Mini-Keg for Cask Conditioned?

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Monk

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Hey all,
I got a mini keg the other day, and now I've got a ton of questions.
I'd like to recreate a cask conditioned real ale. I have a venting bung on the way through the post; is there anything else I need? The mini-keg is one of those 5 litre DAB jobs. If I want the low carbonation of the cask ale, do I need any kind of dispenser besides the one already built in? Mini keg veterans! Help a brother out!

HB99, if you read this, I know you know all about it. What do you think? Thanks.

Monk


OOPS. Sorry, double post.
 
My experience with mini-kegs says it would be difficult to not have cask-conditioned ale while using them. Never could get them to hold much pressure. You could just drill out a bung so an air lock would fit.
 
Let me get this straight...you want to vent off the CO2 so you don't get overcarbonated? Is that right?

If you have the built in tap...red tap pulls out and you turn to allow beer to flow...and it's equiped with the rubber bung with the red plastic knob in it all you need to do is turn the knob to vent air out.

If the keg does not have the built in tap you can still use the vent bung, but you'll have no way to dispense your beer...hmmm...:confused:

Not too many choices except to get the built in tap kegs and buy the vent bungs...most of mine are that way, but I do have a few that I can only tap.

If I'm totally off base here get back to me.:D
 
Thanks for getting back to me so quick, guys. Sorry for the convuluted post...let me explain better.
I have a mini keg that has the built in tap on the bottom and a vent thing on top that you turn when you want to start drinking. I want to refill it with homebrew. I've noticed online that there are some co2 systems made for these minikegs, with which you can force carb your homebrew in the minikeg. Then there are references to "gravity dispensing" without the co2 setup. I'm wondering what equipment, if any, I'll need to follow the gravity dispensing route. I just want to fill the keg with primed hb, without having to buy a co2 setup. I bought a special 2-piece bung online--but maybe I didn't need to...
To clean and add hb, how do you get the original bung off the top? Is the original one reusable? Or do I need the bung I ordered online? This is the most I've ever used the word bung for it's intended meaning.
Thanks!
Monk
 
Monk said:
Thanks for getting back to me so quick, guys. Sorry for the convuluted post...let me explain better. I have a mini keg that has the built in tap on the bottom and a vent thing on top that you turn when you want to start drinking. I want to refill it with homebrew. I've noticed online that there are some co2 systems made for these minikegs, with which you can force carb your homebrew in the minikeg. Then there are references to "gravity dispensing" without the co2 setup. I'm wondering what equipment, if any, I'll need to follow the gravity dispensing route. I just want to fill the keg with primed hb, without having to buy a co2 setup. I bought a special 2-piece bung online--but maybe I didn't need to...To clean and add hb, how do you get the original bung off the top? Is the original one reusable? Or do I need the bung I ordered online? This is the most I've ever used the word bung for it's intended meaning. Thanks!Monk
OK, too simple.

If you have the (red) tap that pulls out on the bottom AND the bung on top that has the plastic thing you turn --- THAT is the gravity system I was referring and you read about. You DO NOT need to buy another thing to use it.

Simply pull the (red) knob out of the top...it snaps out and back in. Then pull the bung out...I use pliers. Be careful not to cut through or tear the bung or else you'll have to buy another one. Be sure to lubricate (with water) when reassembling.

There are replacement bungs that you can buy of the same design...I have about 8 of them.

The other bung (usually brown) has a plastic piece in the middle (usually tan) that is pushed into the keg with the draw straw (tube) of a normal CO2 cartridge-style tap. These are used on kegs without the gravity tap.

Got it?! Great!

Oh, yeah, I've seen priming for the kegs at 1 and 2 TBS, that's TABLESPOONs not tps (tea spoons), per keg. I always use 2, unless I'm kegging Hefe Weizen then I use 3 TBS.:D
 
Awesome! Thanks hb99. I'm making a little experimental Bitter today that will go into the keg in a week or two. Thanks for your help, guys. :D
 
Yes, that's the mini-keg I've got. And you're right, no co2 or picnic tap. I think with those items you could have normally carbed ale. I'm just going to have cask conditioned, so we were saying that I don't need anything else but what came with the keg when I bought it at the liquor store (full of beer for $12.99, :)).


monk
 
Ok...just one more question. After I refill my minikeg and allow it to condition and carbonate, when I want to drink it I just pop the vent tab on top and then dispense out the built in tap on the bottom? I think that's right. I just don't want to blow anything up.


monk
 
Here's the Premium Bitter recipe I brewed up yesterday, about half of which will go into the mini keg "cask". I made a half batch for experimental purposes and also because the mini fermenter fits perfectly in this styrofoam box my dad got in the mail. With a couple frozen water bottles it stays around 65-67F all night and day (it's 78-82F in the house).

An Ideal Bitter

.26 lbs. Crystal Malt 60°L
2.25 lbs. Muntons Dry Light
.16 lbs. Dark Brown Sugar
.6 oz. East Kent Goldings (Pellets, 6 %AA) boiled 60 min.
.5 oz. East Kent Goldings (Pellets, 6 %AA) boiled 5 min.
Yeast : Danstar Nottingham

OG: 1.046 IBUs: ~33.4

Yummy.
 
Well, I mini kegged the aforementioned premium bitter with good and bad results. The bad: it was pretty much undrinkable, but not due to the kegging. The brew got way out of hand one day during fermentation and when I checked on it, had gotten itself up to about 86-88F. Really not good. At bottling time it was funky tasting, but I said "what the heck" and filled a couple bottles and the keg.
Well, tonight I finally popped the minikeg. The bad part: the bitter still sucks. The good part: it came out perfectly carbed for a cask ale, with a nice, big, soft and lacey head. So...for future brews that actually taste good, it should be perfect.
Meanwhile, I keep drinking storebought...:(

monk
 
If you looked at the pictures in the ad, I have the bottom keg style, the ones with the built-in bottom tap.

