5l Mini Kegs

[super_simian]

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.

And you haven't had any issue with plastic taint? Some people have said the sprayers can leave a soapy taste in the beer.

 

[Blackened]

So after reading up everything I could find I've reluctantly given up on the whole minikeg idea. Looks like I'll be bottling .
Need to keep the cash for other bits n bobs.

 

[HoppingMad]

I have heard the cans will last for 10 or more uses, it all depends on how you store them in between uses. I am looking after mine and hope to get more. They must be kept completely dry on the inside with the dust cap on. The rubber bungs will last for years, too, as long as you treat them well.

This above quote from the mini keg 'About us' page. Seems like a lot of hassle compared to a proper mini cornie keg which will last forever (or close to it)? Only 10 uses?

Hopper.

 

[Truman42]

Anyone know of a source for second hand 9.5L mini kegs? Ive only ever seen them at KK and ebay but they are band new and around $150.00

 

[kenlock]

Anyone know of a source for second hand 9.5L mini kegs? Ive only ever seen them at KK and ebay but they are band new and around $150.00

German Ebay. Link to thread. Seems to be the only place to get 2nd hand, otherwise wait very patiently for someone to give up brewing and be very quick.

 

[brad81]

Does anyone have any firsthand experience regarding contact with minikeg.net.au? I've sent a couple of queries and placed an order and have no response so far.

 

[crozdog]

Does anyone have any firsthand experience regarding contact with minikeg.net.au? I've sent a couple of queries and placed an order and have no response so far.

I've bought some replacement bungs from them. they were delivered in about a week.

 

[brad81]

Did you get anything aside from the automated emails??

 

[crozdog]

not for the order. i did when i told him about a problem with his site

 

[brad81]

not for the order. i did when i told him about a problem with his site

Thanks for that crozdog

 

[Truman42]

Brewers Choice have the 12 litre mini kegs on special for $125.00

 

[brad81]

Thanks mate, but already placed the order with minikeg. Got Ordered 8x5L kegs, bungs and a tap and gas for a touch over $300 delivered. Will allow me to rotate at least 2 brews and it'd be easy enough to give 4x5L kegs a shake every couple of days while they're conditioning.

Pretty pumped, have another 3 weeks until my next batch of Smurtos ale ready, hopefully they're here before then

 

[michaelcocks]

Thanks mate, but already placed the order with minikeg. Got Ordered 8x5L kegs, bungs and a tap and gas for a touch over $300 delivered. Will allow me to rotate at least 2 brews and it'd be easy enough to give 4x5L kegs a shake every couple of days while they're conditioning.

Pretty pumped, have another 3 weeks until my next batch of Smurtos ale ready, hopefully they're here before then

Any feedback on these mate ?

 

[brad81]

Yeah they aren't too shabby. Might make a list.

Pros:
No more bottling
Look pretty cool
Quick setup
Reusable
Easy to store/stackable
Portable

Cons:
Bit of a bugger to clean (soak them in napisan)
The drying. They are a right royal pain in the arse to dry. Takes about 3 days (Melbourne weather) for me to be happy enough to store them.
Sourcing cheap non threaded 16gm CO2 bulbs. Was going to grab a threaded one at KegKing the last time I was there to test it, but I totally forgot....
5L can go pretty quick (jeans are now a bit tighter around the waist)

The inbetweeners:
Gas usage varies, but I reckon I could get about 1-1.25 kegs out of one bulb
Initial cost - varies on what you want to get out of it I guess. The portability and space saving were drivers for my decision.

In terms of the communication I had with the provider, it wasn't what I was used to getting, but the items were delivered quite quickly and he does respond in time. I guess he just doesn't sit at the computer all day like I do

 

[aussiedrifters]

Hi Brad, I was wondering how those 5L kegs were working out for you?
I can see some drawbacks but everything in life is a compromise.
I used to brew for many years in Melbourne using 50L CUB kegs in a fridge with tavern gas.
Now I live on the road in a motor home traveling Aus, not so much space for fridges and big kegs now! I have tried bottling using 750ml PET bottles... too much misery! :angry:
I have been considering a keg system again but there are too many things to buy ( and then store)
The 5L system seems to be a good compromise.
Some of my thoughts that could make things easier are to use the Morgan's Sanitize solution to wash your kegs, I have found it to be very good.
You could try using a Methylated spirit rinse to remove moisture from your keg to help the drying problem.
And I was thinking when I experiment with this system is to work out a way to substitute the CO2 bulb with a SodaStream canister?
I figure you need at least 100L of beer in the system to effectively home brew, I have been contemplating the possibility of storing brewed beer in 20 L food grade jerry cans with a small sugar charge to give a bit of CO2 head, awaiting the kegs?
I am interested to hear any ideas or comments.

:drinks:

 

[brad81]

Still going strong No visible rust as yet, have taken to shaking them out as much as I can stand after they have been soaking and they seem to dry eventually. I recently purchased one of these: http://www.princess.nl/en/producten/158-si...tap-cooler.html Should do the trick for camping etc. Also 12V, so should be able to chill in the car or said motorhome.

Cheers for the info on the Morgan's sanitiser and the metho. I'm using unscented napisan from Aldi for the hot soak (about $3 for 1kg) and a big bottle of starsan before refilling/filling which should last me another 100 years.

