How to keg?

The fact that I can't find an answer for this anywhere makes me think that this is a really stupid question...... So..... Going to ask anyway.

I have just brought a plastic youngs keg, just your bog standard bottom tap plastic keg withOUT the CO2 injector bit on the tap. So...... My question is...... How do I do it? Is it just the same as priming for bottling or do I need different amounts of priming sugar? And do I need any other way of carbonating (carbonation drops etc)?

I literally have no idea what I need to do, I'm just assuming its the same as bottling only, well, different.

can you post a pic of what you have?

I saw a plastic keg at StrangeBrew in MA. I had no idea what it was as it was prices almost the same as a standard pin/ball lock and was marked for a single use. That being said for standard kegging (5 gallons) you just boil up the same amount of priming sugar as you would for bottling (3 to 5 oz of priming sugar depending on what you are doing), cool it, dump it in, and seal it. As for it not having a way to attach C02, I don't know how you would push the beer. With a regular pin or ball lock you can either do the above, or just attach C02 and wait a few days to carb up. I'd ask the person you bought it from, plastic kegs are a mystery to me.

This is what I have

I'm not sure that i would keg with this at all, i'm not even sure that it was designed for it. Just my .02 but either you could use it as a fermentor like the cooper's kit (link below) or to serve non-pressurized beverages.

http://www.beermakingkits.org/coopers-all-in-one-micro-brewery-kit-review/

Reasons for not using it as a keg/dispenser:
1) no resistance for liquid, it's going to come out foam city
2) plastic bits may not be designed for keggin pressure
3) porosity of plastic and effect of o2 on your beer

that looks like a fermenter, DONT try to prime or condition your beer in there, it would not work out well. use it soley for fermenting

Huh. How strange. Don't know if you guys are UK or not but over here they seem really popular, mine is the same as this one;

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk...tic_Barrel_Vent_Cap_and_Tap.html#.UeRRN2S9Kc0

And in all the online shops they come under dispensing alongside bottles, even in the high street shops many of the kits come with a fermenting bin and one of these barrels.

jasebrooker said:

Huh. How strange. Don't know if you guys are UK or not but over here they seem really popular, mine is the same as this one;

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk...tic_Barrel_Vent_Cap_and_Tap.html#.UeRRN2S9Kc0

And in all the online shops they come under dispensing alongside bottles, even in the high street shops many of the kits come with a fermenting bin and one of these barrels.

Click to expand...

It's a pressure barrel. You'll need to prime with less than you would for bottling (go for 90g for a 5 gallon batch), then use CO2 injection (either through 5g bulbs or and s30 or similar canister) when it begins to run out of pressure. If you don't use some extraneous gas when it begins to lose pressure it will suck in air and spoil the beer. If you plan on drinking the beer within a few days this wouldn't matter so much though.

I've used a pressure barrel with success - I only needed to add a CO2 bulb for the final third. They are good for replicating the mouthfeel of cask conditioned beer. However, I've been having success at priming a cornelius keg recently, which has required very little extraneous CO2 to force out the beer, has mostly dispensed under its own pressure, and does not suck in air. Through priming the cornelius keg I have achieved mouthfeel and carbonation akin to cask conditioned beer, which stays fresher for longer.

That's fantastic thank you I don't have the CO2 attachment just yet but I will get one before I'm ready to transfer it

it IS a keg, or cask if you prefer. its for natural carbing aka camra style.

you can pour from the spout or hook a 1/2 pint pull beer engine to it. full pint engine tend to pull more that the vent can handle.