NEIPA in a plastic King Keg

[Alimac019]

Hey guys,

I'm going to be brewing a NEIPA next weekend. I've previously bottled one, and wasn't too keen on the outcome, think there was some oxidation issues.

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on my idea of potentially barreling it in a plastic King Keg barrel (https://www.brewstore.co.uk/king-keg-top-tap-with-pin-valve)

I've brewed some great beers which have tasted fantastic out of this barrel, I know most people recommend kegging a NEIPA, but I currently haven't got the setup which allows this.

Would appreciate any feedback and tips.

Thanks!

 

[JonBrew]

Sorry to piss on your pudding but I don't think your results with the King keg will be much better than with bottles. In fact it might be worse.

I have a king keg I've used a few time but not for pale hoppy styles - even then I've noticed oxidation creeping in after about a month in the keg. If you drink it quick and really make an effort to keep the pressure topped up you might have a decent beer pouring for a couple of weeks, after that I think it'll be in the hands of the gods.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Hey guys,

I'm going to be brewing a NEIPA next weekend. I've previously bottled one, and wasn't too keen on the outcome, think there was some oxidation issues.

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on my idea of potentially barreling it in a plastic King Keg barrel (https://www.brewstore.co.uk/king-keg-top-tap-with-pin-valve)

I've brewed some great beers which have tasted fantastic out of this barrel, I know most people recommend kegging a NEIPA, but I currently haven't got the setup which allows this.

Would appreciate any feedback and tips.

Thanks!

I use King Kegs all the time and have no problems with them. I’ve often stored beers in them for three or four months.

At the moment I have 5 KKs with IPAs (1 hazy), 2 more with brown ales, and another with porter which is now virtually empty but was kegged five months ago and is still good.

The important thing with King Kegs is to sort out all the leaks: tap, tap body, cap, pressure inlet valve, pressure release valve. If you’ve been using one you probably have these sorted already.

The pressure in a King Keg is limited to about 15psi but this is more than enough for carbonating a NEIPA or anything else except maybe lager or very fizzy cider.

If you pour several pints in a short time you will need to inject CO2 when the pressure drops.

 

[Alimac019]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys.

I guess my mindset is whether ultimately the bottles or the King Kegs give a better opportunity of the beer not dying. Obviously the bottles are far bigger ball ache, so that's why I was leaning towards the KK. I've got a corny keg I could put it in, but currently no CO2 I can inject and no fridge big enough to handle the keg. Is this an option though? Pop it in the keg until I can source some CO2?

 

[JonBrew]

Why not wait until you have CO2 for your cornie before you brew this beer? The ideal scenario* is to transfer from the FV into a CO2 purged cornie keg.

*A 'closed transfer' (transfer under pressure) is best but most cant do those without a fancy fermenter.

 

[Paul Roberts]

What did you do in the end? I'm looking at filling my kk for my next ferment and might try this, if you had a good experience

 

[Alimac019]

I’d give it a 7/10, in fact I’ve already consumed it all! I didn’t get any oxidation which is good, the colour remained perfect. Didn’t quite get the mouthfeel right, but I think that was mainly due to the water treatment being quite tricky during lockdown. I purged my barrel with co2 and basically went overboard with it, then was able to transfer without exposure due to having an SS Brewtech fermenter and managing to do everything through tubing. Flavour was great and I found it peaked about 4 weeks after barreling. Good luck!