Quoin Industrial Inc, maker of the Party Pig

[JLeuck64]

So I received an email from Quoin Industrial Inc., maker of the Party Pig, today indicating they were going out of business. After 23 years of making the party pig and all the accessories they are hanging it up... Here is the email I received:

"It is with sad hearts that we have decided to halt production of the Party Pig beer package, after 23 years in the market.

Continuing escalation of material costs has made the manufacture of this package prohibitively expensive, and it has been increasingly difficult to justify the expenditure of capital to upgrade the manufacturing equipment.

Please know that we have greatly appreciated your business over the years and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

We DO have Party Pig kits and components, including Pressure Pouches on hand, which we will continue to sell until they are gone.

The Pressure Pouches will remain suitable for use for at least a year and probably 2 years, as long as they are stored in a cool dry place.

Gratefully,
Lowell, Mike L, Mike G & Diane
The Pig “Farm”
Quoin Industrial Inc."

I don't know how many of you out there on the HBT forum are using this product but I have been using it since my early days of homebrewing and I really like it! So, if you want one or any of the accessories they make get one soon because they will be gone soon! I can personally vouch for what the email indicated about the shelf life of their pressure pouches. I keep mine in the fridge and not one has ever failed to work, even after a year.

Once the supply of pressure pouches has dried up I will be working towards modifying my pigs to use CO2 to pressurize them indefinitely. (OK, I have already started thinking towards that day, but probably won't really focus on it until it becomes a necessity! The Mother of invention)

I've killed a LOT of pigs in this hobby and I ain't stopping on account of a lack of pressure pouches! LOL

 

[AColdOneInNH]

I asked this in another thread but didn't get any replies. I'm about to use my party pig for the first time today with a pressure pouch. But when I no longer have pouches (and Quoin is out now), I wonder if the pig will still work fine as long as you don't store it for too long after you let air in. Won't it just be like a large bottle? Or will it not pour because there's no easy way for air to get in? I assume somebody has tried this, but I can't find any posts about it.

At the very least, could you carbonate in the pig and then, when you're ready to drink it, transfer to growlers to bring to a party? At the very least it will save on having to wash bottles.

 

[JLeuck64]

I am currently exploring some options to use CO2 for dispensing from the party pigs. I will let ya know what I come up with in the next few weeks or so. Stay tuned! ( ;

 

[JLeuck64]

Here is a sneak peek into the direction I am going. The end result I am shooting for is to be able to drain a party pig using CO2. It's all just experimentation at this point but hopefully I can figure out something that works as reliably as the pressure pouches... did ( ;

First 2 pigs I've modified are pictured and I will be, ahem... testing my modifications until they're empty! I am using a mini regulator I purchased from WilliamsBrewing.com and a 45g CO2 cartridge. Before I committed to a batch of beer I filled one pig with just water to test how well it would push liquids out. It performed well to the point the liquid level dropped below the spout. If I tipped the party pig nose down it would continue to push liquids out until empty. One of the features of the pressure pouches that will be hard to duplicate (without a dip tube) is as they expand to fill the void they also continue to push the contents up toward the spout. So to compensate for that I will have to tip this pig when it starts to get empty. Not particularly looking forward to having to deal with that for the fridge I am using currently doesn't really have the space inside to make it convenient. It would be so nice if I could just prop the pig up in the back about 3 or 4 inches to make life easier but oh well...

One thing I found curious during my water test was that it did start to carbonate after a day. So with this first batch of beer I am not adding any priming sugar at all. If it force carbonates with CO2 great! If it doesn't then I will try adding the priming sugar back in to naturally carbonate the next time I run a batch through these two pigs. There are some growing pains I've discovered already but I am optimistic I will sort them out eventually. I am still enjoying this little challenge and if I ultimately decide it isn't worth it... at least I can use the equipment I've purchased with corny kegs ( ;

It was so EFFING WEIRD on one level! This was the 1st time I EVER drained from the primary directly into the final container! No bottling bucket... no priming sugar... just filled up the pigs and hooked up the CO2! It was kinda cool LOL

Once I feel like this system is working well for me I'll throw up some pics of the mods I've made and how to do them.

 

[RDbrew]

Just checked on their site and saw this update-

updated Sept 9, 2015
Great News for our loyal "Party Pig" Customers!!!
Quoin is in the process of finalizing the sale of our
"Party Pig" Beer Dispenser Business to a local manufacturing company.
They hope to be up and running in the next few months.
A formal announcement with detail will follow.

Sounds like good news for people that are users of the product.

