Does anybody use a "Party Pig?"

[Brandx40]

I have seen the Party Pig ads in BYO and other places and wondered if anyone is using them? I don't have the room (or $) for an extra fridge and am getting sick of bottling. It seems like it would be a good interim solution but want to get opinions/reviews from anyone that uses them. Let me know.

 

[ChrisKennedy]

We use them at a brewpub I work at. Aside from the cost of the pouches and rims, along with the initial cost of the pigs themselves, I think they are awesome. I have tasted 11 year old barleywine from a party pig and it is one of the best beers I have ever had.

Activating the pouch though can probably be difficult without CO2, I hear the hand pump that comes with it is a pain in the ass to use.

 

[FairbanksBrewinGirl]

The hand pump IS a PITA. But before I was able to keg, it was still worth it to me. I found attaching the metal collar to be bit tiresome too, but it gets easier with time.

Also, believe it when they tell you not to use old pouches- I used a 1 year old pouch and it did not fully inflate, just like they warned.

I thought the party pig worked great for what it was, and it looks good in the fridge- oink Another option to consider might be the tap-a-draft system.

 

[gimmebeer]

Don't have a Party Pig, but I have a Tap-A-Draft setup and like it a lot. I was in the same boat, wanting an alternative to endless bottling. I asked on another website for ideas on the PP vs. the TAD. Wound up getting the TAD. I still bottle some, because I usually have one or two 6-liter TAD containers at bottling time instead of the three it would take to accommodate a whole 5-gallon batch, but it's actually kind of cool to see the difference between bottled and TAD beers.

 

[Brandx40]

Thanks for the info! It seems it may be a bit of a pain but easier and more convenient than bottling.

 

[toddmuchmore]

Don't have a Party Pig, but I have a Tap-A-Draft setup and like it a lot. I was in the same boat, wanting an alternative to endless bottling. I asked on another website for ideas on the PP vs. the TAD. Wound up getting the TAD. I still bottle some, because I usually have one or two 6-liter TAD containers at bottling time instead of the three it would take to accommodate a whole 5-gallon batch, but it's actually kind of cool to see the difference between bottled and TAD beers.

When you do this, do you prime the entire batch as if you were bottling it all?

 

[oberon567]

I have used Party Pigs 4 times now. I am still trying to nail down the amount of priming sugar... I have followed their guidelines and ended up with really, really, really overcarbed beer. I now have a batch that is severly undercarbed and I am hoping that by moving it somewhere a bit warmer that yeast has a bit of gusto left in it.

Other than that, though, I am liking them. Though I am really close to just buying some cornies and being done with it. I dont have the income for it, but sometimes it is worth the CC debt...

 

[Amiaji]

I havent actually tasted any beer from a PP yet but I have 2 of them waiting. Activating the pouch wasnt that hard. I put the hand pump on the floor and kept stepping on it until I heard a pop noise. With an electric drill the metal ring goes on pretty easy.

I also have used the mini-kegs and I considered the Tap-A-Draft system. There were a couple things I didnt like about the mini-kegs. They were a bit aggravating to tap and a pain to clean. Also had some problems with leaking. I am still using them (have 3 full right now) but decided to try the PP. The TAD looks like a good system as well but since my LHBS sells PP's but not TAD's I went with the party pigs.

 

[gimmebeer]

In answer to toddmuchmore's question (I don't seem able to figure out all this message quoting business):

I prime the batch with three ounces of corn sugar and fill the TAD bottles, then add a little more for the old-fashioned bottles. You kind of have to wing it, but it's worked out OK. I really do recommend the Tap-A-Draft. The followup expenses seem to be lower than the Party Pig (though you do have to keep a supply of CO2 cartridges).

 

[Xlimey]

The biggest problem I have with my two Party Pigs is that becomes so over pressurized as to produce froth rather than beer at the tap (which is also VERY hard to depress because of the back pressure). Ideally they need a manually adjusted pressure relief valve on the Pigs shell. I assume this problem starts with the need to initially pressurize the Pig in order to activate the pouch. Then the priming sugar does the rest. Unless I can fix this problem both will soon be seen on Craig's List.

 

[tokerlund]

We bought one for my dad's place. He loved out homemade beer, but refused to attempt brewing. It lasted all of about 3 batches before he just bought his own kegging system. Now we just bring him a full corny.

It worked well for his use. The major drawback was the cost and PITA of the bladders that you use to pressurize.

Now that he doesn't use it anymore we are using it with my Father-in-Law. We also like to fill it up in the summer and bring it on the pontoon. I would say it is no where near as convenient as a keg, but much more portable. It is also much better than bottling.