my impressions of the Party Pig

I've been brewing for about 2 years now and have bottled all of my brew to share with family around holidays. Recently I saw a Party Pig at the LHBS and thought that would be the shizzle, but for $40 I should wait (I brew on a budget).

Searching for beer on craigslist netted me a pig for $5. :rockin: I bought a new gasket and replaced the screws. Bladders are $5 (each use) and a pump to activate them was $8.

This has been the best thing for sharing beer with family at holiday time! It is easy to use and tote around and I don't have to watch where the bottles go! I'd pay $40 for one of these. Very cool. And brewing a batch in the Mr. Beer keg I have from beginning brewing is a perfect match!

Makes me want to start kegging.....but I just don't have the funds for that. I'm searching CL though so you never know what I may find.

+1 on the pig.

I've got my 4th pigged batch carbonating right now. I like that little thing a lot, but I probably will eventually move to a keg + freezer setup.

Also, it took me 3 batches with exploding gaskets before I figured out how to release the pig pressure to clean it out for the next batch. If you don't know, the trick is to slip something into a small space you open up beneath the gasket and puncture the bag inside before you take the gasket completely off. If you don't, then BAM. The whole gasket part will blow off once its unscrewed.