 

[airgator96]

This is such a bummer! I did see a few years ago someone successfully made a party pig into a co2 conversion. It is out there. I'm scrambling to find a pouch at this point. Let me know if your mod works.

 

[airgator96]

I am looking into this as well https://www.midwestsupplies.com/2-5-gallon-mini-draft-system-new-keg.html

 

[JLeuck64]

I've run a batch thru 2 pigs so far using 45g cartridges for each pig. Was a little disappointed that it took so much CO2 but I was trying to force carbonate as well as dispense. Am thinking about using priming sugar for the next try, and I am also going to try dry hopping in both pigs as well! ( ;

Those 2.5 gal kegs are... gulp, spendy!

 

[airgator96]

Here is the other guy who did this http://hbd.org/brewsandviews/messages/20001/8215.html?1012660976

 

[airgator96]

This is someone's mod co2
http://hbd.org/brewsandviews/messages/20001/8215.html?1012660976

 

[JLeuck64]

I really like that modification to the snout! I actually pondered drilling a hole through the original cap/dispenser early on... but gave up on the idea just because there didn't seem to be enough room. Swapping out the cap for a custom made one looks really cool!

I thought I would post up a few pics of what I am currently doing...

With this batch I've decided to try a few things that are new and one old thing. I put a 1/4 of priming sugar in each pig this time. Used to do that with the pressure pouches as well but haven't tried it with this new CO2 dispensing set up yet.

I've also wanted to experiment with dry hopping in the pig. So I've added a small mesh bag with 3/4 oz dry hops. Hope it won't plug up the flow coming out through the nozzle as the pig empties, but it is an experiment after all ( ; This little experiment got me thinking... down the road I would also like to try dry hopping in the pig WITH a pressure pouch some day! I don't see why a small bag of dry hops like this couldn't fit inside along with a pressure pouch. Heck even while the pressure pouch expands it will continue to gently squeeeeze all that hop goodness out of the bag! (Will give this a shot for sure and let ya know how it turns out)

The last change I made was to my CO2 delivery. I decided that it's a good idea to install a check valve in the tubing. The mini pressure regulator I'm using has a relief valve built into it. So as soon as you back off on the pressure regulator, the pressure inside the pig will push fluid back up through the regulator (especially when it's full)

This batch of almost 5 gal I split between 2 pigs. I filled them both up almost to the bottom of the neck. It was a very small air space when I put the cap on and screwed it down... I've never filled a pig that full before! Since I've started pigging with CO2 this way I felt it was still necessary to expel the air trapped inside after putting the cap on. So what I do is set each pig upright in the sink and squeeze the side while simultaneously holding the dispense button in. Once beer starts coming out the nozzle I release the red dispense button. (this procedure is essentially the same thing you would do to remove the trapped air after activating the pressure pouch any way). Then I hooked up the CO2 and ran the pressure up to 10PSI. I disconnected the CO2 and am letting them both condition... for a week LOL it was usually enough when I was using pressure pouches ( ;

Oh... one other thing I've figured out when trying to drill the hole for the schrader valve. It's very important to get the placement just right. You want to drill through the plastic in an area that is thick enough. At least that's what me and my brew bud were thinking... I suppose you could just go through the side but the plastic is pretty thin out there as compared to the bottom. Any ways, the thickest part in the bottom is not ideal because you need to rest the pig there when filling. The next best option is to look for an area that still looks pretty thick but is farther out from the center most point. When the pigs were made it looks like the plastic gets stretched out on the bottom. It's not uniform so you can target an area to put the schrader valve in so you can still stand the pig straight up while filling.

Feeling like I almost have this dialed in and will post up more pics soon

P.S. drilling through plastic needs to be done like this:
Using a standard drill twist bit (the normal kind that cuts when your drill is running clockwise).

Mark your hole with a center punch.

Drill a pilot hole with a smaller bit than final size. ( I like to start with a 1/8 inch first)

Work your way up to the final dimension gradually while running the bit backwards... that's right turn it COUNTER CLOCKWISE while cutting through the plastic. Running a drill bit backwards through soft materials is a trick used by many folks on many different types of materials. The drill bit simply melts its way through using heat from the friction instead of cutting/tearing it's way through.

Stop short of your final diameter and a use sharp exacto knife or round files to clean off the excess burr material. Work slowly and carefully to get that perfect fit for the schrader valve and grommet.

