Pressure barrels: King Keg vs Standard

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Beerlover

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I need to get another pressure barrel tomorrow and was just wondering if it was worth paying the extra £18 or so for the King Keg? I quite like the idea of having the tap further up the barrel so I don't have to move it every time I pour a pint but not sure if that reason alone warrants the extra money? Are there any other reasons to get one over the normal standard ones?
 
Personally I would always go for a KK top tap with sparkler tap. Pulling the beer off the top means a clear drink with no sediment pulled and the sparkler tap makes a nice creamy pint. For the extra cash I would go the full hog :)

Cheers
 
+1 for the KK top tap. The wider cap is very useful for getting your arm in for proper cleaning, and when I got mine (LHBS) I could upgrade to the S30 cap for just a couple of quid (which you'll need, particularly with a top tap. Messing about with little co2 bulbs is a PITA). Budget ones (wilkos etc) will have to be upgraded with a separately bought s30 cap, which from what I remember are relatively pricey and bring the setup to pretty much the cost of a KK anyway! Some regard the top tap as cheating a bit, but it does mean you can drink it sooner :D.

...Having said that, I did just go straight for the KK when I started, and haven't actually used a generic pressure barrel... may get one at some point just to compare, if a decent deal comes up
 
...yep, £25 for wilko barrel, £19 for s30 cap = £44. KK top tap = £48 on amazon. For roughly the price of a pint.... they are a lot sturdier in construction too, and when you're lugging 5 gallons of liquid about, knocks do occur (they certainly do when I'm doing it anyway :D)
 
Cheers all, got myself a king keg top tap for £48, I've got a festival golden stag which I added 454g of golden syrup to plus some citra hops so that one will be christening it tomorrow. ;)
 
This post caught my eye.

I've bottled exclusively since I started brewing a few years ago. I love love love the idea of being able to chuck some of my brews in a keg and not take the time to bottle as often. Are the kegs generally recommended by users of them? Are they worth the cost and hassle of CO2 bulbs etc?
 
This post caught my eye.

I've bottled exclusively since I started brewing a few years ago. I love love love the idea of being able to chuck some of my brews in a keg and not take the time to bottle as often. Are the kegs generally recommended by users of them? Are they worth the cost and hassle of CO2 bulbs etc?

Hi Kngsze, I started brewing last year and now have 3 King Keg sparkler top tap barrels. All I can say is they have been excellent and I've had no problems with them. The beer conditions very well, they are easy to clean and maintain and you get an excellent pub style pint out of them with no fuss or sediment. Go the extra and get the top tap / sparkler tap ... I think you'll be impressed.
Good luck and enjoy
 
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