I'd like to see/hear more about how you'd go about fixing the sodastream canister, I'm not visualising it at the moment. If you have the cash to spare, you can grab some 9L party kegs, sodastream adaptor, and a pluto gun. The 5L system only allows the gas bulbs to serve, not carbonate. I use about 20g of dex per keg to carb.

100L?! You sure you should be in a motor home?? I tend to have about 25-30L fermenting and about 20-40L conditioning and sampling, this also caters for anyone else who comes around to sample and any visits/parties/etc I attend.

I'm not sure how you'd go about transferring that brewed 20L to your mini kegs without damaging your beer. Maybe you could investigate the no chill method quite often discussed on this site. In essence it is making your own fresh wort kit and storing until you are ready to ferment. I use this method when I have little time to spare when brew day/night arrives, I can knock out a batch and have everything cleaned up in an hour.

Drop into a 1st Choice Liquor outlet and start collecting the 2L Altenmunster swingtops as a potential alternative. I have 5 already and hoping to grab another 5 soon.

 

[aussiedrifters]

Thanks for the quick reply Brad,
I sent an email to Minikegs yesterday asking a few questions and I had a reply this morning, so you can't complain about the comms.
I have seen those little beer chiller/servers online and they look good! Saves having a whole fridge extra! I know they are designed for the Heiny kegs, will they couple up with the mini keg though?

Ideally I would store beer in a 50 l keg but my main problem is fridge space as the biggest fridge I could have in my underbelly compartments would be a bar fridge and even that would encroach on my storage space for tools etc. I have a Waeco fridge going down there for my beer and that's fine.
I also looked into storing hot kegs and cooling with a temp-rite but after a lot of searching forums there doesn't seem to be any real positive feedback on that, especially in a hot climate.

Even Corny kegs work out to be better value all up, I can buy brand new 19l kegs for $110 but again I would need a dedicated fridge.

I thought more about storing beer in Jerry cans, there is no reason I couldn't do it without affecting the beer quality, just sterilize and decant through the tap into the kegs. Of course you would need to do a small prime just to make sure oxygen is not in contact with the beer.
The only problem is as you mentioned that you can't carbonate the kegs any way expect buy sugar priming, so in any case you would still need to let you kegs sit for weeks after filling, so it would defeat the purpose.

I like to store at least five brews ahead, so that you are not always drinking green beer, so therefore the 100L + (also you get thirsty up here in Central Queensland) and you can never have too much beer on hand!

The other option is to bulk store brewed beer in Jerry cans as I said and then modify the keg to allow me to prime with a co2 canister with a Shraeder tyre valve (at serving pressure) and then they would be ready to drink in days, not weeks as well as being aged already.

I think the best option for you Brad, to solve your keg drying problems in not to dry them, just fill em up again!

Oh yeah and I found some guys making their own 5L keg taps on The Northern Brewer Forum. One bloke made one that taps into the existing bung but he has Cornelius fitting for the gas in and beer out.
That way you could hook up to a keg charger or Sodastream or a full size CO@ bottle

Check it out here.. http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic....7&start=150

I googled the 2l swing tops, they look good, but I would be at least 300 km away from a 1st Choice, plus you would have to drink them in one sitting otherwise they would go flat.


Thanks for your ideas

 

[BadSeed]

I posted this on a 4wd camping trailer forum which I occasionally frequent but it's good info for here too.

I use corny kegs in a kegerator at home and never want to go back to bottling. I always miss having my own brews with me when I'm away but the half size kegs are so expensive and not as readily available as standard corny's so I did a bit of googling and came across this idea.
All you need:

• 5l keg
• Rubber bung for keg
• Presta valve cut from old inner tube
• Co2 bike pump

5l minikegs, presta valve, bike pump. Awesome.
I am a cyclist anyway so I have a co2 pump and often have punctured innertubes with presta valves.


I bought a couple of minikegs and bungs from this place (I am in no way affiliated etc) http://minikeg.net.au/ I have also seen them in my lhbs
I have knocked up a great DIY delivery system that fits in an esky or fridge. I know I am not the first one to do this but here are some instructions and pics for any young players.

Take the rubber bung with the intact middle bit.

Drill a 5mm (or 5.5 - takes a bit of trial and error) and push a presta valve through the hole. I pushed it halfway through then put a bit of silicon on the base and pushed the rest through.

I should point out here that I used a threadless valve, in hindsight this was a mistake as the nut would have held the valve in place better. I know for the next time.

I bought a beer line disconnect for a corny key and attached a couple of metres of pvc hose to it.
I connect this to the out of my standard corny and let it fill the minikeg. Simples....

I should also point out that the beer is already carbonated and ready for drinking from the corny. This is just storage/serving. You can use these kegs to carb as well, but I already have a system in place for that,

Once it's full you simply put the bung in and attach a co2 bike pump to pressurise the keg, hardly any gas is needed, just enough to push the beer out.

Result

Great for camping, picnics, barbecue etc or, as I did last night, in front of a film without having to get up.

 

[thedragon]

Badseed, great looking set up. Perfect for a picnic with a few mates.

 

[petesbrew]

I bought a few of these a year or so ago. I've used one about 3-4 times, and it's started to show small pocks of surface rust. It's full of a beer now, but I think it might be the way of the recycling bin on emptying. Couldn't be bothered with fancy gas taps. It's a perfect size for a small gathering and looks cool on a kitchen bench.