 

[JLeuck64]

Modified a couple more pigs today so I could put an Imperial IPA in both of them. I've really been enjoying just moving from the fermentor into the pigs, and just couldn't bring myself to bottle this 6 gal batch. So I ended up filling 2 pigs and only 3 bottles ( ;

One thing I am still sorting out is priming sugar amounts. The last batch I started off light with just 1/4 Cup per pig but the carbonation ended up being weak. With this batch I am moving up to 1/3 Cup per pig. Stands to reason they would need more priming sugar because I am filling them almost to the top.

Here are some pics of the regulator set up. I've removed the stock fitting and replaced it with a hose barb fitting. It's 1/8" pipe thread on one end and 3/16" hose barb on the other. I use a foot of 3/16" vinyl tubing, a 3/16" check valve, some nylon tie straps and finally a female schrader valve fitting with a 3/16" hose barb. Double up on the nylon tie straps where ever you can, it really helps to seal those hose barb fittings.

 

[airgator96]

Cool stuff!

I'm going to give this a try this week. My only concern is that I would want to use food quality metal/rubber inside the PartyPig. This may be hard to find. I'm worried the metal/rubber would change the beer, or chemically kill someone! yikes!

I always use 1/3 cup of sugar in my PP.

Is that a tire valve going into the back of your PP?

 

[JLeuck64]

Yes it is a tire valve.

Food quality it is not.

My liver will most likely give out before non food quality components send me to Davy Jones locker ( ;

 

[JLeuck64]

Here is another option for dispensing beer from your Party Pig that I've been exploring lately. I'm using the Hog Wild CO2 Pig Activator Kit to presurize this pig for dispensing. I simply removed the hose that comes with the activator kit, then attach it to the schrader valve. As the beer flow slows down I give the activator a couple of quick bursts until the Pig feels like it has decent pressure again. It's not as precise as using a regulator with a gauge but you can judge how much pressure is inside of the Pig. When it is getting low on pressure the PET bottle will easily yield when pushing on it with your thumb or fingers. After a quick charge of CO2 it firms up again.

Now, the reason I've been exploring this is twofold... one it's a heck of a lot cheaper than going out and buying a regulator! The second is I've still been experiencing some pressure loss while using the regulator set up. It's frustrating trying to track down a CO2 leak...

I thought I would throw this option out for those of you that already have one of the pressure pouch activator kits. Currently on Quoin's website you can't buy one but there is this message displayed:
"NuLine Manufacturing, Inc. will have the on-line store reopened soon. If you have questions - Please contact us directly at (303)296-5057"

 

[dyqik]

It might not be a CO2 leak - you could just be dissolving CO2 in the beer and increasing the carbonation level if your pressure is higher than the equilibrium pressure at the temperature of the beer. This is why a regulator is needed to keep the CO2 pressure down to the equilibrium pressure.

I had similar issues with the Tap-A-Draft system - the first half of the bottle was fine, but as it sat longer with more head-space, the carbonation level increased.

 

[JLeuck64]

Looks like we won't have to wait much longer to find pouches for our pigs!

Party Pig Home Page

 

[JLeuck64]

It might not be a CO2 leak - you could just be dissolving CO2 in the beer and increasing the carbonation level if your pressure is higher than the equilibrium pressure at the temperature of the beer. This is why a regulator is needed to keep the CO2 pressure down to the equilibrium pressure.

I had similar issues with the Tap-A-Draft system - the first half of the bottle was fine, but as it sat longer with more head-space, the carbonation level increased.

Just got an email from William's Brewing today regarding this very topic. I had 2 mini regulators that were mysteriously loosing CO2, tightened up the burst disk on both of them tonight ( :

 

[JLeuck64]

Party Pig store is now open!
Party Pig Home Page

 

[JLeuck64]

Time for an update me thinks...

I've been experimenting with a few things over the last several batches. Adding dry hops to the pig during bottling is what I've been focusing my attention on. I've tried adding 3/4 - 1 oz of dry hops to pigs that I have just used CO2 for dispensing with good results. I've also tried adding the same 3/4 - 1 oz of dry hops to pigs that I put a pressure pouch in with good results also! This will definitely save some time when making an IPA, for example. It's really not necessary to add the dry hops to fermenter/secondary before bottling. Just proceed with bottling as normal at the end of fermentation, with the exception of adding a sanitized hop sack with dry hops in it. While it's conditioning it will also be adding that hop aroma. Can easily cut a week or so off the time it would normally take to reach drinkability ( ;

I also received an email from the new owners at Party Pig recently:

Party Pig has a new domain!
Party Pig is in the process of rebuilding its website to better serve all our customers. During this process we purchased the .beer domain. So now you can reach us at www.partypig.beer! Keep an eye out, we hope to have our new website up and running very soon. Thanks everyone and have a fantastic evening!