Plastic kegs

[BREWERS DROOP]

Has anyone got any further info on green kegs I.e plastic 9 gallon kegs.

I have just purchased a used 9 gallon keg and want some info on filling and dispensing from them,I only do ales.

Any info appreciated.

 

[simon12]

Can you give more info on exactly what you have. I have never heard of a 9 gallon keg but its the normal cask size.

 

[simon12]

Does it look like this

With a hole in the side and top
Or is the top more like this

 

[Leon103]

I think he is referring to the top picture , a cask

 

[terrym]

A 9 gallon 'beer cask' used to be known as a firkin. Perhaps it still is.

 

[simon12]

A 9 gallon 'beer cask' used to be known as a firkin. Perhaps it still is.

Yes it still is though I have heard many people recently just call it a 9.

 

[BREWERS DROOP]

Yes that's the one

 

[Clint]

All my spare bottles,buckets of malt and bags of hops are referred to as "in the firkin way" or a "waste of firkin money" according to gestapo headquarters. At least that what it sounds like....

 

[simon12]

You need a new shive and keystone every time you fill it. Hammer (with a rubber mallet) in one and fill it via the other then hammer the other in, this can be a nightmare with plastic as they absorb alot of the impact. Then leave it to condition the same as a bottle. Then to serve you hammer a tap into the key stone and a peg into the shive, leave it overnight to settle with a hard peg in the shive unless you want to release more CO2 in which case use a soft peg. The next day you can serve it from the tap or connect it to a beer engine. Leave the soft peg in when serving and switch to the hard when not. It will only be at its best for about 3 days any nasty after a week. Also you need a stand for it when filling and dispensing and preferably a cooling jacket of some sort. Thats the basics anyway.

 

[terrym]

If you want to keep your beer for longer than a week I assume you are going to have to rig up a CO2 or N2 low pressure blanketting system of some sort and purge the cask of as much air as you can after the initial fill. Otherwise your beer will spoil just like it does down the pub when they have had beer in the cellar that they haven't managed to shift.

 

[BREWERS DROOP]

Thanks for this information folks.
The reason for asking is,i have been asked to produce a barrel of beer for a party,and as i only use the white plastic 5 gallon pressure barrel for my own consumption was looking to see if one of these kegs would be better.£20 off ebay.

I really dont want to bottle 9 gallons of ale:-(:-(

Also i have the option for using a stainless steel keg which i can get from a local micro brewery,which are surplus to requirements,would these be a better option?

 

[BREWERS DROOP]

If you want to keep your beer for longer than a week I assume you are going to have to rig up a CO2 or N2 low pressure blanketting system of some sort and purge the cask of as much air as you can after the initial fill. Otherwise your beer will spoil just like it does down the pub when they have had beer in the cellar that they haven't managed to shift.

this is what i am thinking,like the white pressure barrels for home brewers with the co2 valve on the screw top,i was thinking of fitting a valve for my co2 gas can,and fitting a tap at the bottom,would this be viable?

 

[simon12]

this is what i am thinking,like the white pressure barrels for home brewers with the co2 valve on the screw top,i was thinking of fitting a valve for my co2 gas can,and fitting a tap at the bottom,would this be viable?

I assume you are talking about the plastic firkin. If so it would be very easy to attach a CO2 valve to a shive but it would then make it a nightmare to get it in and out, alternatively you could drill a hole in the firkin itself is you have a child with small enough hands to screw it on inside. As for the tap you may as well use the proper one hammered into the key stone. Alternetively you could use it upright and put the valve into the keystone but I have no idea how you would screw a tap into the side near the bottom.

 

[simon12]

Thanks for this information folks.
The reason for asking is,i have been asked to produce a barrel of beer for a party,and as i only use the white plastic 5 gallon pressure barrel for my own consumption was looking to see if one of these kegs would be better.�£20 off ebay.

I really dont want to bottle 9 gallons of ale:-(:-(

Also i have the option for using a stainless steel keg which i can get from a local micro brewery,which are surplus to requirements,would these be a better option?

A keg may be better if you already have the CO2 equipment, but you will need the correct coupler and have to be able to remove the spear for filling.

 

[BREWERS DROOP]

The steel keg I have been given today does not have a sphere,it's a rubber plug that you bang a plastic tap into.The plastic keg is yet to arrive.
I have watched a video on the internet of a steel keg being converted with a corny lid which would have been ideal but unfortunately the top of the keg is not smooth,it has a pressed top.
I will no doubt cobble something together somehow

 

[simon12]

Sounds like the steal one is a firkin cask the same as the plastic one.

 

[Honk]

If it's for a party, why mess about trying to connect co2? Use the cask with a tap hammered in and a soft shive in the top and hope it all gets drunk before it goes off.

 

[BREWERS DROOP]

Yes it is,it will get drunk,trust me:smile::smile: i think after reading these posts and talking to the landlord,in my local micro brewery, i will fill it leave it 24 hrs after pegging and sticking the tap in and hope for the best.

 

[Honk]

Let us know how it goes. It is something I would like to do when the opportunity arises.

 

[Druncan]

Or,,, dump it in a cornie and it'l last for year's!!! I now dump 23l of a fresh furkin into a cornie. It will then last more than 10 days,,,, or I have to drink it all

Sorry, FIRKIN, FIRKIN, FIRKIN,,,