mini kegs

[ChilledGecko]

Fair question SD.
I’ve just returned to home brewing after 20 plus years and I’m building up my equipment base and I made the decision not to run with bottles, too much faff.
I am brewing from kits at the moment until I decide what to do about AG equipment which gives me (generally) 23l a brew. I assumed that the difference between a 23l brew and a 19l corney would be all trub and muck and presumed wasted. These newer yeasts and pressure fermenter set ups are giving me a nice compact trub so I need to do something about it.

That’s the theory anyway. Speaking to one of my sons last night and I suspect the mini kegs could be used for removing samples for quality testing at his place...

 

[Subtle Duck]

Quality testing is definitely an essential part of homebrewing and I'm sure he'll do it with gusto.

 

[Ashman]

Sorry for the daft question but could you pressure ferment in a mini keg (or an easy keg)? If One run a regulator to it so I have a pressure reading and can vent as required ? I expect with the 5L volume size one would get a lot of trub which makes me think this Would only work at the corny size level (seen a few threads on this)

 

[Azzda]

Ok i have more info than I expected to get so big thanks to everyone. I got plenty to consider before buying and I think the best bet is to not click buy now when I get tempted. Sure I will find the keg for me with a little planning and patience.

 

[RockTKaz]

Bugger! This talk has somewhat dampened my enthusiasm for my new setup that I got at Xmas
I'm really enjoying it just now (see pic) full of Mangrove Jacks American IPA.
However it's good to hear about future upgrade options.

Are these worth it, I’ve been looking at moving on from pressure barrel

 

[AMyd666]

Are these worth it, I’ve been looking at moving on from pressure barrel

Hi. Well I'm enjoying it a lot. Just kegged my first AG stout today, so looking forward to that too! It provides my preferred level of carbonation. Hopefully the internal lining lasts a while. Which is what some folk have complained about.

 

[Azzda]

Hi. Well I'm enjoying it a lot. Just kegged my first AG stout today, so looking forward to that too! It provides my preferred level of carbonation. Hopefully the internal lining lasts a while. Which is what some folk have complained about.

I think you can replace it with a supermarket keg and add your stuff to that it should be that same. Then I am a noob so I might be wrong? You can get them for less than 15 I think.

And you get booze inside

 

[AMyd666]

I think you can replace it with a supermarket keg and add your stuff to that it should be that same. Then I am a noob so I might be wrong? You can get them for less than 15 I think.

And you get booze inside

Indeed you can! I have an empty one to trial.

 

[Ashman]

Don’t do what I did. I Tried direct tapping a commercial mini keg Directly and created a beer fountain with beer hitting the ceiling! After I cleaned up the beer tasted better though. I realise now why the party star has a long pole type arrangement to tap so I’ve ordered a drinking straw as the tapping pipe.

Do people use check valves on Either keg systems?

 

[AMyd666]

By what method do you mean "directly"?

 

[Ashman]

By what method do you mean "directly"?

It’s a 3/8 t John guest fitting with a 3/8 to 3/16 reducer on one end, and a 1/2 barb to 3/8 stem into the keg. 3/16 pipe runs through the reducer down into the replaced bung of the keg. I forgot that you need a long spear to initially tap the beer like in the party star.

 

[MickDundee]

Just ordered a 10L Sodastream set up from BKT they had 2 in stick this morning after having been out of stock for weeks.

£30 cheaper than Darkfarm and £40 cheaper than iKegger and the regulator looks much better (like a proper regulator that I can use as my set up evolves rather than the mini-regulators the other 2 provide). I just need my Czech lager to hurry up now, reducing the temperature by 2C a day so should be at 1C on Wednesday then 4 weeks lagering before I can keg it!

 

[Azzda]

Just ordered a 10L Sodastream set up from BKT they had 2 in stick this morning after having been out of stock for weeks.

£30 cheaper than Darkfarm and £40 cheaper than iKegger and the regulator looks much better (like a proper regulator that I can use as my set up evolves rather than the mini-regulators the other 2 provide). I just need my Czech lager to hurry up now, reducing the temperature by 2C a day so should be at 1C on Wednesday then 4 weeks lagering before I can keg it!

Still have any left? Don't think I have used that site before. I'm still keeping an eye out for keg. Seen afew I like. Thinking about aliexpress.

