Keg vs Bottle

[adam79]

Hello I am new to the forum as well as home brewing. Could you please tell me what is best, bottles or a plastic keg?

Thanks

Adam

 

[kornkob]

A plastic keg? Can you give us a link to one?

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Are you referring to a King Keg type plastic keg? I know they're popular in the UK, but not so much over here. On another forum I frequent there sure seems to be a lot of threads about them leaking/not holding pressure/etc.

Over here, a lot of people use 5 gal SS korny kegs (used coke kegs). The general consensus is that they're the way to go!

 

[mysterio]

I started using plastic kegs a few months ago and I can't see any reason to go back to bottles, apart from portability. I swear the beer tastes better in kegs! Plus sanitation takes 5 minutes as aposed to an hour or so.

I see you're in the UK aswell so I recommend the cheap economy barells you can get for £20 or so. I've got a couple of king keg top taps but I have trouble with all the removable parts, plus they're closer to £40. Cornelius kegs are quite hard to get a hold of here and are also quite expensive. They're only an advantage if you are force carbonating, which I personally have no interest in.

 

[adam79]

Yes, the man in the home-brew shop told me that it is better to go for a plastic keg at £20. So that is what I will try, he did suggest bottles if I want to store some for Christmas or as gifts for people.

 

[ajf]

I used to use them, and never had a problem until they wore out after about 6 - 7 years of faithful service. (They got scratched through careless cleaning, and I didn't want to take a chance.) Now I have Cornelius kegs (which I don't like as much).
The greatest thing about the kegs I had were the plastic tube attached inside the keg to between the spigot and a float. Fill them up, wait 24 - 48 hours and draw off clear beer.

-a.

 

[kornkob]

I bet that kind of float tube system could be adapted for use in a Corney keg.

 

[budbo]

I started using plastic kegs a few months ago and I can't see any reason to go back to bottles, apart from portability. I swear the beer tastes better in kegs! Plus sanitation takes 5 minutes as aposed to an hour or so.

An hour? Star-San and Idophor both need 1 min contact time, you use bleach?

 

[kornkob]

I suppose if he's doing one bottle at a time it's only 60 bottles. : )

It does take less time seeing as you only have to sanitize one container.

 

[Caplan]

An hour? Star-San and Idophor both need 1 min contact time, you use bleach?

You can't really buy either of those products in the UK Homebrew shops i'm afraid! It's purely 'rinse only' sanitation as standard over here. Can any of you guys list the 'ingredients' off the back of your homebrew 'iodophor' containers for me? I've searched long and hard on the internet for them to find a suitable UK version!

 

[ajf]

Can any of you guys list the 'ingredients' off the back of your homebrew 'iodophor' containers for me? I've searched long and hard on the internet for them to find a suitable UK version!

B-T-F Iodophor:
12.54% Butox polypropoxy polyethoxy ethonal-iodine complex (providing 1.6% titratable iodine).
87.46% Inert ingredients

Star San:
15.0% Dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid
50.0% Phosphoric acid
35% Inert ingredients

Sound tasty don't they.

-a.

 

[Caplan]

B-T-F Iodophor:
12.54% Butox polypropoxy polyethoxy ethonal-iodine complex (providing 1.6% titratable iodine).
87.46% Inert ingredients

Star San:
15.0% Dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid
50.0% Phosphoric acid
35% Inert ingredients

Sound tasty don't they.

-a.

Yum yum! Thanks for that a! I can now see what I can find in the UK that fits the bill properly!

 

[mysterio]

An hour? Star-San and Idophor both need 1 min contact time, you use bleach?

As Caplan says you can't really get that kind of stuff here. It's all chlorine based stuff which you have to rinse. I mean, Idophor would be great because it's basically Iodine isn't it? Shouldn't Iodine be cheap? My Iodine tincture cost like, £4 ($8) or so. Which is a rip-off.

Adam, definately get one of the economy kegs. What I do is brew an extra gallon and put it into swing-top grolsch bottles. Take the labels off and they make great gifts (to yourself).

 

[Caplan]

Idophor would be great because it's basically Iodine isn't it? Shouldn't Iodine be cheap? My Iodine tincture cost like, £4 ($8) or so. Which is a rip-off.

You need to be careful. It's the material that holds the iodine in solution and then releases it that you need to worry about. Some of them are highly toxic/carcinogenic to say the least. It's probably why it's not an 'approved' method in the UK for food standards.

 

[budbo]

You can't really buy either of those products in the UK Homebrew shops i'm afraid! It's purely 'rinse only' sanitation as standard over here. Can any of you guys list the 'ingredients' off the back of your homebrew 'iodophor' containers for me? I've searched long and hard on the internet for them to find a suitable UK version!

You have Paypal? get with one of us and have us send you a bottle :fro: Seriously My LHBS sells 32oz Bottles for $17 Thats 160 US Gallons of no rinse sanitizer for around 12 pounds sterling including mailing it to you

 

[Caplan]

You have Paypal? get with one of us and have us send you a bottle :fro:

Thank my friends - please give yours full bank details now with haste to my account for my special misson - My best regards, your friend!
(that's the kind of badly spelt sh*te i've had on ebay from non paying scammers! )

Seriously My LHBS sells 32oz Bottles for $17 Thats 160 US Gallons of no rinse sanitizer for around 12 pounds sterling including mailing it to you

The US homebrew sites I've viewed won't ship it to the UK.

 

[ajf]

I wouldn't try shipping any form of iodine. As I recall it is used in the manufacture of some explosives. Perhaps that is why we cannot buy Iodophor in New York.
I wouldn't try shipping anything containing phosphorous (i.e. phosphoric acid), as it is considered a severe pollutant by some states/countries. Perhaps that is why we cannot buy Star San in New York.

-a.

 

[bikebryan]

I wouldn't try shipping any form of iodine. As I recall it is used in the manufacture of some explosives. Perhaps that is why we cannot buy Iodophor in New York.
I wouldn't try shipping anything containing phosphorous (i.e. phosphoric acid), as it is considered a severe pollutant by some states/countries. Perhaps that is why we cannot buy Star San in New York.

-a.

I order Iodophor via mail-order all the time. No problems. Where I used to work, we had tincture of iodine delivered all the time via either our regular supplier or UPS, depending on the need. No problems.

 

[ajf]

I order Iodophor via mail-order all the time. No problems. Where I used to work, we had tincture of iodine delivered all the time via either our regular supplier or UPS, depending on the need. No problems.

I get them by mail-order as well, but NY state laws prevent NY businesses from selling these products retail. I also can't get TSP, although I can get phosphate free TSP. (How did that ever get allowed)

-a.