Beer Kegs help

[Potsy]

I have a King Keg Top tap beer barrel which I am about to fill with my first ever batch. I intend to start my next batch as soon as i've cleaned and steralized my fermenting bucket so I am going to need another barrel.

I know that top tap barrels take the beer from just below the surface so you don't have to wait as long for the brew to clear but...

My question is, are top tap barrels a bit of a pain (what i've heard) in that you have to spend alot of money topping them up with Co2 or is the extra outlay worth it? Should I just go for a Bottom tap style barrel as my second barrel?

 

[ajf]

My question is, are top tap barrels a bit of a pain (what i've heard) in that you have to spend alot of money topping them up with Co2 or is the extra outlay worth it? Should I just go for a Bottom tap style barrel as my second barrel?

I started to use one about 13 - 14 years ago. I used it for English style Bitter (i.e. very low carbonation), For this scenario, the cost of CO2 was insignificant.

I cannot speak for higher carbonation rates.

-a.

 

[Potsy]

All i'm going to be brewing is english real ales so I guess i'll be ok, i'd just heard that after you drink past the top taps position you can't get you beer out unless you keep perssurising the keg.

 

[Mark228]

All i'm going to be brewing is english real ales so I guess i'll be ok, i'd just heard that after you drink past the top taps position you can't get you beer out unless you keep perssurising the keg.

Yes that is correct. You'll probably need to buy a CO2 canister but that should last you a while. You could get away with unscrewing the top to release the vacuum caused by pouring but this would mean the beer won't last as long in the keg (you'd have to drink it within a few weeks as ur letting in normal air instead of CO2). Don't attempt a lager with it tho unless you like it flat as these pressure barrels aren't made for high carbonation beers (due to the pressure release valve to stop it exploding), best to bottle those. I think I paid about £15 for a 12inch(ish) by 3 inch size CO2 canister and after the initial purchase of the bottle you just get it refilled for about £7 (make sure you buy the canister that fits your inlet valve as there are two kinds). When using it you only need to add a 1 second burst of the CO2 so you can imagine it lasts ok and won't be all that expensive. I'd still bottle a few of your ales though to try a decent aged ale.

 

[TREMBLE]

I just tried one of these for the first time, though it is a Hambledon Bard Beer Sphere rather than a King Keg, basically the same though.

I put my stout in it and it was alot easier than bottling, however when I came to drink it it did not work as well as I had hoped.

First off cooling the damn thing is a bit of a pain, its pretty big and would not fit in my fridge, so I had to use a deep tray and ice water, wich was ok for the party but you cant really keep that going all the time so I now have maybe 5-10 litres left that is not cool, so I have not drunk anymore of it.

Pouring from the top tap pressure barrels can be a little difficult. I use a 2 litre jug for serving to avoid sediment from bottles, naturally I tried to use this for the stout as well, I found I got so much foam being dispensed from the barrel that I maybe only had 3/4 litre stout out and the 2 litre jug was full to the top with foam! This was a bit of a pain.

The drink that came out was pretty flat, despite all the foam, this was fine for the stout and it still tasted pretty good, not all styles could work like this though.

Over all the barrel works ok if you plan to drink the whole brew in a very short space of time, however if you drink a little more slowly it kinda becomes a pain to use, I will probably use mine again but only if I am making a brew specifically for a party or event.

 

[Orfy]

Most super markets do Soda stream canisters for around £4. By far the cheapest easy form of CO2 available.
Don't use the co2 to carbonate, use priming sugar. The barrel will self pressure rise, all you need to do is top up as you go. You should get quite a few barrels from on £4 cartridge.