The bungs I use have a red knob you have to turn to allow the beer to flow. I really enjoy this set up...too easy!;)

I have 5 kegs in the fridge in the garage right now. I kegged 4 more yesterday with Hefe Weizen. I'm bottling another HW today and will fill up 2 kegs. That leaves 8 empty mini-kegs to go.

Then there's about 18 or more 0,5 liter cases to be filled...saving them for this winter's lagers...;)

I also have a German Kellerbier (using oak chips) planned for Nov.
 
Now that I've got an empty one, I'll be needing to clean it up. Got any advice? So far I tried to rinse it out real well with hot water and soaked it overnight. What do you do to clean yours?

Thanks again.

monk
 
Bottle Jet washer that attaches to my faucet then fill it up to soak for a while (hot water). Drain and air dry.

Be sure to pull the tap out and scrub that...I use an old toothbrush.

After air drying for a day or so I shake it to see if all the water is out. If not, I roll up a paper towel and insert most of it into the keg to sop up any remaining water.

After it's dry I place the small plastic cap on it (that came with it) to seal it from any creatures. I had a really bad smell around my brew equipment in a house I lived in a long time ago. I sniffed around and found a dead mouse inside one of my kegs that couldn't escape...you know the rest...

I don't have a creature problem in my new house (except for spiders and flies), but I re-cap them now. :D
 
Thanks, HB. We live in a condo, so if I find any mice, my wife is gonna FREAK. :D

I'm pretty happy with the way the minikeg poured and I think I'll try to buy a Spaten Marzen bier keg before the weekend, have some of my friends help drink it, and fill two kegs from the next batch. Eventually I'll get four and be able to handle a whole batch. I can't even imagine how nice a pint of good bitter poured gravity style from the minikeg will look and taste. Ah, the joys of homebrewing.

Thanks again for your expertise and sharing with a newbie. Cheers to you.

monk
 
Those little mini-keg kits must be popular this time of year. The Party Star Deluxe Tap System at Midwest Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies is unavailable, and so is the very similar Mini-Keg System at Northern Brewer.

Maybe I'll be over my urge to buy a setup like that by the time they have them available again. It's very tempting, but I really want to go the cornie route if I can decide what to get rid of so I can fit another fridge in my house.
 
beer4breakfast said:
Those little mini-keg kits must be popular this time of year. The Party Star Deluxe Tap System at Midwest Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies is unavailable, and so is the very similar Mini-Keg System at Northern Brewer.

Maybe I'll be over my urge to buy a setup like that by the time they have them available again. It's very tempting, but I really want to go the cornie route if I can decide what to get rid of so I can fit another fridge in my house.

You probably would do well to go for the corny and resist the urge. I've read a lot about the minikegs on the internet and there are people who are dissappointed with them and those that love them. Most of the disappointed folks tried to look at minikegs as an in-between step on the way to using cornies. Bad move, I think. Those who were looking to reproduce cask-conditioned ale were pretty happy. If you like your ale and lager with normal American style carbonation, I say wait and go for the cornies. If what you are really looking for is the lower carbonation, frothy head that you get from a cask, then try the minikegs. I like both, so for some batches I bottle as normal (and if I had cornies I'd keg it) but for others (like some pale ales and bitters) I think I'll like the minikegs just fine. Just my 2 cents. Good luck

monk
 
I like American style carbonation (is that really just common in American brews?) for lighter-bodied brews because it seems to enhance the bright and crisp refreshing quality of such beer. I also like the low carbonation ales and stouts because of their often thick and foamy heads and filling mouth feel. I feel like I can taste the less carbonated beers better.

I think I may do what you did, and just buy a beer that is packaged in one of those mini-kegs, drink it, then condition some of my current batch of ESB in it to see how I like it.

Are you going to prime yours with some type of sugar (dextrose, DME) as you would for beer you plan to bottle?
 
B4B:
Yes, on the last batch I primed the minikeg with 2 tablespoons of corn sugar dissolved and boiled for a couple minutes in about a cup of water. This is what HB99 suggested and it worked perfectly, IMO. I know, it seems like such a small amount, but it works. Trust me. Good luck. Even if it doesn't work, you haven't lost much money, right? That's my kind of experiment. :)
 
Monk said:
...I primed the minikeg with 2 tablespoons of corn sugar dissolved and boiled for a couple minutes in about a cup of water. This is what HB99 suggested and it worked perfectly, IMO. I know, it seems like such a small amount, but it works. Trust me. Good luck...
Actually, I never said to boil it, but I did say 2 TBS (I've even used up to 3 TBS for Hefe Weizen). I add mine into the keg dry via a funnel. I fill them up 2-3 inches and give them a couple of swirls to dissolve some of the sugar then fill to the top.

After I place the bung in I lay them on their sides and roll them back and forth across the counter.

This does 2 things for me: dissolves/mixes the sugar and tests the seal.:D
 
I just bought a 5 liter mini-keg of Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen Amber so I can try the keg conditioning. I'm going to bottle most of my ESB when it's ready, but I'll put 5 liters in this mini-keg. It'll make a nice comparison.
 
beer4breakfast said:
I just bought a 5 liter mini-keg of Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen Amber so I can try the keg conditioning. I'm going to bottle most of my ESB when it's ready, but I'll put 5 liters in this mini-keg. It'll make a nice comparison.
Just be sure to prime the keg BEFORE you add any priming sugar to the batch...If you are laft with 3.75 gals in the bottling bucket just rpime with 3.75 oz. (1 oz per gal ratio):D
 
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