My new Growler

[theskipper1]

Hello all , so recently I posted an Easy keg idea , not knowing what they were at the time so my intention is to use these , But this has led on to me purchasing a 4 litre Growler from nakedkeg trading on eBay not cheap but in my opinion a cracking piece of kit and we have just tried it out and it's great
My hope is it will keep my brew fresh for weekend camping trips so it's on a trial run this weekend ...

 

[Steved53]

I can't understand why they make these 4L ones with these proportions. The 2L ones have (in my view) the correct proportions, but these 4L ones (3.6L?) should I believe be shorter and wider at the base.

I've had my eye on these, and the tap arrangements, for something a little easier to transport than a corny keg and large co2 cylinder. I haven't bitten as yet. I might just go for a 9L corny keg and a smaller gas cylinder.

 

[xdaver]

I nearly spat my beer out when I read the title :)

 

[theskipper1]

Ok so I actually sort of agree and wonder if I would of been better with the 2 litre Growler
And possibly bought 2 for the same money and they would stack on top of one another but I have to say I filled it Friday evening and it's now sat and the beer is still well drinkable
So I am happy with my new Growler 😀

 

[TheRedDarren]

I nearly spat my beer out when I read the title :)

I expected to see something else.

 

[theskipper1]

I expected to see something else.

I woke up with a real growler once believe me you wouldn't want to see a picture of that beast !! 💩

 

[Dads_Ale]

Good choice

SWMBO likes it as I am currently using it to carb up some still cider for her.

First try with the direct tap. seems to need a very low pressure as not additional beer line. We'll see.....

 

[Leon103]

Nivea cider?

 

[MickDundee]

Good choice

SWMBO likes it as I am currently using it to carb up some still cider for her.

First try with the direct tap. seems to need a very low pressure as not additional beer line. We'll see.....

Do you keep beer in your bathroom?

 

[Fil]

Good choice

SWMBO likes it as I am currently using it to carb up some still cider for her.

First try with the direct tap. seems to need a very low pressure as not additional beer line. We'll see.....

dont expect to serve at condition retaining pressures with that tap, so if traveling any distance or wanting the beer to keep for any length of time it may be worth storring at a higher pressure and venting of most of that prior to tapping and serving.. great set up ..

 

[theskipper1]

Thats a great looking set up , but i was intending to use this Growler as a weekend only camping trip vesel so was not intending to inject additional Co2 for two reasons firstly keep the weight down and I guess simplicity - any tips ? Could I use this to secondry ferment in and pour straight from the Growler ?? I have used it this weekend over two days and the second day the beer was drinkable a wee bit flat though .. 😕😕

 

[Steved53]

Thats a great looking set up , but i was intending to use this Growler as a weekend only camping trip vesel so was not intending to inject additional Co2 for two reasons firstly keep the weight down and I guess simplicity - any tips ? Could I use this to secondry ferment in and pour straight from the Growler ?? I have used it this weekend over two days and the second day the beer was drinkable a wee bit flat though .. 😕😕

I think you likely have to bite the bullet and buy something similar to Dad's_Ale. If you do a secondary fermentation in the growler, you have tied up an expensive, relatively small volume dispensing vessel, for the duration of the secondary fermentation and the trip.

Apart from that, if you carry out a secondary fermentation in the growler, as soon as you move it to put it in the car, you disturb the yeast, so cloudy beer is a given. Not necessarily the end of the world, but still.

The good thing about the dispensing system shown, is that it can also be used on Cornelius kegs. If you have a keg system, then you would be able to force carbonate the growler with your large co2 cylinder, and only use the small ones for serving.

If you haven't already got a Cornelius keg setup, I would be tempted to get one and use that for the secondary fermentation, or force carbonate. With the setup Dad's_Ale has, you could fill the growler with a counter pressure arrangement - filling from the dispensing point, and venting by pulling up on the pressure release. Quite a nice setup really.

 

[F00b4r]

How easy is it with those growlers to switch from the normal cap to the dispense setup? E.g. If you have a couple of the 2L ones with different beer (guessing it is straight forward and no worries about oxidising as CO2 gets added and could make for a nice setup to take different beers to a friend's house without needing a separate dispense unit for each growler).

