Has anyone used 5L Mini Kegs?

AHarper

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I have been given 8 of these kegs (unfortunately empty) and I was wondering if anyone else has re-used these kegs and what hints, tips there are out there for cleaning, filling and conditioning the beer in them?
I have new plugs for them on order. Any experiences out there?
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I haven't, but I've been looking at them, so curious to see what the responses will be
 
My only real knowledge of them is once you start pouring you need to finish it or it goes flat.
 
Used them as a source for beer to drink years ago, never re-used one. No obvious method of carbonating, other than priming sugar of course when first filling. With new closures / plugs, should be as tight as a bottle at least.

Cleaning should be straightforward - if still wet inside, rinse thoroughly and sanitize. If dry but not rinsed, some PBW for a long (a day) soak, followed by a good rinse and sanitize. Might be a challenge to get a brush in there for mechanical scrubbing. Small enough to be boiled (!) for sterilization if I used my bigger boiling pot.

I am also curious to see how our guinea pig..., er, Alan makes out with these.
 
Used them as a source for beer to drink years ago, never re-used one. No obvious method of carbonating, other than priming sugar of course when first filling. With new closures / plugs, should be as tight as a bottle at least.

Cleaning should be straightforward - if still wet inside, rinse thoroughly and sanitize. If dry but not rinsed, some PBW for a long (a day) soak, followed by a good rinse and sanitize. Might be a challenge to get a brush in there for mechanical scrubbing. Small enough to be boiled (!) for sterilization if I used my bigger boiling pot.

I am also curious to see how our guinea pig..., er, Alan makes out with these.


Well I can see I am going to have to do a report on it.... Watch this space.
 
I used these 20 years ago. They work great. I used the CO2 cartridge dispenser. Just calculate the priming sugar as you would for bottles.

If you use the hand pump, you pretty much need to drink in one session. However, with the CO2 dispenser, it goes a couple of weeks without issue.

Note that the ones I had were top-tapped and slightly different than the one you have shown.
 
I can't remember who, but there's been the odd thread on reusing these. The poster was wondering if there was something special about these, nobody had any real clue, poster went ahead and did it. Reported back that it worked just like a big bottle, but that the bottom spout is probably only good for a few refills. They just used internal pressure to dispense. I think it was a take it camping solution.

Or is this just deja vu screwing with my head?
 
I have been given 8 of these kegs (unfortunately empty) and I was wondering if anyone else has re-used these kegs and what hints, tips there are out there for cleaning, filling and conditioning the beer in them?
I have new plugs for them on order. Any experiences out there?
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I had hoped to find a thread on this very subject :)

After some bad experiences with my latest venture into plastic kegs L2021/E2022, I decided to give these mini-kegs a try. There are a few youtube tutorials on the subject out there which I have watched through. The trickiest part of the operation is to remove the rubber grommet/bung from the top centre of the 'can'. I saw this demonstrated with a set of pliers and it works but it can stretch the rubber as you tug to loosen it free so I tried using a flat bladed screwdriver in my other hand to prise it out as well. A little fiddly but no major headache. I actually managed to remove one with just the screwdriver and my fingers.

I should add that you first pull up the little red plastic vent tab which comes away relatively easily then press gently in the centre to push out the connecting base of the vent system before trying to remove the bung. To get the tiny base part out you fill the container with water (that you are going to do to clean it anyhow). Sometimes you have to shake it upside down for some time so this little fella drops out into your sink.

After people have reported getting a metallic taste after a few re-uses with various sanitizers/sterilizers etc it seems mild soapy water is the way to go. I have used both to see if I could spot a difference but it is early days.

I was going to purchase an empty set brand new which there is a homebrew company in Ireland sells via online. But then after watching the vids and finding that all the supermarkets in my viccinity have for some reason stopped stocking them, I ordered some (10) filled from two breweries who sell their beer in this format online. One in Norfolk, the other in Suffolk, England (e.g. as seen in your picture).

I asked one of the youtubers in the comments section how durable they are and they kindly got back to answer that the grommets need replacing after a few refills and that they found some on ebay for a couple of £.

Now onto my experiences after refilling the mini-kegs myself.

