5l Mini Kegs

[Blackened]

Hey all, I'm planning a return to brewing after a long absence. I searched the forums but found no mention of anyone's experience with http://minikeg.net.au.
Has anyone used these? What was your experience? I want to avoid a dedicated kegging setup ATM and also avoid bottling. I would empty one of these a month I reckon. Natural prime and maintain pressure with the bulb? Might even be worth making an adapter to suit a soda stream bottle.
Money is an issue of course, as I have plenty more gear to buy yet!!
Cheers

 

[Truman42]

I too am interested in this as a cheap way to get started in kegging. The instructions seem straight forward enough.

 

[benno1973]

I like the idea of these for sours or small experimental batches. Would only be interested if they were reusable however, so not sure if they are one use or many?

EDIT: I see they are reusable, so that's good. To dispense with CO2 you need the party star tap at $95

 

[Wolfy]

If you were heavily into beer that is usually keg-conditioned (ie: Real Ale) I'd suggest they could be useful.

However, for the $200 the initial setup costs (PARTY STAR DELUX CO2 TAP SYSTEM) which can hold 20L of beer, you could buy 2-4 Corny-kegs (40-80L beer), and a regulator, needing only need the CO2 bottle, lines and fittings, which IMHO would be a more suitable investment if your main aim is to avoid bottling beer. Otherwise you are out the $200, can only 'mini-keg' one batch at a time, and have to buy a full kegging setup which you will (most likely) want to do in the future anyway.

 

[jbowers]

Look up tap-a-draft systems. Better, in my opinion.

 

[Blackened]

But then there's a fridge, taps etc. I want to avoid the entire keg tech tree at the moment and focus on a RIMS setup. I'm more worried about how the minikeg setup works, does it dispense ok? Any standout problems?
Kegging maybe one day. But not today LOL

 

[Blackened]

Look up tap-a-draft systems. Better, in my opinion.

Ok I'll look it up thanks

 

[crozdog]

buy bit burger kegs from dan's - drink em dry for the container.

Buy replacement bumps from minikeg.net.au modify the bungs - a schrader valve for the top & a bike tyre inflator for c02 (can upgrade to soda stream / paintball/ normal keg co2 later if you want). This guy used a presta valve instead of schrader - same same but different... http://justinview.com.au/2011/03/diy-mini-5l-keg-co2-system/

you can reuse the existing tap a couple of times but probably better to replace it with a modified bung, a couple of fittings and a MFL liquid ball lock disconnect with tap. Check this out http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=59980

There is quite a bit of info here try goole using "mini keg site:www.aussiehomebrewer.com" B) or minikeg or ......

also http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic....=894776#p894776

beers

EDIT: forgot to mention - you can find the party star type taps / regs on evilbay for about half the cost of the party star ones.

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Blackened - I understand your predicament, but I'm with Wolfy all the way - buy once and buy big. If you are going to be brewing long term you will not regret it.
Cheers
BBB

 

[Blackened]

Look up tap-a-draft systems. Better, in my opinion.

Ok so I've just had a look at this system. Cheaper and I like the fact that you can put a lid back on and tap another different one before finishing off the first. That seems to be a drawback of the keg design? Not sure though. I'm worried about the plastic's oxygen permeability for longer term storage though. I don't expect to get through a batch in a hurry and would expect to have a few different batches on the go.

 

[crozdog]

guess it depends on where you are at, what you want to achieve & importantly what you can afford.... I have a keg fridge etc & love it but am currently working away from home.. can't bring my brewery & cornies won't fit in the fridge where i'm staying (don't even mention drilling holes for a tap HAHA) Dan's is costing me a fortune!

I'm setting up with mini kegs cause i can brew at home but bring my own produce away to consume - once this job ends I'll have party kegs!

