a chilled,carbed keg indoors..

 

[Ivan W]

Thanks for that Kelper, that had occurred to me, secondary fermentation is the keg rather than in the PB.

 

[Banbeer]

I'm torn between making a kegerator or having a few kegs in varying sizes,5/10 or cornies to mix it up a bit,that I can fill,force carbonate then tap with a couple of sets of taps on disconnects. I plan on getting a tall larder type fridge to keep a few in to chill them down. I could then bring a chilled,carbed keg indoors..

My Larder fridge arrives on Monday so the Kegerator project starts Monday.

 

[Leon103]

I quickly got annoyed by mini kegs but loving cornys. For the price some companies sell the 5l kegs you can get a good corny set up.

 

[Clint]

How quick can carbing/chilling/serving be done with co2?

 

[Leon103]

How quick can carbing/chilling/serving be done with co2?

In my corny. I chill before transferring. Carb in one minute, let settle for an hour and then start drinking

 

[Clint]

What about "conditioning"...leaving the beer to mature a bit? Or does the immediate force carb contribute to this?

 

[Lawrence22]

If I am conditioning a keg for any length of time I purge it with Co2 to get rid of any air and top it up again with Co2. If its being left for a long time I will occasionally top it up with a bit more Co2. I'll move it to the kegerator 10 days before drinking and let it carb up then. I store these kegs in my garage in meantime.

 

[Mangold]

I'm torn between making a kegerator or having a few kegs in varying sizes,5/10 or cornies to mix it up a bit,that I can fill,force carbonate then tap with a couple of sets of taps on disconnects. I plan on getting a tall larder type fridge to keep a few in to chill them down. I could then bring a chilled,carbed keg indoors..

The thing is, for the price full size corny kegs are much better value. The 16g co2 bulbs are ok, but expensive. I usually carbonate them with sugar and use the co2 bulbs when there isn't enough pressure left. You will also want a flow control tap if connecting straight to the keg.

 

[kelper]

With a 2L or 5L keg you can take beer from the pub home! It's also handy for picnics, barbecues and parties. Will fit in a normal fridge.

 

[Clint]

Brew Keg tap seem to have some great offers on kegerator swag...two keg full set up £200....

 

[Mangold]

Brew Keg tap seem to have some great offers on kegerator swag...two keg full set up £200....

Yea. It is defo the more economical solution.

Just as an FYI, prices may have changed, my 5l keg, spear lid, gas reg and flow control tap set me back about £110 two years ago.

 

[Brew_DD2]

Brew Keg tap seem to have some great offers on kegerator swag...two keg full set up £200....

I held off for ages, but when I saw those sets they did with everything you need (Mimi's the CO2 bottle), I had to bite. Have never looked back. Beer is much better, and no bottling day.

 

[Paul Roberts]

Love the look of there soda stream corny set up for £140. Only thing preventing me pulling the trigger is chilling. I don't have space for fridge to chill the keg