Using a small cooler for portable "cask" ale?

I saw these at NB:


But, they are clear and wouldn't hold temperature very well. I also looked at tap-a-draft with the "insulated cover" but that's expensive. I just want a way to carry a gallon or three of beer over to friends houses for cook-outs, etc. Mostly very "middle-of-the-road" beers (like pale ales, browns, etc.)

So, I got to thinking, could I use a 1-3 gallon cooler? My thought was to prime it in the cooler (sanitized of course) and let it naturally carb. (I have no clue if one will hold pressure.) Throw it into the fridge a couple of days before the event, Just use the built-in spigot for serving.

Should I save my time and investigate other alternatives? It's just alot of those coolers are going on sale this time of year.

I would say just buy a corney keg prime it and pour it from the keg like a cask.

killian said:

I would say just buy a corney keg prime it and pour it from the keg like a cask.

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I tend to agree. I thought about your idea and using 3 gal PET fermentors to do the same thing. Using~ .5-1 psi to carb slightly and use a piston pump like a beer engine to dispense the beer!!

Still scratching my head on this.....

Have you seen the 2 gallon "Euro kegs" I saw one on a bar the other day and wondered what it was. It was full of a local micro brewery's beer, and looks a fine way of kegging small amounts and serving it as near the real ale standards as possible and still have a easy clean, re-usable container. That pic of a "pollypin" is what I used years ago and works fine. Towards the end of serving, air bubbles can get in via the open tap, so you either squeeze it gently while serving, or rig up some sort of inlet tube and connect it to a supply of co2, which can be as simple as a kids beach ball!!! That way the ball contracts and not the container, and no air gets in to contaminate it, buy hey, if its a good party that won't matter..........commercial real ale is sold in these polypins over here, but it will have been finned to be clear, so no bits in the polypin. Nothing like as much fun as buying a propper pin sized cask (4.5 gallons) and setting it up and waiting for the beer to settle. Banging the brass tap through the wooden plug always scared the hell out of me, but it worked every time.

killian said:

I would say just buy a corney keg prime it and pour it from the keg like a cask.

Click to expand...

How to keep it cool when it's 100 degrees outside? I'm trying to stay away from the hassle of a jockey box. Those "keg gloves" keep the beer cool?

bakins said:

How to keep it cool when it's 100 degrees outside? I'm trying to stay away from the hassle of a jockey box. Those "keg gloves" keep the beer cool?

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Yeah, i use mine quite a bit. Yesterday i took a keg of cream ale to the lake with a bunch of friends. It sat on the dock in the sun for about 5 hours before we put it in a cooler of ice. And usually that is plenty of time to float a keg. You can also buy a second ice blanket to change out.

bakins said:

I saw these at NB:

But, they are clear and wouldn't hold temperature very well. I also looked at tap-a-draft with the "insulated cover" but that's expensive. I just want a way to carry a gallon or three of beer over to friends houses for cook-outs, etc. Mostly very "middle-of-the-road" beers (like pale ales, browns, etc.)

So, I got to thinking, could I use a 1-3 gallon cooler? My thought was to prime it in the cooler (sanitized of course) and let it naturally carb. (I have no clue if one will hold pressure.) Throw it into the fridge a couple of days before the event, Just use the built-in spigot for serving.

Should I save my time and investigate other alternatives? It's just alot of those coolers are going on sale this time of year.

Click to expand...

I just bought 10 of these and ice blankets to use with my beer engine. I bought the 1 gal size. I can put these in a fridge or cooler with relative ease.

I read somewhere on here about someone using the tap-a-draft and then buying one of those cheap styrofoam coolers and cutting a hole for the tap, then filling it with ice. Said it worked well.