That's my interest in mini kegs - yours will be different. you need to determine what works best for you. That said I agree with the others that cornies are a great place to start, but not everyone can afford to... like i said, buy bit burger & you'll get the keg for free (don't get the heinekin ones - they have a different tap setup thats harder to adapt)

good luck with it

 

[Silver]

I was keen to get away from bottles to kegs and did so via 5 ltr party kegs/ garden sprayers. If you like tinkering then party kegs is a good way to go. Eventually bit the bullet and bought some cornies. But this is a real answer to your question as i used to naturally carb and force carb these little kegs. Used a soda stream CO2 gas cannister for dispensing. Do a search on 5 ltr party kegs. Hope that helps.

 

[Wolfy]

But then there's a fridge, taps etc.

My beer fridge was free (curbside pickup) and (under $5ea) plastic 'jocky' taps pour more than adequately for a cheap setup.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

My beer fridge was free (curbside pickup) and (under $5ea) plastic 'jocky' taps pour more than adequately for a cheap setup.

+1 - I'm using black plastic taps with a curly hose, that holds it close to the keg. Fridgeis old, holds 3 kegs, about 1.5kg of hops, and meat that we get cheap to freeze - keeps SWMBO onside.

 

[DarkFaerytale]

i'v seen those co2 taps on ebay for $50 (alot better than $95!) and apparently can be used in the party kegs you can buy, Heineken ect.

i'll keep watch on this thread as i'm thinking about getting one for taking to parties ect.

edit to add : sorry just repeated what was already said, carry on.

 

[JaseH]

Personally I would go with this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251084961020?ss...984.m1423.l2649

A little more expensive for the keg but it will last forever and will also compliment a future upgrade to a proper kegging setup using 19L cornies.

 

[aroo75]

I'm doing what crazydog suggests, I have the 5 ltr minikegs from heineken and a Lowenbrau. All have been great as a replacement for bottles. Things to consider are that these kegs rust out in about 6 months as I live couple km's from the sea. The bungs do ware out but are cheap. I've used maybe 10-12 co2 cartridges in the last 8 months, then again I use only one keg/ mixed with bottles per 18Ltr Ag batch I make.

I've had a hard time getting replacement kegs from dan's (not heineken kegs), having seen the silver kegs in the post here for $20 bucks I may get a couple more.

The obvious step is to move from these to full keg setup. I just dont have the fridge space.

buy bit burger kegs from dan's - drink em dry for the container.

Buy replacement bumps from minikeg.net.au modify the bungs - a schrader valve for the top & a bike tyre inflator for c02 (can upgrade to soda stream / paintball/ normal keg co2 later if you want). This guy used a presta valve instead of schrader - same same but different... http://justinview.com.au/2011/03/diy-mini-5l-keg-co2-system/

 

[Blackened]

Thanks heaps for all the replies everyone

My aim is to avoid bottling (with the odd exception), maintain quality, use our kitchen fridge, and also avoid bodging something up. So it seems the entire kit from http://minikeg.net.au/ is ticking all the boxes.

One reason I want to avoid kegging, is that there is no room inside the house for a beer fridge, and I don't want to have to go out to the shed every time I want to pour a beer. Secondly I will need at least one more fridge in the shed just for secondary/keg conditioning/bottle conditioning etc and I'm pressed for space out there too. Thirdly I want to focus on the RIMS and not get bogged down on this side project.

The tap-a-draft system looks good with the only problem that I can see being storage over time. I'm hoping to measure storage time in months rather than weeks.

The various DIY mini keg ideas look very promising and I suspect I'll slowly evolve my setup to include more of these to expand my capacity but for the moment it's more about something that works straight out of the box.

Thanks again all!

 

[jbowers]

Plastic is fine for at least 6 months, in my experience. You can buy a cheap adapter which allows the tap-a-draft system to fit on to a mini keg instead of plastic bottle. This means if you had a beer you wished to age for a year or so, you could put it in a metal mini-keg sealed up with a bung, and then use the tap-a-draft to tap it when ready.

I used the Tap-A-Draft and really enjoyed it. I've since switched to kegging, however. If you have the space, it's better than any of the small scale set ups.

 

[barls]

Look up tap-a-draft systems. Better, in my opinion.

id pass on the tap a draft. look up tap a boom on here. the bottles have an even more limited life span tan the mini kegs.