 

[MickDundee]

Still have any left? Don't think I have used that site before. I'm still keeping an eye out for keg. Seen afew I like. Thinking about aliexpress.

They have one left according to the website. It was 2 when I ordered so I assume they must have a fairly good stock database attached to their web shop:
https://brewkegtap.co.uk/collection...linders-1/products/10l-minikeg-sodastream-kit

 

[Azzda]

They have one left according to the website. It was 2 when I ordered so I assume they must have a fairly good stock database attached to their web shop:
https://brewkegtap.co.uk/collection...linders-1/products/10l-minikeg-sodastream-kit

Yeah it looks good I was just looking at the 5l kegs they are out of stock but might grab one when they are back. They do 2 for 160. So I'm guessing 2 tanks and one of the rest of the of the fitting. But it's still a nice little deal i think.

 

[Martin-68]

hi guys, i am a new brewer only done a few brews with brew kits and i was look at getting a mini keg ideally 5l or i could go up to 10l.

The thing is i don't really want to spend over £100 (ideally less) on it, i seen a few for sale quite cheep but either i don't like the look of the website or they want me to buy a few hundred of them, can anyone recommend a website and price range. also what do you guy think about buying second hand to save money?

View attachment 25813 this is what i was hoping to get i like the look and it looks like it wants to pour a proper pint. i know its a few 100 for a setup but i think you can get them cheaper.




View attachment 25814 i was avoiding this style because i had a bad experience with the supermarket beer with one of them. I was hoping to hear from people who have used them. i'd rather just bottle them if it can't pour well. but if it save money and dose the job i might consider it.

any wise words are appreciated.

Azzda i bought one of the 5ltr mini kegs about a year ago , the keg was fine the gas valve was an absolute waste of money ,i paid around £80 from amazon ,i could not get it to seal ,contacted the seller without any success so i have still not ran any brew through .
i bought a corny 19ltr complete set up a couple of weeks ago £119 so if you can stretch the funds a bit would go for the full set up

 

[MickDundee]

Azzda i bought one of the 5ltr mini kegs about a year ago , the keg was fine the gas valve was an absolute waste of money ,i paid around £80 from amazon ,i could not get it to seal ,contacted the seller without any success so i have still not ran any brew through .
i bought a corny 19ltr complete set up a couple of weeks ago £119 so if you can stretch the funds a bit would go for the full set up

Cheap kit always run the risk of being a bit dodgy though, and £80 for one of these set ups is very cheap compared to the ones I’ve been scoping out before this morning’s purchase. Buy cheap and buy twice and all that.

BKT, Darkfarm and iKegger all have good reputations for what they sell and they are all about the £125-£170 range for the versions of the 5L minikegs with the same disconnects as cornies. Because they come with the same disconnects, I’m not sure how a lot of these systems are any different to cornies, other than suiting my needs better by being more portable.

BKT sell their Sodastream kits with a Kegland gas regulator as well rather than the mini regs that most places do.

 

[Azzda]

Ī

Azzda i bought one of the 5ltr mini kegs about a year ago , the keg was fine the gas valve was an absolute waste of money ,i paid around £80 from amazon i could not get it to seal ,contacted the seller without any success so i ⁹have still not ran any brew through .
i bought a corny 19ltr complete set up a couple of weeks ago £119 so if you can stretch the funds a bit would go for the full set up

Yeah I was looking into corny kegs but I'm not as keen on the look and also I just want 5l for now. I did see a cheep one 5l for around 70 pounds but what I gathered is it's best to pay abit more for quality and to have a reliable seller incase of any problems.
I will probably get some cornys in the future but for no I just want a little keg to show off at partys

 

[Session]

Just ordered a 10L Sodastream set up from BKT they had 2 in stick this morning after having been out of stock for weeks.

£30 cheaper than Darkfarm and £40 cheaper than iKegger and the regulator looks much better (like a proper regulator that I can use as my set up evolves rather than the mini-regulators the other 2 provide). I just need my Czech lager to hurry up now, reducing the temperature by 2C a day so should be at 1C on Wednesday then 4 weeks lagering before I can keg it!

I ordered mine from BKT and agree they are fantastic. Send us some pictures when they arrive!

 

[Paul Roberts]

Could you store the 10 litres on their sides? Trying to work out how to chill them as tight on space and not allowed another fridge

anyone know the sizes