Mini kegs & splitting batches

Hello, new guy questions. I've bottled a few times with success. I like the idea of larger quantities but don't want to get into all the stuff that goes with a corny keg system. I was considering picking up a couple of the 5L mini kegs. To me they seem like a great middle ground, but nobody talks about them, which probably means few people use them. Any reasons? Also I'd like to split batches and I've heard you need to adjust the bottling sugar for different containers. Any advice?

are the mini kegs not pressurized with co2?

I went with corny kegs because they were available and work nicely with my 5 gallon batches. I am going to 10 gallon batches and plan to keg half and bottle half, I dont see why you couldnt do that with smaller kegs also. If you wanted to naturally carbonate in them you could mix the entire batch with your sugar then put it in the kegs so they are all carbed the same.

No, the mini kegs in question are not charged w/ CO2, but primed and cask conditioned. Although, apparently, you can choose between a gravity tap or buying a tap that uses the small CO2 canisters, whippets they are called, to keep the beer fresh longer.

I've actually learned a lot since I posted this. There actually is a whole thread on the topic which I missed in my first search. It sounds like you do prime with a smaller amount of sugar, but you could add the amount needed directly to the keg. SO, if you are doing two kegs and three gallons into bottles, you could add the appropriate amount of priming sugar for the keg (still don't know how much that would be) directly (boiled in appropriate water amount) to the kegs, rack the beer in, and then add the remaining 3 oz of priming sugar / water to bottling bucket, rack and bottle the remaining three gallons.

Am I wrong about smaller amounts of priming sugar for larger containers? I read that somewhere.

I used them to partially hold my first two batches. They've been sitting in a closet ever since (they were emptied first). IMO, they simply suck ass compared with your other bottle options, or using REAL kegs.

From what I was told (before filling them), they're not designed to go over about 2.2 CO2 volumes. IF you go higher than that, be prepared for issues. I was also told that for the purposes of priming, count each keg as holding just one gallon (not the full 5L it actually holds).

Also, IF you don't use the CO2 setup for them, you have just a couple of days (at the most) to drain them. If you decide to spend the money on the CO2 tap setup, then get a LOT of cartridges to keep it charged. Also be prepared for it to drip/leak out of the faucet end.

Personally, I plan to never use these things to hold anything I brew/make ever again. While the idea seems like a good one, it falls far short in practice. IMO, not worth the expense, if you're getting them new. If you can locate some that are used, and can get them for a reasonable rate, it might be worth trying out. I would advise not filling more than one from any single batch. I wish I had never seen these things in the LHBS when I was starting out.

I counter pressure fill these from my larger kegs to take to family get togethers and the like. I have a CO2 tap for them and it all works just fine.

I've never naturally carbed anything in them. They're not the most durable things in the world. They dent pretty easily.

Golddiggie said:

I used them to partially hold my first two batches. They've been sitting in a closet ever since (they were emptied first). IMO, they simply suck ass compared with your other bottle options, or using REAL kegs.

From what I was told (before filling them), they're not designed to go over about 2.2 CO2 volumes. IF you go higher than that, be prepared for issues. I was also told that for the purposes of priming, count each keg as holding just one gallon (not the full 5L it actually holds).

Also, IF you don't use the CO2 setup for them, you have just a couple of days (at the most) to drain them. If you decide to spend the money on the CO2 tap setup, then get a LOT of cartridges to keep it charged. Also be prepared for it to drip/leak out of the faucet end.

Personally, I plan to never use these things to hold anything I brew/make ever again. While the idea seems like a good one, it falls far short in practice. IMO, not worth the expense, if you're getting them new. If you can locate some that are used, and can get them for a reasonable rate, it might be worth trying out. I would advise not filling more than one from any single batch. I wish I had never seen these things in the LHBS when I was starting out.

Click to expand...

This is sorta what I expected to hear... Otherwise I figure if they worked well they'd be all the rage based on size, simplicity etc. I'll probably avoid them for now.

I just reminded myself Sunday why kegging into Corny's is so much easier than bottling. I think the idea is right with the mini-kegs, but Corny's are just so much more conenient. 5 gallon batch goes into 5 gallon keg. Sanitizing takes 5 minutes. Rack into vessel, add priming sugar, seal with CO2 and set aside to carbonate and condition. When a space comes available in the keg fridge, you just need 3 or 4 days of fridge time and it's ready to go.