Best solution

[BritishBelgianTwst]

All,

I'm getting back into brewing more seriously after leaving it to one side for a while.
One of the things that I disliked before was bottling - seemed to take ages to put the beer into bottles only to open them and empty them down my throat.
SO I've decided to change the way I do things and want to find a good, cost effective way of storing 3 - 5 litres in a small barrel/keg/pressurized container that I can stick in a normal family fridge and then serve from - I have a beer engine and cornies already but I'm looking for something that I can carry to a friend's house and let him share in my wonderful beer

I've seen the minikegs that Brouwland (my local store) does but is there a better alternative in the UK?

thanks,

Paul

[Dave S]

The 5L minikegs are what most use, but there are also 2L Growlers. I have no experience of those but there a re a number of people who use them. I think the Malt Miller sells them. Not sure about availability in Belgium.

[BrannigansLove]

I have one of these. It's OK, but I plan on replacing with cornies some time soon.

http://www.wilko.com/homebrew-accessori ... vt/0428800

[gobuchul]

Have you considered polypins?

They come in various sizes and you can get connections to allow to use a beer engine, which prevents oxidation as well.

They come in various sizes, from 1 litre to 5 litres, but there is nothing to stop you from putting just 2 or 3 litres in a 5 litre container.

I have "disposal" ones but they are easy to clean and re-use.

[BritishBelgianTwst]

Have you considered polypins?

Can you force carbonate or referment in them?
I'd like to find a solution that will allow me to serve fizzy(ish) beer - over here in Belgium I get fed up of people saying that British beer is flat and served warm and want to show them what we brew is on a par with Belgian stuff.

[BritishBelgianTwst]

The 5L minikegs are what most use, but there are also 2L Growlers. I have no experience of those but there a re a number of people who use them. I think the Malt Miller sells them. Not sure about availability in Belgium.

I'm starting to lean towards the idea of 5l minikegs. The growlers would be nice but the initial cost would be quite high.
I'm looking at putting 30 - 40 litres into kegs each brew so that I can get as much feedback on my beers as possible from friends and acquaintances.

[gobuchul]

Can you force carbonate or referment in them?

You can't force carbonate in them.

You can prime with sugar for secondary conditioning to give a bit of fizz but it will never be "fizzy", although an English ale shouldn't be.

I prime mine with sugar and then gently vent the CO2 off as it expands the bag. It then goes through a beer engine and I am very happy with it. Quite cheap as well.

I use a "vitop" connector for the beer line. http://www.baginboxonline.co.uk/vitopconnectors.html

[BritishBelgianTwst]

Can you force carbonate or referment in them?

You can't force carbonate in them.

You can prime with sugar for secondary conditioning to give a bit of fizz but it will never be "fizzy", although an English ale shouldn't be.

I prime mine with sugar and then gently vent the CO2 off as it expands the bag. It then goes through a beer engine and I am very happy with it. Quite cheap as well.

I use a "vitop" connector for the beer line. http://www.baginboxonline.co.uk/vitopconnectors.html

Might check it out.
Have to say that I will probably be doing more continental styles but could be a good alternative.

I did come across this site however which sells the 5L mini kegs at 10 for 38 euros or so - might have to go down that route finally.

[Kyle_T]

You can buy 1 gallon plastic pressure barrels, the alternative is to use mini kegs but carbonate the beer in a corner first and then decant into the mini kegs just before taking them out.

[BritishBelgianTwst]

You can buy 1 gallon plastic pressure barrels, the alternative is to use mini kegs but carbonate the beer in a corner first and then decant into the mini kegs just before taking them out.

Anyone sell them online?

[Kyle_T]

I have found the 2 gallon ones easy enough but buggered if I can remember where I found the 1 gallon ones...it took a fair bit of searching.