I have filled 4 so far with no apparent leaks of liquid or gas.
Stored and dispensed as per original instructions on the tin.
The three part grommets are quite easy to fit back together and replaced into position but they do have to be lined up (obviously).
I haven't searched for any replacement grommets yet so can't comment on their wider availibility.
The first and only mini-keg which I have tested for quality so far (3 months after kegging) worked exactly the same as when originally filled with the commercial beer which came in them.
The final pint was slightly cloudy although I maybe shouldn't have tilted so far at the end. See next related point.
Carbonation was slightly more fierce so I have subsequently varied priming with lower amounts and will monitor results.

The trick with these both commercially and self filled is to only open the top vent until it starts to hiss and not as far as it will go. Then immediately after finishing pouring close the vent again. This will preserve your carbonation for up to 5 days although it gradually gets gentler from day 2. If the tap isn't pouring rapidly enough for you then you can open the vent a little more but they do not ordinarily pour very fast anyway which is a minor gripe for some folks I guess.

Oh and crucially my beer tasted great and stayed fizzy to the bottom of the glass! :D

I hope this helps.
 
That takes me back.

When I was stationed in Germany in the early '80s we used to buy those to drink in the barracks. The big regional brew was Henninger, and I remember pumping those up with the hand pump that came with it. You had to polish it off that night or it would taste like ass the next day.

Good times.
 
Well I had a go myself and filled 2 different beers, one a lager and the other was a Piwo Groditski.

The lager one was over primed (my fault) and the beer leaked out at the top bung. The over pressure didn't help but the cause of the leak was the slight rusting of the hole around the bung. Damage was possibly due to the efforts of extracting the original commercially inserted bung - just as @CelticTwilight suggested above. I hadn't noticed the damage when filling so there must have been a slight scratch to the edge. Being stored in the garage for a few months led to the rust forming and the bung seal being compromised - a lesson there - BE CAREFUL EXTRACTING THE ORIGINAL BUNG!

I haven't opened the Piwo yet so I don't know how that will have fared - it hasn't leaked over the garage yet so the seal must be good.

One thing I did notice that over conditioning leads to the beer exiting the dispense nozzle at such a rate all you get is a narrow jet of foam.

At least you could use it as a fire extinguisher!!!
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Well I had a go myself and filled 2 different beers, one a lager and the other was a Piwo Groditski.

The lager one was over primed (my fault) and the beer leaked out at the top bung. The over pressure didn't help but the cause of the leak was the slight rusting of the hole around the bung. Damage was possibly due to the efforts of extracting the original commercially inserted bung - just as @CelticTwilight suggested above. I hadn't noticed the damage when filling so there must have been a slight scratch to the edge. Being stored in the garage for a few months led to the rust forming and the bung seal being compromised - a lesson there - BE CAREFUL EXTRACTING THE ORIGINAL BUNG!

I haven't opened the Piwo yet so I don't know how that will have fared - it hasn't leaked over the garage yet so the seal must be good.

One thing I did notice that over conditioning leads to the beer exiting the dispense nozzle at such a rate all you get is a narrow jet of foam.

At least you could use it as a fire extinguisher!!!
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Lovely image there Alan! Was that my missus' roast?
 
Was talking to a local brewer about these on Monday. Their method, as has been suggested by a couple here, is to fill them with beer and priming sugar. Pretty much the same as bottling, just store them around 15 degrees and let them carbonate. They seem like a clever option, deinitely popular, but quite expensive too so very much worth using more than once.
 
@AHarper Seriously, thanks for mentioning the rust but sorry to hear that. I can be a little ham fisted so will take extra care not to scratch em on removal of the bungs.
 
Some years ago, I used these for a couple of years. They were fine. Just clean them promptly, (otherwise I wouldn't trust what i can't see).

Having just recently got back into brewing, I've bought and used a few new 5 litre mini kegs, (along with some other larger kegs ... of course).

For my xmas brew, I used 3 teaspoons priming sugar per minikeg and that was toooo much. Half a pint of beer and half a pint of froth ... if poured very slowly/carefully. (Fire extinguisher effect otherwise).
I will be using less priming sugar next time.


If you wanted to use them as a 'keg', you can buy easy-fit re-usable bungs that have a push out plug in the middle of them. The beer is first drunk, as per normal, until the initial priming gas has been used up (but before any air gets in). Maybe half a keg(?).
A purpose-made CO2 tap is then pushed into the special plug in the bung and some CO2 is added to the keg.
Only a quick squirt of gas is needed, so the CO2 capsule can last for ages.
Beers can keep perfectly nicely for weeks in the part-empty minikeg by using this method.
And they are a much easier size to fit in the household fridge.
Maybe great for folks doing small or 'test' batches(?). Or those who don't drink as much (?)

