Beer Box

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I dont think this is too far out, priced against a new 5 gallon single keg system.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/5-gallon-new-keg-system.html.

Not as sexy, of course, but I could fit this in a fridge that is doing other stuff, or put half the batch in one fridge (or take with me somewhere) and the other half somewhere else. Say keep one half in the garage, the other upstairs?
 
I don't see it comparing to a cornie keg set up. I see it as a competitor to the Tap-A-Draft system. Both can fit in your fridge, both can be used to condition you beer in via priming. The one thing that the Tap-A-Draft can do is force carb your beer. And you can get 3 full set ups with money left over for ingredients with Tap-A-Draft

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/tap-a-draft-system.html
 
I love the concept. You could easily use this for cask ale at home with the option of adding a bit more CO2 as needed (yeah, yeah, I know- the CAMRA-nazis say no added CO2 in a cask- whatever.)

The price is the problem $200 for two plastic boxes and a cheap CO2 injector is crazy. I get that they are trying to be half-way between tap-a-draft and cornys- but the product doesn't justify that pricing. This is a modest improvement on tap-a-draft and should only be modestly more expensive.

At $100-125, I'm a buyer. At $200, I'm out.
 
I love the concept. You could easily use this for cask ale at home with the option of adding a bit more CO2 as needed (yeah, yeah, I know- the CAMRA-nazis say no added CO2 in a cask- whatever.)

The price is the problem $200 for two plastic boxes and a cheap CO2 injector is crazy. I get that they are trying to be half-way between tap-a-draft and cornys- but the product doesn't justify that pricing. This is a modest improvement on tap-a-draft and should only be modestly more expensive.

At $100-125, I'm a buyer. At $200, I'm out.

I honestly don't see how it is better then the Tap-a-Draft. For cask at home you should try cubtainers. Over in the UK a good number of the breweries use them for take home cask ale. And they only cost about $9 for a 5 gallon one.
 
The rigidity and portability both seem like upgrades to me- I'd rather carry one of those than a tap-a-draft to a homebrew club meeting.
 
Really I don't know what the difference other then a handle is. They do make pouches that you can carry, insulate and cool your Tap a Draft with. Those have insulation and a cold pack and shoulder strap. And new bottles with a cap are only $8. For my money the beer box is way overpriced. I would be a buyer at $50 for the set maybe. One thing I like about the Tap a draft is that it has a regulator you are not just shooting an indeterminate amount of CO2 into the container.
 
The Beer Box actually looks pretty good for what I do.

I brew about 10L batches, so I can fit a whole batch in each of the two beer boxes you get with one order. With tap-a-draft I would have to order an extra 6L bottle to be able to do two full batches (you only get three bottles with an order), which adds $10 to the price.

With tap a draft it also looks like I would have to order an extra valve (at $45) to be able to dispense beer from two different bottles at once, whereas with the beer box each box has its own tap (the co2 cartridge is only used to maintain pressure in the box so you can dispense the beer, so it can be moved from box to box when they're running low).

Also, the tap a draft system recommends that you replace the bottles every ten uses, which is an additional $40 cost (+shipping) every so often (if you google it, you'll find stories of peoples' tap a draft bottles spontaneously breaking in their fridge and getting beer everywhere, so I wouldn't want to push it by using the bottles past the recommended ten uses). The beer box is made of a much thicker plastic and looks like it would last significantly longer than ten uses.

Finally, the beer box is (roughly) a rectangle, so it should take up less overall space in my fridge for the same amount of beer (although the tap a draft system has the advantage of the fact that, when you've used up one 6L bottle, you can take it out of the fridge to free up space; the beer box has to stay until the whole thing is done).

One advantage of the tap a draft system is that the plastic is somewhat see-through, meaning that I can see how much beer I have left with a glance (with the beer box I guess you have to pick it up and try to guess how much you have left by weight...not the most convenient). I suppose you could argue that the reduced light permeability for the beer box is a plus from a beer quality standpoint, but given that it's going to be in a dark fridge for 99% of the time it probably doesn't really matter.

Anyway, other than price, I don't really see any significant advantage to the tap a draft system. And even with price, when you add on the money for the extra bottle, the extra valve, and the replacement bottles every 10 uses, it doesn't look like such a good deal after all.

I haven't ordered anything yet, but I think I'm going to get a beer box. The extra money up front seems worth it in the long run for me.
 
I have used an old-style Tap-A-Draft (the one that uses twin 8g CO2 cartridges), and was recently given a BeerBox kit by its designer for evaluation. I haven't used it yet, but it does make a good first impression (except that the provided tubing should probably be smaller in diameter, but that's an easy $1.50 fix). It's much sturdier and less "cheap"-feeling than the TAD. Since I keg and use these types of systems to transport beers to events, the BeerBox has the advantage of being able to do closed transfers, reducing oxidation. I am looking forward to using it.
In retail shops, the set should retail for about $179.99 (that's what I have it priced at in my shop, anyway), and there is one shop that currently has them on sale for ~$135.
 
