Mini Keg Useful?

For my birthday last month my folks bought me a mini-keg. So far I've always bottled my homebrew, but I'd like to try using this mini-keg.

http://img319.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minikegsmallcr3.jpg

Has anyone used something like this before? I'm assuming to use it I would still add priming sugar and let it set for ~3 weeks or so and then tap and drink, no?

Any advice/warning/whatever would be much appreciated.

Cheers!

Looks pretty cool to me. I just got through bottling two cases and I definitely think the keg is way to go. I'm just curious. What are the wires? Are they attached?

I have over 20 of those kegs.

You prime with 2-3 TBS (TABLEspoons, not teasponns) of corn sugar. I just pour mine in via a funnel. You can, am I have, dissolved it in water and boiled it for a few minutes. It just mixes easier.

If you syphon from a bottling bucket you need to prime your keg and fill it straight from the bucket. Whatever amount you have left in the bucket gets primed seperately, unless you are mini-kegging the entire batch.

I tried mini-kegs for a while & dumped them because the taps kept breaking. Your's looks a lot stronger.

It looks like that is a pump type dispensing? If it is I believe you will need to finish it within 24 hr once tapped as the beer will stale with O2 exposure.

treehouse said:

Looks pretty cool to me. I just got through bottling two cases and I definitely think the keg is way to go. I'm just curious. What are the wires? Are they attached?

Click to expand...

The wires are from my cell phone recharger sitting on the desk behind the minikeg

homebrewer_99 said:

You prime with 2-3 TBS (TABLEspoons, not teasponns) of corn sugar. I just pour mine in via a funnel. You can, am I have, dissolved it in water and boiled it for a few minutes.

Click to expand...

I actually just got these for christmas too and have a nice little 60/- to use them on right away. Homebrewer_99, what are your results for carbonation with 2-3 tbs? the instructions that came with the kegs said 1.5 TBS. I usually like matching the carbonation level to the style, but I haven't a clue how to begin doing that with the mini-kegs

Well, a large part of my bewing is Hefe Weizen and I like it on the spritzy side.

1.5 will work, like you said, IAW the style.

Just remember it takes the brew longer to carbonate because it is bulk.

I find the brew lasts longer if you have a higher gravity brew in the keg and the hand pump versus the CO2 cartridge. I've had a Dubbel under hand pump pressure in the fridge and (forgot about it) for a week or so. As soon as I started pumping more air into it it was still under pressure...and the beer was not flat, tasted great, and still had a good head. With the cartridges you kind of forget to add more air occasionally.