Kegs, "kegs" and other 'kegs'

[kenstel]

I was going to start this post by saying I hate bottling beer. Actually, I dont hate it, but it's no fun is it? It's boring and tedious.

What I do hate though, it's sediment in the bottle, and having to store the bottle upright before opening.

So, I thought about some kind of Keg. An important factor is that I don't see any need for a large (19L or thereabouts) Keg. I intend to brew mainly 5-10L batches.

As I understand there are basically 2 kinds of Keg.

The mini Keg, available in various sizes.

As I understand, this is similar to the beer kegs use in pubs with a cap with a spear. Cap type D I think in UK. There's a cap available to convert the attachment to Ball lock posts, as seen in the foreground. I can imagine cleaning the inside may be difficult because of the small opening.

The other kind is the ubiquitous corny which comes with Ball lock posts (usually).

Again, various sizes available. This one is 5L

The other thing I've seen is the plastic Oxebar

The 8L Oxebar also has a tapping head with connectors.

Now, the questions.

Am I right in thinking that with the correct cap/connector the above kegs are all interchangeable?

I know the Oxebar may not be as long lived as the others.


What I'm really thinking of doing is using a 'keg' to carbonate prior to bottling.

All 3, it seems could be suited to using as a fermenter as well as the usual dispensing, and, as I intend, to carbonate and use to bottle. And perhaps 1 or 2 to store favourite brews.

I'm interested in the thoughts of those who use kegs, especially for carbonating with/without bottling.

The Oxebar looks attractive because of portability and low cost but I realise it has limited durability, and there doesn't seem as much written about it.

 

[JockyBrewer]

I hated bottling, and since I moved to kegging 4 years ago I’d more likely stop brewing than go back to bottling.

All the kegs above you mention will usually have ball lock posts, which are cross compatible with ball lock disconnects. I have several mini kegs and cornys, as well as some carbonation caps that go on PET bottles.

You can force carbonate in any of them to avoid sediment, but you need to keep them cold to do so. Carbonating warm requires higher pressures for longer times.

For me the corny is preferable, as the lids are bigger, making them easier to clean and they allow you to fit things like floating dip tubes. You can also get spares all over the place.

 

[kenstel]

Thanks Jocky.
I have a problem in they for the foreseeable future I dint have room for a fridge to store a keg/corny.

An Oxebar though, could be accommodated and it would allow me to carbonate and maybe to keep one filled with a favourite.

I contacted King Keg about their 5L plastic keg/fermenter but they said they're not available anymore, in favour of a 6.5L metal one. Price is an issue with that, as well as availability. They have a 10L plastic keg/fermenter but they cut have an eta in UK.

I'm looking for distinctions between the 3. Cornies are every where and spares as well, but I don't have room for a big one, small ones are not very common and seems disproportionately costlier. Same with kegs, plus they're harder to clean I would think.

I'm left with the Oxebar, but they're not very common and not very many reports of their usage that I can see.

 

[brewhaha]

I have 2 oxebar kegs. Only 1 brew in each so far but a hoppy wheat beer has been kegged for 6 weeks & still fresh.

No experience of cleaning yet but I've bought one of the Malt Miller drill attachments for that:

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/keg-washer-drill-attachment/?v=79cba1185463
Corny kegs, particularly smaller ones, are pricier but they hold their value. And regardless of the option you choose, you'll need to spend for the keg fittings, gas supply, gas / beer line & tap.

 

[Rodcx500z]

The price of a 5 or 10L keg is is almost the same of a 19L one, so get a couple of 19s and fill 2L cider bottles from them and store them but' you will need a fridge

 

[kenstel]

Thanks for your comments. I'm going to have to think about them. The main sticking point is the lack of space in our food fridge for a 19L,or for a separate beer fridge.

 

[Ben034]

The 5l kegland versions are very good. I've had two in my fridge for a couple of years. Two lying on their sides takes up the majority of a shelve (with the ball lock posts facing forward). I use a mini regulator with a "pluto gun" style tap (kegland as well I think). You can get 50 x 16g co2 canisters for £35 on eBay. So obviously more expensive than a full size gas tank but not too bad. One canister to carbonate and one to serve approximately. I've previously primed in the keg as well without issue.

They're not hard to clean. Add a couple of tablespoons of sodium percarbonate, hot water, and leave for 30 mins. No scrubbing needed.

I've never tried the plastic kegs but they look useful and can imagine using the larger one in winter to store outside. Kegland also have a 10l steel version of the 5l (interchangeable head with ball lock). I brew 10l so smaller kegs are best for me currently (also lack of space right now).

 

[YeastFace]

I have 3 of the 8l Oxebar kegs, and 2 tapping heads.

Have only recently used them for the first time, so can't comment too much, but easy to set up, and easy to fill. They fit in the gaps of ny keezer so I can fit 2 full size cornies, 1 half size corny, and the 2 Oxebar kegs. More than I'd have on at any one time.

I bought them mostly to experiment with split batches but the portability will come in handy in the future.

I'm taking 5 weeks off the drink and then can report back on whether thr contents have oxidised.

 

[Sandimas]

I've got two of the 10L ones which use the little CO2 bulbs, had them a couple of years and they suit my needs. Each one uses on average 2 bulbs per brew. One came from Dark Farm and the other from Malt Miller, just got the 1 tap/regulator and it's interchangeable, with the other keg I just put half a teaspoon of sugar in to produce a tiny amount of CO2 to keep the beer fresh until the tap becomes available.

