Hi,
I'm just starting out, what is considered the best keg to use and where to get it from?
cheers
mark
Best keg to use
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Scotty
Re: Best keg to use
Hi and welcome!
With you just delving into the world of no return, what type of brews are you considering? If you are going to brew lagers, then bottles (& possibly 'cornie' kegs) are they way to go. I buy cheap Asda/Tesco still water @ 15p for 2ltrs for the bottles. Cornie kegs aren't cheap and I don't have the foggiest about them, hopefully someone will be able to help on that level.
If you want to do bitters/ales/stouts etc, then the best one to use is a 'King Keg' barrel but new they cost around £40. If you are just starting then a budget barrel is a good place to start. Something like this http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/invt/0022554. You can also have a lid that has a valve to inject co2 which keeps the barrel pressurised.
Hope this helps
With you just delving into the world of no return, what type of brews are you considering? If you are going to brew lagers, then bottles (& possibly 'cornie' kegs) are they way to go. I buy cheap Asda/Tesco still water @ 15p for 2ltrs for the bottles. Cornie kegs aren't cheap and I don't have the foggiest about them, hopefully someone will be able to help on that level.
If you want to do bitters/ales/stouts etc, then the best one to use is a 'King Keg' barrel but new they cost around £40. If you are just starting then a budget barrel is a good place to start. Something like this http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/invt/0022554. You can also have a lid that has a valve to inject co2 which keeps the barrel pressurised.
Hope this helps
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Ditch
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Re: Best keg to use
Just to add to the above; KK's are probably fine. I'd use then, if I could justify the extra expense. Only they - unlike the 'Basic Keg' come in the two forms. Top Tap and Bottom Tap. The bug bear, to my mind and tastes, is with the TT type. The beer Must be carbonated to the degree that it's that which forces it through the internal plumbing and out of that tap.
Where as the BB and BTKK both share the feature I personally like in a keg; That the beer has the ability to take advantage of gravity. The CO2 acting more as a protective blanket and helping the beer flow. Not being the soul reason it will 'flow' at all.
Bottom line is: I don't like 'Gassy' beer.
Matter of taste
Where as the BB and BTKK both share the feature I personally like in a keg; That the beer has the ability to take advantage of gravity. The CO2 acting more as a protective blanket and helping the beer flow. Not being the soul reason it will 'flow' at all.
Bottom line is: I don't like 'Gassy' beer.
Matter of taste
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mgb9
Re: Best keg to use
thanks for the help, I'd like to brew belgium type beer but starting off with a bitter.
A friend has just started brewing and he's got a basic keg but theres a small leak at where the tap connects to the bucket.
like the sound of the king keg!
A friend has just started brewing and he's got a basic keg but theres a small leak at where the tap connects to the bucket.
like the sound of the king keg!
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KevP
Re: Best keg to use
I understand your concerns Ditch, but I only have Top Tap KK's (4 of them) and my beers certainly aren't gassy, not at all, and I hate gassy beer as much as you love Coopers Stout.Ditch wrote:Just to add to the above; KK's are probably fine. I'd use then, if I could justify the extra expense. Only they - unlike the 'Basic Keg' come in the two forms. Top Tap and Bottom Tap. The bug bear, to my mind and tastes, is with the TT type. The beer Must be carbonated to the degree that it's that which forces it through the internal plumbing and out of that tap.
Where as the BB and BTKK both share the feature I personally like in a keg; That the beer has the ability to take advantage of gravity. The CO2 acting more as a protective blanket and helping the beer flow. Not being the soul reason it will 'flow' at all.
Bottom line is: I don't like 'Gassy' beer.
Matter of taste
Re: Best keg to use
I have to agree with Ditch that top tap barrels of any make are best avoided. My reasons for this are that they require more CO2 to force the beer out of the tap once the naturally produced CO2 is used up and that the float systems they use are something more to go wrong and sterilise.
Go for a bottom tap King Keg or Hambleton Bard Barrel with a bottom tap and a 4" neck for easy cleaning.
If you are impatient and can not wait the 3 or 4 weeks for the beer to clear then get a top-tap but be prepared to accept the drawbacks I've identified
Go for a bottom tap King Keg or Hambleton Bard Barrel with a bottom tap and a 4" neck for easy cleaning.
If you are impatient and can not wait the 3 or 4 weeks for the beer to clear then get a top-tap but be prepared to accept the drawbacks I've identified