BIGJIM72
Landlord.
(@ mods,please feel free to move, add,or edit-camera is up the spout so all images are from amazon/google searches)
Mysterious things,mini kegs. Been around for years-I'm sure there are pics in Dave Line's books,but there is not a lot of info about them to be found on forums like this. When upgrading kit to something other than bottles the obvious routes are pressure barrels or cornies, minis often get overlooked-especially when HBS sell the starter kit with such a high price tag. With cornies being scarce at the moment(so I am told) there seems to be a bit more interest now.And things don't need to be expensive.
If you see a mini keg (MK from here on out) nestling on the shelves at Aldi, or in your local micro chances are that once you have finished drinking the beer the keg may well be re used by us brewers. Often these kegs will have a built in tap at the base & a vent style bung (more on bungs later).Also bear in mind new kegs retail for about £5,so if you find one full of beer for not much more it's a bargain.
keg with tap
Bung with vent
There is a pressure release bung that may be used with this style of keg-more later
Simple to use-chill,turn tap to dispense. When no more beer comes out of tap open vent at top by turning & let gravity do the rest. Opening the vent will let air at the beer,but when each keg holds 5lt they are quite easy to polish off if you have a few mates round.
Let me be clear from the off I am not referring to these
A few of the big boys produce these & a chiller to go with them. There may be a way to re use these but I don't know how.
Just to make things interesting, theres another style of MK for use with a dispenser tap- often sold in the MK starter kit
These differ slightly-they have no built in tap & come supplied with a different bung
Dispenser tap bung (I call them bullseyes)
The dispenser tap comes with a dip tube that pushes the centre of these bungs into the keg then locks on firmly to the outer rim. Beer is then dispensed via a lever. When no more beer comes out pressure is restored by using a 16oz CO2/NO2 cartridge or by an air pump,depending on the style of tap you have. With the cartridge gas injection you can control the amount of gas pumped into the keg.
PROS
Much easier to wash & fill than loads of bottles (but for a 23lt brew you will need 4 MKs & 6 bottles)+they don't shatter if you drop them-much safer if you have pets or little ones
Without a tap fitted they will fit happily in the salad tray area of a standard fridge
You can buy a pre filled MK from a supermarket/microbrewery & see if you like the conditioning-if you do fill with homebrew & see how you get on. So no need for a large cash outlay from the start
Modular-they will stack for warm conditioning/storage
Extremely portable-ideal for going to parties/fishing trips etc
Unlike a corny set up you don't need a sizeable gas bottle,lots of piping or a kegerator
CONS
Very finite lifespan-prone to rust around the bung hole (no tittering please). Over priming or kegging beer that has not reached its true FG can result in a keg full of foam,or in extreme cases buckling or splitting
Expensive if you buy the starter kit
Although not as costly or space consuming as cornies it's an inferior system in some ways. Force carbing is theoretically possible but a damned sight easier with the gauges & regulators that are used in a corny set up.
If using vent bungs beer will oxidise in a few days
My plastic dispenser tap that came with the starter kit lasted about 18 months. Dip tubes are fragile & can be easily broken by over tightening.
On the whole,despite their faults I like MKs & continue to use them & have done for at least the last 3 years.
I will put up another post about priming,storing & other issues at a later date. Any comments/questions welcome
Mysterious things,mini kegs. Been around for years-I'm sure there are pics in Dave Line's books,but there is not a lot of info about them to be found on forums like this. When upgrading kit to something other than bottles the obvious routes are pressure barrels or cornies, minis often get overlooked-especially when HBS sell the starter kit with such a high price tag. With cornies being scarce at the moment(so I am told) there seems to be a bit more interest now.And things don't need to be expensive.
If you see a mini keg (MK from here on out) nestling on the shelves at Aldi, or in your local micro chances are that once you have finished drinking the beer the keg may well be re used by us brewers. Often these kegs will have a built in tap at the base & a vent style bung (more on bungs later).Also bear in mind new kegs retail for about £5,so if you find one full of beer for not much more it's a bargain.
keg with tap
Bung with vent
There is a pressure release bung that may be used with this style of keg-more later
Simple to use-chill,turn tap to dispense. When no more beer comes out of tap open vent at top by turning & let gravity do the rest. Opening the vent will let air at the beer,but when each keg holds 5lt they are quite easy to polish off if you have a few mates round.
Let me be clear from the off I am not referring to these
A few of the big boys produce these & a chiller to go with them. There may be a way to re use these but I don't know how.
Just to make things interesting, theres another style of MK for use with a dispenser tap- often sold in the MK starter kit
These differ slightly-they have no built in tap & come supplied with a different bung
Dispenser tap bung (I call them bullseyes)
The dispenser tap comes with a dip tube that pushes the centre of these bungs into the keg then locks on firmly to the outer rim. Beer is then dispensed via a lever. When no more beer comes out pressure is restored by using a 16oz CO2/NO2 cartridge or by an air pump,depending on the style of tap you have. With the cartridge gas injection you can control the amount of gas pumped into the keg.
PROS
Much easier to wash & fill than loads of bottles (but for a 23lt brew you will need 4 MKs & 6 bottles)+they don't shatter if you drop them-much safer if you have pets or little ones
Without a tap fitted they will fit happily in the salad tray area of a standard fridge
You can buy a pre filled MK from a supermarket/microbrewery & see if you like the conditioning-if you do fill with homebrew & see how you get on. So no need for a large cash outlay from the start
Modular-they will stack for warm conditioning/storage
Extremely portable-ideal for going to parties/fishing trips etc
Unlike a corny set up you don't need a sizeable gas bottle,lots of piping or a kegerator
CONS
Very finite lifespan-prone to rust around the bung hole (no tittering please). Over priming or kegging beer that has not reached its true FG can result in a keg full of foam,or in extreme cases buckling or splitting
Expensive if you buy the starter kit
Although not as costly or space consuming as cornies it's an inferior system in some ways. Force carbing is theoretically possible but a damned sight easier with the gauges & regulators that are used in a corny set up.
If using vent bungs beer will oxidise in a few days
My plastic dispenser tap that came with the starter kit lasted about 18 months. Dip tubes are fragile & can be easily broken by over tightening.
On the whole,despite their faults I like MKs & continue to use them & have done for at least the last 3 years.
I will put up another post about priming,storing & other issues at a later date. Any comments/questions welcome
