Kegerator advice

[drewskimac]

Hello!

This is the mini kegerator I have:

Homecraft Black Stainless Steel Easy-Dispensing Tap Mini Kegerator Cooling System, Includes Reusable Growler, CO2 Cartridges, Removable Drip Tray & Cleaning Kit, Beer Fresh For 30 Days, 5-liter Amazon.com: Homecraft Black Stainless Steel Easy-Dispensing Tap Mini Kegerator Cooling System, Includes Reusable Growler, CO2 Cartridges, Removable Drip Tray & Cleaning Kit, Beer Fresh For 30 Days, 5-liter : Appliances

I’ve never done a home brew before, so I’m a bit confused and needing advisement on how to utilize my home brew in this machine. The brew kit I’m starting with is the craft-a-brew kit. I understand that to use this machine I can’t follow the craft-a-brew instructions exactly because I won’t be bottling, but that’s about all I know!

So:
1. This kegerator is compatible with a heinekeg, the plastic growler included, or a 5L metal keg. So do I put my brew in the plastic growler, or a metal keg?

2. If I’m using the growler or keg, what is the difference in the process? Do I prime one the keg altogether instead of right before bottling?

Thanks in advance!

 

[JohnSand]

I haven't used either a Craft a Brew kit nor a counter top kegerator. I'm guessing the kit is one gallon? In that case I would "bottle" it in the growler keg with the priming sugar. Keep that sealed at room temperature for a week and chill, just like you would with a bottle. You might also search online videos for your machine. Good luck, keep us posted.

 

[drewskimac]

I haven't used either a Craft a Brew kit nor a counter top kegerator. I'm guessing the kit is one gallon? In that case I would "bottle" it in the growler keg with the priming sugar. Keep that sealed at room temperature for a week and chill, just like you would with a bottle. You might also search online videos for your machine. Good luck, keep us posted.

Thank you! Yes, it’s a 1 gallon kit. So, essentially what you’re saying is that I follow the same directions except when I get to the prime and bottle step, instead of bottling I just do it in the growler keg?

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

Yea just think of the growler/keg as one big bottle.

 

[drewskimac]

Yea just think of the growler/keg as one big bottle.

Hello! I am being told by a local brewery that I need to find a way to purge the plastic growler of air or the brew will oxidize. Do you have any advisement on how I’d do this?

 

[sibelman]

Could be a challenge to purge - especially if you don't have a bottle of CO2. But if you drink the beer reasonably promptly you'll probably be okay.

 

[drewskimac]

Could be a challenge to purge - especially if you don't have a bottle of CO2. But if you drink the beer reasonably promptly you'll probably be okay.

The machine has an inline CO2 cartridge that I can adjust the flow on. Is it possible that purges, or does it only administer as I dispense the brew?

 

[sibelman]

If there's a pressure release valve on the growler, you can repeatedly pressurize and release. Some clever calculations suggest this would need to be repeated many times to take the O2 down to long-term storage levels. That's a lot of wasted consumed CO2.

The adverse effects of oxygen are real but they take some time. So that really could be wasted CO2. You won't be able to completely avoid oxygen exposure with this rig, so I'd chill out on the purging idea. Of course, I may be missing something -- never used one of these or even seen it up close.

Hopefully the adjustment is for pressure (not flow), so you can avoid over-carbonating. Post back when you've got results to share!

 

[drewskimac]

If there's a pressure release valve on the growler, you can repeatedly pressurize and release. Some clever calculations suggest this would need to be repeated many times to take the O2 down to long-term storage levels. That's a lot of wasted consumed CO2.

The adverse effects of oxygen are real but they take some time. So that really could be wasted CO2. You won't be able to completely avoid oxygen exposure with this rig, so I'd chill out on the purging idea. Of course, I may be missing something -- never used one of these or even seen it up close.

Hopefully the adjustment is for pressure (not flow), so you can avoid over-carbonating. Post back when you've got results to share!

Thank you! It is only 1 gallon of beer, so I’d be looking at drinking it over a couple of weeks max. With that period of time, can I just forget about purging ?

 

[drewskimac]

I am thinking that since the beer will likely be consumed in less than a week, I may just not worry about the purging. Any thoughts?