Cornies are definately cheapers long-term but I don't have the room nor enthusiasm to go down that route, the stand-alone kegs are just so easy to deal with.

 

[tondy79]

Out of stock at the moment but I've found these preferable to the 8l oxebar kegs, and more economical than the stainless 10l kegs. I have a couple of stainless 5l kegs from brewkegtap and I find them really handy as well.

https://brew2bottle.co.uk/products/fermenter-king-king-keg-10ltr-pet-keg-with-ball-locks

 

[Brew_DD2]

Out of stock at the moment but I've found these preferable to the 8l oxebar kegs, and more economical than the stainless 10l kegs. I have a couple of stainless 5l kegs from brewkegtap and I find them really handy as well.

https://brew2bottle.co.uk/products/fermenter-king-king-keg-10ltr-pet-keg-with-ball-locks

Unfortunately it's out of stock. Never seems to be any of the Keg King stuff in stock when I go to look

 

[tondy79]

Unfortunately it's out of stock. Never seems to be any of the Keg King stuff in stock when I go to look

If you get on their mailing list then brew2bottle tend to do a mail-out when these are in stock. There was a re-stock in June and then another in september so perhaps expect another one at some point this month or next

 

[Sandimas]

and more economical than the stainless 10l kegs.

Might be a false economy...I've no experience with these particular kegs but have used other plastic kegs in the past, one of the main reasons for moving to the 10L ones was that they are stainless steel and not plastic so have greater longevity and are easy to clean: I've found plastic ones degrade after a few years, and if you get an infected beer it can be hard to shift.

 

[tondy79]

Might be a false economy...

Could be, these are the factors that always need to be weighed up dependent on use case.

I have stainless for my more commonly used volumes (19l cornies and 5l stainless for taking to parties etc) and tend to use the plastic 10l kegs for smaller "experimental" batches.

 

[fluketamer]

mini kegs only and mini kegs all the way!!!!. thats all i do .
you have either already done this or really done your research cause you have already hit on alot of the pros and cons of mini kegging.

but minis are the cheapest and smallest size footprint entry into kegging. add sodastream kegging and now you can keg in your kitchen fridge without the wife getting upset or perhaps even noticing.

this video was life changing for me . no joke:



im not pushing his business. i didnt even use his products just his ideas then found all the parts cheaper at lhbs or on amazon or one of the major online homebrew stores.

i have lots of different sizes. but i have settled on reserviced 2.5 and 3.5 liter amber pet kvass bottles. attach a carb cap tee piece and you have a mini pet keg for less than $17 usd.

you may have access to these :

which is what i would use if i couldnt find my kvass bottles. which are ideal beacuse they are designed to store low alcohol hopped beverage that would suffer from oxidation. so i am assuming they have some sort of o2 barrier besides being amber.

mini kegs fit anywhere here i have one of my kegerators with the tap inside so noholes drilled.

heres another mini kegerator with primed pet botttles lagering . after lagering for 45 days i just pop on carb cap tee and its ready to serve.

stainless or not minis can even lay on there side with a flexible dip tube.
small batch brewing is ideal for minis.

brew on.

 

[fluketamer]

very low budget travel mini

 

[kenstel]

I agree the small cornied/kegs are not much cheaper than 19L,and are worse value for money, but if you cant accommodate a big one, there's not much choice.

The kegland version has a corny type top, so easy access.

I contacted KK about the 10L plastic Keg and they have no eta on their availability in the UK.

@fluketamer, we don't have Kvac/Kvasss in the shops near me, but I did go out looking this afternoon after your post and I did find it in a 1 pint can!

I can't find any pet bottles bigger than 2L, except cooking oil which as well as being a pain to clean, are not designed for pressurised storage. Might be OK? They have a larger cap as well.

I'll watch those videos later when the wife isn't trying to watch TV.

I'm really looking for something that can take a 5L brew, and the 2L soft drink bottles we have would be a pain for that I think.

 

[Ben034]

Iceland in the UK usually sell 3l fizzy drink bottles. I have a few on hand in case batches come in slightly higher than 10l.

 

[JockyBrewer]

I can't find any pet bottles bigger than 2L, except cooking oil which as well as being a pain to clean, are not designed for pressurised storage. Might be OK? They have a larger cap as well.

I wouldn't. You're right in that they'll not hold any pressure. You'll also find it near impossible to remove the oil residue.

I'm really looking for something that can take a 5L brew, and the 2L soft drink bottles we have would be a pain for that I think.

There is one other option not mentioned on here, which is the aluminium mini kegs:

https://brew2bottle.co.uk/collectio...m-mini-keg-starter-kit-with-party-star-deluxe
Having said that, I've just done a bit of searching on this forum and not really found any glowing feedback, so maybe best avoided.

 

[Ben034]

I wouldn't. You're right in that they'll not hold any pressure. You'll also find it near impossible to remove the oil residue.



There is one other option not mentioned on here, which is the aluminium mini kegs:

https://brew2bottle.co.uk/collectio...m-mini-keg-starter-kit-with-party-star-deluxe
Having said that, I've just done a bit of searching on this forum and not really found any glowing feedback, so maybe best avoided.

Yep definitely best avoided in my experience. They started to rust for me quite quickly and I had a metallic taste after three or so uses.