Kegs blown up

[kudos1uk]

Has anyone seen anything like this?
I bough 4 Hobgoblin 5L kegs, the main reason was to reuse the kegs for 20L of homebrew, the beer inside was a bonus
I went to put one in the fridge tonight and noticed they have all blown up! The kegs are useless, not sure about he beer.
They were only stored in the kitchen and upright.
The strange this is, I left one on the shelf in the supermarket as it looked similar to these but I assumed it had been dropped so did not buy it, at that time mine were all perfect, I know that because my interest was in the kegs.

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

Have they still got the beer in them that you bought or have you drunk that and refilled?

 

[Banbeer]

Looks like you have something trying to get out, open with care

 

[terrym]

Looks like you have a £60 plus refund coming from somewhere.
And be aware that these kegs may only be good for one re-use. After then you are on borrowed time as to whether your beer becomes tainted with a metallic taste as I and others have found out

 

[kudos1uk]

Have they still got the beer in them that you bought or have you drunk that and refilled?

Yes still the Hobgoblin, I drank one, the other three have all blown up.

Looks like you have something trying to get out, open with care

I got one in the fridge, I'm worried it will blow the door off

Looks like you have a £60 plus refund coming from somewhere.
And be aware that these kegs may only be good for one re-use. After then you are on borrowed time as to whether your beer becomes tainted with a metallic taste as I and others have found out

I bought them a few weeks ago and not sure I have the receipts but I have sent a complaint to Wychwood, hopefully they might do something. I am going to try one tonight, probably be covered in foam.
I had read up lots on the kegs and knew about the problems with reuse but thought I would give it a go, but more than that, I wanted to experiment. shame nobody makes a reusable stainless steel or plastic version for homebrewing.

 

[terrym]

I had read up lots on the kegs and knew about the problems with reuse but thought I would give it a go, but more than that, I wanted to experiment. shame nobody makes a reusable stainless steel or plastic version for homebrewing.

You can buy SS minikegs. But with all the paraphernalia that comes with them, like CO2 driven taps etc they become expensive e.g
https://www.darkfarm.co.uk/mini-keg-draught-systems/I have given up on repurposed minikegs, although mine came for free.

 

[kudos1uk]

You can buy SS minikegs. But with all the paraphernalia that comes with them, like CO2 driven taps etc they become expensive e.g
https://www.darkfarm.co.uk/mini-keg-draught-systems/I have given up on repurposed minikegs, although mine came for free.

I meant a ss mini keg in the same format, shape & size as the disposable, so they will fit in here (this one has compressor cooling):
https://www.klarstein.co.uk/Home-ap...-Dispenser-5l-Kegs-Compressor-120W-Black.html

 

[terrym]

I meant a ss mini keg in the same format, shape & size as the disposable, so they will fit in here (this one has compressor cooling):
https://www.klarstein.co.uk/Home-ap...-Dispenser-5l-Kegs-Compressor-120W-Black.html

There was a thread on here a few weeks back started by a member who though he had found a cheap SS basic minikeg. There was an extended debate about whether it could be SS, and if so what grade as I recall then it fizzled out.

 

[kudos1uk]

There was a thread on here a few weeks back started by a member who though he had found a cheap SS basic minikeg. There was an extended debate about whether it could be SS, and if so what grade as I recall then it fizzled out.

Thanks, I will try to hunt that one down

 

[Sandimas]

Quite often the beer in these kegs is still live: I had one recently that I closed the top vent after a few pints, the next time I went to it, it had gassed up on it's own enough to dispense nearly a full point before opening the vent again.

I guess like any other brew, it could be over-carbed or even infected, resulting in way too much CO2 in there with nowhere to go.

 

[Clint]

They should go back to the supermarket...they sold them to you your refund is from them.

 

[foxbat]

Has anyone seen anything like this?
I bough 4 Hobgoblin 5L kegs, the main reason was to reuse the kegs for 20L of homebrew, the beer inside was a bonus
I went to put one in the fridge tonight and noticed they have all blown up! The kegs are useless, not sure about he beer.
They were only stored in the kitchen and upright.
The strange this is, I left one on the shelf in the supermarket as it looked similar to these but I assumed it had been dropped so did not buy it, at that time mine were all perfect, I know that because my interest was in the kegs.

View attachment 34805
View attachment 34806
View attachment 34807View attachment 34808

Post a link to this thread in an email to the brewery. If something's gone wrong with the batch, e.g. contamination then they'll want to know. (Link to contact form)

 

[Richie_asg1]

It could be a timing issue with all the covid problems things may have been delayed at some point. I seem to remember Brewdog having similar issues on cask IPA.
Wychwood are pretty good at customer service. Just had an order delivered of 16 bottles for my collection and they even included the beer for free.
For anyone interested they are holding their Hobtoberfest online this year - so worth checking out. Think there is a virtual tour of the place or at least they are trying to make a party of it.

