"I've got a pig problem!"

Ok, so I cleaned out a pig and eventually got the beer in it (in foamed a bit so I filled in stages), plopped in my pouch the right direction and sealed that bad boy up. Now, I was at a problem I have faced before. How do I activate the pouch? In the past I have let the beer warm up, causing the pouch to activate due to the naturally increasing pressure. This time I tried something new. LOL, it was very difficult. I simply put a knee on the thing and gave it a quick hard push. Viola! Success with the sound of a little pop and then the pouch moving around inside. I will do it this way next time... which is today... the next day after filling this last pig. Here's the reason why I have a pig problem! Somehow, while cleaning and filling the pig I forgot to put in one very important piece of the equation. There is a piece that fits inside the tap assembly, which makes the beer enter a tiny hole and then corkscrew around before exiting the pig. Yep, left that part back in the sanitizer bucket.... So, essentially I just made myself a beer rocket!

Ok, now comes my question to you guys. Can I save this pig? Should the same hold true as a tap assembly, and would a 7ft length of beer tubing stuck in the pour spout get me less projectile beer? I'm at a loss for what I can do at this point. It's a pig, not a keg so I can't just depressurize and do something with the beer. Its all coming out!!! Violently!!! Some advice please? I'm thinking of using it in cooking at this point. Maybe Barracho beans???

So, respond with helpful advice... or a good kick to the nutts. LOL

I'm behind the times, I guess WortMonger. What is a pig in this context? And what sort of pouch are you referring to? Sounds like some sort of kegging device. Just looking for some education here. I probably couldn't answer your question even if I knew what you were talking about. Got a link?

It is a Party Pig by Quoin. Yes, it is a "kegging device" only the pouch provides the pressure in a contained bladder inside the pig. It swells as pressure is released keeping the internal pressure close to 15 psi. Here is the product review on the forum. I simply left a very important piece out and now am wondering if all is lost for drinking 2.25 gallons of beer.

Was it the restrictor ( white plastic part middle of this page http://www.partypig.com/PartyPigProducts/ProductsPartsandAccessories.aspx ) that you left out?

I'd try to stick some tubing in the pour spout like you said. It would need to be a tight fit. If the spout in the valve body is the same size as a party tap, then a 7/16th OD line will be too thick and a 5/16th OD line will be too small, but a short length of 3/8th OD racking cane should fit. Then you just have to adapt that down to your line size. Or if the spout is long enough that a larger tubing could be slipped over it, you can use a short length of the large diameter tubing and adapt it down with reducer fittings to your line size.

if the pressure in the pig is 10 to 15 PSI, seven feet of 3/16th ID line might not be enough restriction for a great pour, but it'll probably get the job done. Worth a shot.

You might call the Party Pig folks on Monday and ask them. You are probably not the first person to leave that part out.

Yep, that's the part. I may have to contact them. This is a lot of beer to have wasted.

What did they say? Or did you DIY?

How about it WM? DId you find a solution?

not knowing how these are set-up, would it be possible to tilt the pig in such a way that no liquid would be let out? That way you could relieve the pressure and open it back up to install the restrictor and start over.

Still no solution. The pigs would just squeeze liquid out no matter which orientation you had it in. I am thinking the only way is to treat it like a keg and have a long beer line hooked to it.

I know this is an old thread, but were you able to salvage the beer, WortMonger? I just did the same thing - left out the restrictor.

I was thinking about setting up another pig and transferring the beer to that, but if you were able to dispense yours ok without the restrictor, I may not go through the work or expense...

Nope. I still have it! Lol. I'll debate how to safely empty it when I need it I guess. Sucks that it happened to you too.


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Follow up on my experience with this: the day after I did this, I picked up a new pressure pouch, prepped a tablespoon of DME (boiled it in water for about 10 minutes and let it cool to room temp), added that to my second empty pig, and then emptied the first pig into the second. Without the plastic regulator it shot out pretty quickly and noisily. I then added the pressure pouch, and proceeded normally. In the end, I was pretty happy. I think that the extra DME I added made up for that that was lost when I did the transfer.

Hope this is helpful for anyone else who may make this mistake.

I too had the restrictor come out of place and find itself swimming around with the beer. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this had happened until almost 2 weeks into conditioning. I contacted Quoin (company that make Party Pig) and they suggested that I use 10 feet of 3/8 OD tubing to act as a restrictor when dispensing beer.

I haven't yet put the Party Pig into the fridge, but I've thought about moving the beer to another Party Pig when I decide it's ready. I'll let you know what I end up doing and how it works out.

It's a real shame too... I call this batch of pale ale I made the cursed batch. I have 2.25 gallons of beer that's ready to shoot out like a rocket, and the rest of the beer I bottled is flat and not carbing very well. I happened to use Brewer's Best Conditioning Tablets on those bottles and they have failed me miserably. I've had great luck with them in the past, so I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm probably won't use them in the future.