5 liter mini-kegs.

Hey All,
I have brewed 2 batches that I have moved into 5 liter mini-kegs.I followed all the directions,fermenting 3 weeks etc.racked it to the mini,added 1 level tablespoon of corn sugar,put the bung in and allowed it to condition for over 8 weeks.When I tapped it,there was no carb at all.WTF.Did anyone have any similar problems? I paid like $60+ bucks for the system plus 12 bucks each for the MT kegs. Hope I don't have to shuck the whole lot.BTW,all my bottled brews are carbed correctly,but I would like to have a carbonated "Draft style" beer do drink also.Is the CO2 that comes from the little cartridges supposed to be all the carbonation for this set-up? Thanks in advance for all your comments.

Typically those little cartridges are for dispensing, not carbing. My guess is a leak or bad seal? Also they normally recommend for the any of the minis to be cold long enough before tapping to put the co2 into solution. If you tap them warm you loose all of the gas built up in the headspace.

I think 1/2 ounce of sugar is a little light for 5 liters ??

5 ounces sugar for 19 liters (5 gallons) = .26 ounces per liter

.26 X 5 liters = about 1.3 ounces or almost 3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.

OMO?


bosco

I found that it takes the same amount of sugar per oz to naturally prime the mini kegs as it does to prime bottles. I just prime the whole 5 gallons the same then run some into mini kegs and some into bottles.

BTW, I use this claculator http://tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

Both times I used the mini-kegs they were in the fridge for several days before I put the tap in. I did some research on the web and found that 1 tablespoon of sugar was what the majority of people recomended,otherwise the structual integrity of the keg could be compromised.The co2 cartridges dispenced the beer ok,but there was no,head,etc. When I bottle,I go right from the fermenter into the bottles and carb with Domino sugar dots. I don't batch carb,but that would probably work. I had been brewing only 5 liter batches in an old Mr. Beer 6 liter fermenter which worked well for the volume.
I may try again sometime,but I had to mix my beer with an inferior swill,just to have a modicum of carb in the glass.

Randolf said:

When I bottle,I go right from the fermenter into the bottles and carb with Domino sugar dots.

Click to expand...

I'm interested in this part... how many sugar cubes are you using for a given bottle- what's the conversion rate that you use?
Do they dissolve readily?

I know that some have complained that carb tabs don't always dissolve fully, leading to undercarbed AND chunks in the bottle, so I'm curious if you had better results.
I also just bought 16 mini kegs to put into my rotation for parties and events, so this is especially interesting to me. I'm trying to decide if I want to just force carb and transfer, or prime the mini kegs.

Hey Raenon,
I did a test several months ago using Coopers carb tabs vs Domion dots.I set up a chart including 12oz and 16oz bottles and various numbers of tabs and dots,ie. 3 thru 5 dots into each 16oz and 12 oz. bottles and doing this as well with the dots.When the test was finished my results were , 1 Domino dot for each 12oz bottle and 2 Dots per 16oz bottle gave me consisant carbing.
I did not factor in different beer styles,because that has really no bearings on the beers I brew,being all my own recipes and concoctions,all I know is that the carbing is to my liking.As for the mini-kegs,good luck.If you come up with a perfect answer,let us all know.