 

[theskipper1]

That looks like a great set up but i was intending to just decant straight from the Growler whilst camping on weekend trips so it only needs to last 2 days , i used it this weekend and the second day the beer was fine though a little flat any tips on keeping a bit more fizz without injecting Co2 its not so much the cost i just want to keep the weight down and the amount of kit I have to carry,
I did read somewhere that to fill it use a length of pipe on my barrel tap which is carbed up and fill from the bottom of the Growler up any other tips would be very handy .....

 

[theskipper1]

Thank you for you're idea's ,bite the bullet I may have to do then as you can buy a star party type tap and injector for about 30 bucks so I think this may be my next purchase now as the only kegs I use at the moment are the Youngs 23 LITRE plastic barrels which seem to work for me at the moment ...

 

[theskipper1]

Ok thank you I was hopeful I would be able to use my soda stream style co2 gas bulbs for the dads ale type set up but it seems the cylinders for these have a 10mm male thread on them, is there a system out there that uses my type of co2 cylinders and if not where is the cheapest place to get them .....

 

[Steved53]

Ok thank you I was hopeful I would be able to use my soda stream style co2 gas bulbs for the dads ale type set up but it seems the cylinders for these have a 10mm male thread on them, is there a system out there that uses my type of co2 cylinders and if not where is the cheapest place to get them .....

It's been a while since I bought mine, and I have both types. You just need to ask which type they are selling. Sometimes easier said than done, when the seller is Chinese and may have limited grasp of English. The giveaway (generally) would be if it hasn't got a plastic cap to hold the gas cylinder in place, then it is definitely a screw in. Unfortunately the opposite is not always the case. I would guess the cheapest place would be EBay, but it would be worth doing a trawl through all the better online hb shops as well.

 

[theskipper1]

It's been a while since I bought mine, and I have both types. You just need to ask which type they are selling. Sometimes easier said than done, when the seller is Chinese and may have limited grasp of English. The giveaway (generally) would be if it hasn't got a plastic cap to hold the gas cylinder in place, then it is definitely a screw in. Unfortunately the opposite is not always the case. I would guess the cheapest place would be EBay, but it would be worth doing a trawl through all the better online hb shops as well.

Yes thank you all for your useful info and ideas I did talk to naked keg and they have confirmed that the only way is to use the screw in type cylinders they even tried to see if a modification was possible but drew a blank there , so it looks like I will have to invest in a new piece of kit I do however think if you used the two litre one and intended to drink in one session the same day then this would work fine with out the need to carbonate it again .

 

[stuart_A]

Im really interested in these kegs but was wondering if they are suitable for what i'd like to use them for, which would be as mini kegs for both carbing but also serving. I like the smaller size (2L is easier to get through compared to the 5L mini kegs), the look and im guessign theyre a bit easier to clean..

So can they be used like mini kegs e.g. can i fill them straight from my secondary with the appropriate priming sugar and then leave them with the screw lid on until the time i want to drink it. At which point i'D unscrew and add the co2 tap set-up to it?

Wil the beer in the growler remain good as long as it isnt opened without the CO2 i.e. just like a bottled beer? Also, will it cause any issues when the time comes to unscrew and add the tap?

Thanks

 

[theskipper1]

Hi in my humble opinion it would not be a good idea to secondary ferment in the 2 or 4 litre Growler as the minute you unscrew lid the pressure will dissipate instantly also you will have sediment to contend with in the bottom ... I use mine with good results for weekend camping trips and it will keep the beer fresh for two days and if carbed up nicely on filling then it is well drinkable and more like an old keg beer ... when you fill it I attach a pipe to by barrel tap so as to fill growler from the bottom up saves on too much froth and fills nicely that way , some say you do need to add Co2 including naked keg.com .. and yes it is easy to clean though i would advise to wash out as soon as emty and invert it to dry out, I do sterilise mine before use also,
Ihope this is of some help to you .. inically i wish i had bought the two litre but i have to say the 4 litre is now my prefferd choice
Cheers 😊