Pressure Barrel to Growler

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photek1000

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I use pressure barrels for my beers at the moment, which is great when I am at home and can pop to the garage for a pint, but very annoying if I am travelling out and fancy taking any of my own beer with me.

After looking at a possible travelling solution I came across the idea of using Growlers.

If I was to decant beer of up to 2L in to a growler direct from the PB how long will it hold it's carbonation for, these are fairly low carbonated ales.

And any recommendations on a reasonably priced Growler I can purchase in the UK?

Or any other ideas for making my beer portable for short amounts of time, generally an evening out, but maybe over a day or two.
 
If I was to decant beer of up to 2L in to a growler direct from the PB how long will it hold it's carbonation for, these are fairly low carbonated ales.
If you fill the growler it will stay as carbonated as it was when it flowed into the bottle,which will be be less than when it was in the PB (CO2 is lost as it the pressurised beer passes through the tap). Until the time you re-open the bottle the CO2 has nowhere to go.
If you only half fill the growler and reseal, dissolved CO2 will leave the beer and enter the gas space until equilibrium is reached so your beer will be less carbonated than when it was first put in the bottle.
 
Good to know that if I fill one up it should retain at least a reasonable level of carbonation.
 
What about mini kegs? A bit of planning involved and not as simple as decanting an amount and heading off but it makes 5 litres very easily portable.
 
I do like the idea of Mini Kegs, and have thought about ditching the PBs and getting at least 4 Mini Kegs in as that would be manageable for my set up in the garage, it is on my radar as with a lot of other stuff.

Just mulling over ideas for portability now the so called party season is upon us, that and I can't think of anything I can get the other half to buy me for Christmas :-)
 
You could fill a growler/mini keg (or multiples) when you fill the pb.
 
Don't buy empty mini kegs whatever you Do! I think they're usually 7 or 8 quid. You can get one filled with good beer for as little as 11 quid occasionally.
 
Don't buy empty mini kegs whatever you Do! I think they're usually 7 or 8 quid. You can get one filled with good beer for as little as 11 quid occasionally.

Or you can get a brand new one and fill it with home brew for less than a tenner.
 
Do they seal nicely, as I will primarily want to fill with beer that has already been primed/carbonated?


Oh, yes. They carb up nicely and hold the carbonation well.They give a lovely pop, just like a champagne cork when opening. As you can see from my link, thet're swing tops, so lock down tight
 
Or you can get a brand new one and fill it with home brew for less than a tenner.

True, however if you're getting 5 litres of good beer for an extra 3 or 4 quid that's a bargain. I bought a couple of shipyard pale ales at 11 quid recently. It he the added bonus of me being able to leave 10 litres of my own stuff alone, meaning my stock has increased slightly. I do tend to polish most brews off before they're any more than couple of months old.
 
If you fill the Mini Keg's straight from your primary, you will still have yeast from secondary fermentation when you primed the Mini Keg so moving them about would not be a good idea. To be honest i cant see any difference in transporting a Mini Keg, from transporting a pressure barrel.
You could fill a growler/mini keg (or multiples) when you fill the pb.
 
Why not use a 2 litre pop bottle, then you can responsibly sling it in the recycling when you're done.
 
I use Sainsburys Basics 2 litre sparkling water bottles - you can prime, force carbonate, fill from a corny or simply decant into them from a pressure barrel plus they bounce (mostly)!
 

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