Anyone Ferment in a Mini Keg?

[AlexKay]

I’m thinking one of these:
Amazon link

Less than $25 for a stainless steel fermenter for my ultra-small batches (though larger models could work well for ~1 gallon batches.)

Drilling a hole in the cap for a stopper and airlock is no problem. I’d love to put a spigot on it, too, but need to figure out if I want an o-ring compression seal or whether I want to pay someone to do some welding.

 

[11thStBrewing]

You could use one of these lids:

https://www.amazon.com/stainless-Dispenser-Stainless-Growler-Homebrew/dp/B07QCYRSRK

 

[NSMikeD]

^. +1 Use the above dispenser.

However, think through the next step. As a fermentor you'll will need an intermediary container to use it as dispenser to remove the beer from the wort, so a glass jug would be more practicable or a second dispenser. Might as well use a less expensive glass jug and stopper. Plus glass will be easier to see the wort to stop the siphon leaving trub in the fermentor.

For dispensing, a traditional Co2 system can get bulky and expensive. The consensus is to naturally carbonate then use a cartridge system to give the pressure to dispense. they don't last long and not practicable to use to carbonate.

 

[AlexKay]

For context, this is for 40-50 ounce batches, the kind I make when I'm bored and want to brew but don't have any space, or the kind to test a variable without making a ton of beer. A half-gallon fermenter works, and I get at least 32 ounces of beer, which I then bottle-condition in a single one-liter EZ-Cap bottle.

I'm currently using glass: a half-gallon mason jar with a hole in the lid for a stopper and an airlock. I hate it. It's a huge pain to siphon from. The lid doesn't seal that well. And I dropped one once, losing a whole batch (and making a big mess).

Enter the mini-keg! I suppose I could use the ball-lock cap and a dip tube (floating or non-floating), but I'd really like a spigot. I can drill a hole in it without worrying about the whole thing coming apart (those mason jars are kinda flimsy glass). Does anyone know if, at this radius, the area around the hole will be flat enough to accommodate a weldless fitting?

If this works well, there are 170-oz mini kegs that would be perfect for 1-gallon batches. I'm currently using LBMBs, but this, if I can get it to work, would be a huge upgrade.

Edit: I'm an IDIOT. It's going to be impossible to get inside the thing to screw on a weldless valve. Maybe it's still possible to weld an NPT bulkhead in there? I imagine inability to access the other side will make welding difficult-to-impossible, too...

Edit #2: I ordered a ball-lock cap. The plan is to ferment with the airlock, then swap in the ball locks and dip tube, hooked up to a bottling wand. I still think it'll be worlds better than the mason jar!

 

[hbarsquared]

I briefly dabbled in minikeg brewing after I had moved and had to liquidate my brewing setup. They work okay, but they are extremely difficult to clean. I ended up having a few kegs get a persistent biofilm that I just can't fully remove.

I've since gone back to 20L batches so the experiment is on hold for now. Overall it's a neat product that can be useful if you have a need for small batch brewing, but it doesn't hold a candle to the "standard" size brewstuff that is purpose built.

 

[Wolfbayte]

This sounds like you can rack 5 liters into it after fermentation. Mini Keg with Tap