Any links to shops that sell this? I tried to find the discount shops that sell this with no luck

I have used the TAD. One busted after the 3rd fill. Lucky it was under the house on cooling slab.
I really do not want to go kegs.
I only brew 2 to 3 g batches.
This product might work great for me.
Price is a bit high, but as previous posts indicated, this system might be a better product.
For $135 I might try it even at $179..
 
It's currently on sale for $135 at Southern Homebrew (which is apparently a place in Florida).

I say this to help you out, not because I particularly want to give them business (when I asked if they shipped to Canada (and offered to pay them extra for their time if it wasn't something they normally do) they said that they didn't, because "if we do it for one we have to do it for everyone"...really? Is that some new law I'm not familiar with? If you don't want to do it because it's too much hassle and you're too lazy just say that...don't pretend that it's impossible). Grrr.

Anyway don't mind me...I'm just bitter that I have to pay full price.
 
strongbad
Thank you for the link
I think that system will work well for me. Will order this weekend
They have good prices on an assortment of beer ingredients.
Site is a bit difficult to navigate, but I found the stuff I needed.

Sorry you have shipping issues Shipment outside USA is a PIA for mail order businesses.
Thanks again
Will post a review later
R
 
I like it but with a 15 PSI rating how many Volumes of co2 could I carb to ?

I was wondering that too...I asked the guy from the beerbox website, and he said that you could carbonate up to 35 PSI no problem (which is about 3 volumes of CO2 at 20 degrees C); he said that pressure may start to leak out from the valve at higher than around 40 PSI.

I'm not sure why they have a 15 PSI limit listed on the website when it's clearly intended to go higher than that in regular use.
 
Any user review on this yet? I still have a few questions:

What about yeast settlement? Is the tap high enough to avoid pouring cloudy beer?

Can you completely dispense all the beer, or is there some left over (wasted)?

Does it take 3 cartridges per box (6 total) to carb/empty 5 gallons?

Do you pour your priming sugar into the box and condition for 3 weeks to carb? Is there any leakage?
 
Hmmm. I would need 4-6 of these boxes in the pipeline to keep things flowing smoothly. I don't think I can justify that amount of money.
 
Looks really well made, and convenient. I would love to buy ONE, with no extra stuff, just to have a great way of taking half a batch to parties. I've got a pretty good setup for my kegs though, so I'll just take growlers as usual.

I agree that the $200 price point is just too much.
 
Southern Homebrew has discontinued them, claiming that their customers complained of problems. Pitty. I was hoping that they would be a good product. I love the concept, if not the price.
 
Close, but no cigar.

When I first saw this I really wanted to like it. After looking at it more closely (and seeing the price tag) I'm still planning to do kegging. If you want more than two you have to purchase more than one kit? Oh, but he has plans to sell extra boxes separately "some day".

I typically brew a 6 gallon batch. So I'm going to fill two Beer Boxes and a six-pack of bottles? Sure, that's nicer than 2 1/2 cases of bottling but if I'm dragging out everything I need to bottle anyway I'd rather keep $200 I can save towards a really nice kegging system and just spend an hour or so filling bottles.

I mean this is $200 PER BEER you want to have on deck, if you limit yourself to 5 gallon batches. Spend $400 and you can easily have a two-beer kegging system, if not three. So it's not portable. I can live with that. I don't take my beer places generally, since I don't like drinking when I need to gauge my consumption against my ability to drive home.

I like this idea in principle, but it needs development. Mainly it needs to come down significantly in price. And sell individual boxes. I don't care if I only save $5 per box, it's the principle of the thing.

Hell, if it had cost $100 I'd probably have bought it already.
 
I understand the criticism leveled at the BeerBox.

I can say that I own a BeerBox, and it works for my needs. I have 2 daughters, in private schools and various activities so my money gets stretched. I don't have the room or can afford a refrigerator or kegerator and the keg system at this time. I wanted the BeerBox to help make bottling day much easier. Even if I want to have other beers in the pipeline, I will fill 24 bottles and then just 1 of the 2 BeerBox's.

To each his own I guess. I don't see how someone can get into kegging without spending a wad of money. I don't have a separate fridge....and I don't have the keg equipment.....so wouldn't I need to spend the money on both?
 
I'm a little confused about these...

Do you condition in the box with priming sugar and then use CO2 just to serve?

Or can you actually force carbonate with regulated and adjustable CO2 like in a kegging setup?
 
I'm a little confused about these...

Do you condition in the box with priming sugar and then use CO2 just to serve?

Or can you actually force carbonate with regulated and adjustable CO2 like in a kegging setup?

You can do either. Though I think you are stuck force carbonating with those little tiny capsules so it isn't very economical.
 
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