Brewferm Mini Kegs - opinions?

[phildodd]

So I'm thinking of getting one of the these 'starter sets' so I can take my brews to parties relatively hassle free. Anyone got any of these or seen them in action?

Cheers,

Phil

[Manx Guy]

Hi,

I posted a similar thread acouple of months ago and there is forum member on here... 'Stulebrew'if memory serves who was able to offer some sage advice...

I went ahead and ordered the starter kit and have drained 2 kegs full so far...

One thing I will say though is when transporting these : if the keg is primed and you tap it before letting the kegs contents calm down you will have very foamy and not too clear beer!

So let them settle before taping and you'll be fine!

Lesson learned!

The kegs do stay cool for some time after being removed from the fridge (stick them in the fridge for 24-48 hours)

I use about 10g of sugar to prime the kegs and find that minmal gas is then used to dispense the beer from the keg....
As I've not had them long and had to wait for my beer to come into condition I've only limited experience so far...
But on the whole I'm quite pleased with them

I'm sure other users can confirm or deny these findings...


Slainte!

[phildodd]

Cheers, guy. I've had a search around now (I know, should've done that before) and found some useful info from older threads. Just got one question:

Most people who've used them before have primed in the mini keg, leaving it to settle out in there. My problem with this is that I want to take these to parties so need to be able to move them about without stirring up a whole pile of sediment. An idea I had to deal with this was to maybe put the beer in a regular keg and prime it in there then decant the beer off (bit of tubing from the tap to the bottom of the mini keg) when it has cleared/just before heading out for party time. I figure if it's a short enough time between decanting and dinking (which it will be) there will be no problem with the brew going stale or owt. Am I right?

Another idea I had was to put the brew into a 5ltr demijohn with a bubbler on until it has settled, then rack it into the minikeg. Would this be okay?

cheers,

Phil

[Manx Guy]

Hi,

Good question!

In theory at least I don't see any problem with decanting it (carefully to avoid oxidation) into the (sanitised) mini kegs, as the supplied 16gram CO2 will provide enough gas pressure to serve the beer.

I thinks its fair to assume that the beer will loose a bit of its quality, but if decanted carefully and drank quickly then it shouldn't go stale of make anyone ill... Apart from the obvious over indulgence...

I'd certainly suggest giving them a go and experimenting...

I'm quite happy with the set up I have now, so haven't rally pushed the envelope as far as experimenting with filling techniques goes...

I usually pop a chilled keg into a cool box I have and sit out in the garden on a sunny day with a few mates and we enjoy good quality great value cold beer with a decent head...



I'd be interested to hear how you get on...

Slainte!

[stu-le-brew]

You will be more successful if you chill the pre-primed beer first, I have also tried to condition by gassing up the beer but this seemed to take a long time.
Pesonaly I always do a secondary fermentation in the keg, I use Nottingham strain yeast, which in my experience forms a solid cake after a few weeks so only the very first glass is slightly cloudy.

Stu-le-brew

[TommoLG]

Thought about using these myself, I've heard they're quite difficult to clean. Have you had any difficulties?
I do know this is an ancient post hope you all get back to me soon

Liam

[Scrumpy]

I've never gotten these kegs to work, they all leaked gas as soon as you put it in. And this was using two different setups (the starter set and a kegerator) so beware...

[stu-le-brew]

Thought about using these myself, I've heard they're quite difficult to clean. Have you had any difficulties?
I do know this is an ancient post hope you all get back to me soon
Liam

I wouldn't say that they are simple but its not that difficult, listed below is my routine

- Rinse as soon as the keg is empty do not leave with yeast/stale beer in for long
- try to get all of the water out, I do this by shaking in a circular motion (with the hole pointing down)
- I have read of people putting the kegs in an oven to dry them
- before filling I sterilise with a chlorine solution
- never leave the cleaning soln in the keg for more than a few mins as it seems to cause rust at the edge of the hole and I think it attacks the plastic coating inside

I use a very small amount of silicone to lubricate the bung insert (this eases the insertion of the down tube from the tap) and also lubricate the rubber bung edge that seals to the edge of the hole (to make it easier to insert).

I now inspect internals of each keg before use with a long inspection torch as I have had some of the kegs start to rust inside - it doesn't kill you but rust in my beer - not a flavour enhancer. I have a small brother label printer which I have used to print a label with boxes which I mark every time I use a keg so I can gauge how long they last. I think I get at least ten fills from each keg, that's a working guestimate, I have just thrown five but have ordered replacements immediately

hope this helps, by the way I have about fifty or these kegs and am very happy with the simplicity of the system

[stu-le-brew]

I've never gotten these kegs to work, they all leaked gas as soon as you put it in. And this was using two different setups (the starter set and a kegerator) so beware...

I have had some initial problems with gas leaks but fixed them quite simply

The first is a leak from the back of the valve where the gas cartridge goes, this is fixed by tightening the hexagonal screw slightly.
second is a leak from the down tube, which can be caused by it not being tight enough on the thread, fixed by turning in a clockwise direction (viewed from top).
Another problem there can be a a gas leak where it seals with the rubber bung which can be caused by what I would call a flashing on either side of the down tube this is from the manufacturing process, this is fixed with a sharp knife

with these simple fixes I have had a gas cartridge last over as many as three kegs, depending on consumption speed and am very happy with the system, I have been using them for probably five years now.

[stu-le-brew]

I forgot to welcome you guys (TommoLG and Scrumpy) to the forum, it has certainly helped me lots over the years and hopefully will do the same for you

S

[soupdragon]

I've never gotten these kegs to work, they all leaked gas as soon as you put it in. And this was using two different setups (the starter set and a kegerator) so beware...

I have had some initial problems with gas leaks but fixed them quite simply

The first is a leak from the back of the valve where the gas cartridge goes, this is fixed by tightening the hexagonal screw slightly.
second is a leak from the down tube, which can be caused by it not being tight enough on the thread, fixed by turning in a clockwise direction (viewed from top).
Another problem there can be a a gas leak where it seals with the rubber bung which can be caused by what I would call a flashing on either side of the down tube this is from the manufacturing process, this is fixed with a sharp knife

with these simple fixes I have had a gas cartridge last over as many as three kegs, depending on consumption speed and am very happy with the system, I have been using them for probably five years now.

I had a leak from where the dip tube pushes through the bung. It was resolved by Fass-Frisch sending me a new dip tube with an extra O ring fitted below the bit that screws into the tap. This O ring seals against the top of the keg itself rather than the tap.
Problem sorted

Cheers Tom

[oz11]

Hey Tom, just for clarification, this extra o-ring...are you saying it fits on the outside of the dip tube so ends up between the top of the rubber bung and top end of the dip tube?

[soupdragon]

Hey Tom, just for clarification, this extra o-ring...are you saying it fits on the outside of the dip tube so ends up between the top of the rubber bung and top end of the dip tube?

Yep, that's exactly right.

I checked my old dip tube and there's a bit of a gap between the bung and the tap, the extra O ring simply fills that space

Cheers Tom

[oz11]

What sort of thickness is this? I'll see if I can get some - I have one dip tube that just doesn't want to seal.. this might be the answer... ta

[soupdragon]

It looks to be the same size as the one on the thread bit.

Cheers Tom