Worth telling them about the situation and that you wanted to re-use their kegs for your own, and now can't. They may send you out some fresh empty ones as a bonus if the beer is ok, or just replacements if not.

 

[kudos1uk]

They should go back to the supermarket...they sold them to you your refund is from them.

I bought them over a month ago (BB Jan 2021), I'm not sure I have the receipts now but I intend to have a hunt today, I am self employed and like all good self employed I a have a great filing system of a shoe box that everything goes in (just in case)

Post a link to this thread in an email to the brewery. If something's gone wrong with the batch, e.g. contamination then they'll want to know. (Link to contact form)

I have already emailed pictures to the brewery, in the past I have found manufacturers very generous when things genuinely go wrong, I had some cat food pouches blow up like a balloon and they were generous after I sent them photos.

 

[terrym]

I bought them over a month ago (BB Jan 2021), I'm not sure I have the receipts now but I intend to have a hunt today, I am self employed and like all good self employed I a have a great filing system of a shoe box that everything goes in (just in case)



I have already emailed pictures to the brewery, in the past I have found manufacturers very generous when things genuinely go wrong, I had some cat food pouches blow up like a balloon and they were generous after I sent them photos.

Your purchase contract was with the seller not the brewery. So whilst you might find Wychwood are helpful and interested in your plight you should be talking in the first instance to the place from where you bought the minikegs if you want any form of recompense. If you buy a tin of beans and find it has something wrong with it you take it back to the shop, not write to Heinz. In this context beer and beans are no different
If you bought from a supermarket and paid by credit or debit card and can identify the purchase it is likely the supermarket system will be able to identify what was purchased against that sum, as I have found out in the past.

 

[kudos1uk]

Your purchase contract was with the seller not the brewery. So whilst you might find Wychwood are helpful and interested in your plight you should be talking in the first instance to the place from where you bought the minikegs if you want any form of recompense. If you buy a tin of beans and find it has something wrong with it you take it back to the shop, not write to Heinz. In this context beer and beans are no different
If you bought from a supermarket and paid by credit or debit card and can identify the purchase it is likely the supermarket system will be able to identify what was purchased against that sum, as I have found out in the past.

I was aware of that but I think they are probably drinkable, I started one last night and although it took an age to get the pressure down it was fine, I only have two unopened now.

The two others I have started venting the CO2 already, it won't effect the beer as I'm only venting off CO2, as long as I don't go too far and introduce air they will be a lot better when I come to drink them.

Either way, I would not have transported them in my car 10 miles without venting some pressure, I dread to think of the mess if one ruptured (never mind the smell - no PC plod, I have not been drinking!)

PS- I have messaged that supplier of the minikegs you pointed me to for more information, they do look promising, I have never seen any empty minikeg for sale without the bottom tap, those kegs are quite unique. I will message back on the original thread when I get a reply.
I can't understand why the OP did not contact them, it's an easy question "Are they plastic lined like the commercial ones.".

 

[kudos1uk]

It could be a timing issue with all the covid problems things may have been delayed at some point. I seem to remember Brewdog having similar issues on cask IPA.
Wychwood are pretty good at customer service. Just had an order delivered of 16 bottles for my collection and they even included the beer for free.
For anyone interested they are holding their Hobtoberfest online this year - so worth checking out. Think there is a virtual tour of the place or at least they are trying to make a party of it.

Worth telling them about the situation and that you wanted to re-use their kegs for your own, and now can't. They may send you out some fresh empty ones as a bonus if the beer is ok, or just replacements if not.

It's strange as they are two different batches (although subsequent batches) as I bought them from two supermarkets, I specifically wanted 4, the first supermarket had 3 but one had already blown up (I thought it had been dropped at the time), the second supermarket had the further 2 I was looking for.

To be honest, most of their customers would not care about the kegs but for me it was the point of buying and the beer was a bonus and although I have not mentioned that to Wychwood yet, I like your idea. I will see what they do first and if they aren't generous I might mention how important the empties were to me and see what happens.

 

[kudos1uk]

Quite often the beer in these kegs is still live: I had one recently that I closed the top vent after a few pints, the next time I went to it, it had gassed up on it's own enough to dispense nearly a full point before opening the vent again.

I guess like any other brew, it could be over-carbed or even infected, resulting in way too much CO2 in there with nowhere to go.

I think these are live, the first one I opened a couple of weeks ago (before this happened) was very lively and kept building pressure the following day even though it was kept in the fridge. Also there was a lot of sediment in the bottom when I drew the last glass.

 

[Clint]

As "compensation" you should drink the one you opened because waste is terrible...then take the empty along with the others back and explain that the empty one exploded over your £5k TV and expensive hifi...

 

[kudos1uk]

As "compensation" you should drink the one you opened because waste is terrible...then take the empty along with the others back and explain that the empty one exploded over your £5k TV and expensive hifi...

OMG how did you know, I forgot to mention that