Sadly, the taps are very much overpriced for what they are ... imho :-(
But then again, keg dispensing equipment is rarely cheap :-(

A link is offered merely to show the idea. Am sure they can be purchased [much] cheaper elsewhere. Google "Party Star Deluxe Tap System".
https://www.brewuk.co.uk/mini-keg-starter-kit.html

PS: once the partystar tap is added and gas is injected, you can either use the tap on the partystar or use the red existing plastic tap on the mini keg. Whichever you prefer. It makes no difference.
 
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@Mr B UK Interesting set up and I have seen somebody demonstrating that in a review for a YT channel although I cannot actually remember which one. It reminds me of my first (5 gal) kegs from Boots the chemist which had an optional injector tap you could fit to the cap. They were very versatile and I only gave away to an in-law as I didn't think I would have room or time enough for homebrewing when I moved into my present place - I have long since returned to brewing although with gaps mainly due to supply issues. I tend to prefer natural carbonation but not literally all the time. So I shall think about investing in some of these accessories.

I also used 3 teaspoons of primer for the 5Ls. I have (re)filled 7 but only opened one so far. It was a glorious success but there was a lot of spray at first, it died down after a few pints and remained clear throughout though. I love that they fit in the fridge as it means I can eventually use for draught cider which I aren't a fan of poured at room temperature.
 
I had hoped to find a thread on this very subject :)

After some bad experiences with my latest venture into plastic kegs L2021/E2022,

<<SNIP>>

.

Several years ago, I too had issues with plastic kegs. Leaking was the issue. Sometimes they were okay, sometimes they weren't. Random. Pain in the bum. Hence why i tried the mini kegs back then. And they worked fine.

Anyway, upon my recent return, I was considering cornys [£ ouch £].
But, I did some research and read that Ballihoo king kegs are supposed to be okay. (Hope that wasn't where you got yours. Humble apologies for mentioning them, if so).

The usual factory-fresh kegs sometimes [often?] leak around the seal(s) :(
I've seen videos on youtube where people buy gas-tight ptfe tape to wrap around the barrel top threads and also rub the barrel tops smooth on a sheet of glass and fine sandpaper to help the barrel top seal better [... and all sorts of other desperate tricks].

But Ballihoo make some changes to the king kegs that they sell (different seals etc). They also offer a barrel cap that allows CO2 capsules to be easily injected; and pressure readings to be easily taken (also available separately for those who already have e.g. a king keg). And the CO2 capsule can be injected a little at a time, not all at once. So, one capsule lasts a while.
They also put every single keg into a water bath and pressure them up ... before they sell them. And their after sales support was very good too, in my case. [my error, not theirs, i hasten to add].

Anyway, I bought a king keg off Ballihoo, pressured it up with an air pump and it held the pressure . ... for days and days.
So, i filled it with beer, primed it and it held the pressure superbly. I've left it to condition/mature now for about 6-8 weeks and it hasn't lost any pressure whatsoever.
So, I bought another and filled that several weeks ago too. Also holding pressure brilliantly.

Admittedly, the ones i bought were their dearer ones, but I'm happy.
 
Nope it wasn't ballihoo and glad to hear you now seem to be in a good place with plastic, that is the main thing. My most recent acquisitions were made by P D Plastics who took over Walminghurst but (imho) were nowhere near as good and have since gone out of business although their kegs are still on the market. Hit and miss is the general consensus out there on plastics. I have only had one P D with an actual faulty tap which the supplier (also out of business from June) replaced no quibble as it had been cross threaded when put together. I experimented with superglueing it before binning - meaning I wouldn't have been able to adjust the tap if successful but this didn't work at all, it actually cause further problems but that part was obviously a free shot.

I read of one guy who had some and the cap vents were faulty on a couple, fine on the rest. I have never known one with a fault there but then I rarely use the vent feature.

Seals tend to be our mistakes i.e. not tightening enough or over tightening. Guilty on my part anyhow but with a bit of practice I have easily learned how to manage that aspect and the two good kegs out of the five PDs are currently holding up fine.

Only using a bit of Co2 at a time is a great idea. Music to my ears. Kudos there for sure. Thanks for sharing.
 

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