Beer Dispensers

RATM

So I am thinking about getting into home brewing (again). The last time I did it was 1998 and there was no-where near enough equipment and information available as there is today.

For me draft beer is everything and the main reason why I would brew, to have it at home just like the pub.

So I'm looking around these forums for a solution for my needs in terms of finding a draught beer kegarator. I see that a lot of people are using chest freezers adapted with Cornelius kegs and CO2 bottles. I like the corny keg but I'm not sure if it is for me - they seem to hold 19 litres (about 35 pints). As far as I know the beer in the keg under pressure will only stay good for 21-28 days. I'm not that heavy of a drinker (might drink 15-20 pints in a month), defintely not 35 so I'm not sure if a Corny keg set-up would be worth my while. Also I drink intermittently so while I might have 15-20 pints one month I might only have 5 or 6 another.

So I'm looking at some other options and wanted to get peoples views on what's a good choice. Temperature and the quality of draft are important to me. I looked at the Avanti Mini kegerator on Amazon but the reviews seem to be woeful. Heineken also have a Krups version called Beer Tender but it sounds like I would be stuck drinking Heineken beer with that. I know there is a Morphy Richards version on the market if anyone knows what it is like ? Also came across a version called Perfect Draft here http://www.bar-expert.co.uk/quality/perfectdraft/ which seems good but it looks like it is aimed at the commercial market as there are no prices on their site. Is there any other ones I'm missing that might suit the bill ?


Also as said I plan to homebrew and then use one of these 5l beer dispenser units to drink it. So I'm wondering are the 5l kegs you buy from Lidl re-useable- i.e. could I buy one from there and drink the beer but then fill up with my own homebrew ? Or better again is there a kegarator on the market where you just pour in 5l of beer into a chamber and then the unit pressurises and chills the chamber meaning no need for a keg at all. Does such a thing exist ?

Finally what are peoples general opinions on this mini- dispensers. As I said I'm after consistent quality cold draft beer here, I don't want something that just turns out to be a party novelty or some kind of fad.

Lovely Bloke

You should post in the dedicated Home Brewing forum.

RATM

You're right- I'd thought I had. Will ask a mod to move now

NewDirection

I would be under the impression that beer under pressure will stay good much longer than the month you are quoting. As long as your dispensing with co2, as opposed to those picnic type taps, no oxygen is getting in to make your beer stale.

This is just my impression, ie. not fact.

I hope I'm right or else I've got a few kegs of stale beer in the shed... eek.

If you are worroied, it is possible to get half size corny kegs, they are rarer, and will cost you nearly as much as the 19lt ones.
http://www.mybeerandwine.ie/10-litre-keg-p-435.html

RATM

Yeah I agree with you in terms of it lasting more than a month.

But I'm just stuck between a rock and a hard place vis a vis converting a chest freezer or buying one of the smaller counter top units.

Do people turn their chest freezer off and then re-chill the beer again the next week before consumption ? I'm just wary of costs too as I don't want a chest freezer eating electricity while I might not drink any beer for a week or two. Which is why I suppose the 5lt counter top variety appeals, it'd be finished that night and then stored away.

But I suppose that gives me another headache. I'm not sure if I can fill up those 5lt kegs with my own homebrew- are the designed for doing so or totally sealed at the top ?

John_C

I've had the 5 litre mini kegs for a few years now and they're not great. They can loose their pressure once tapped so you really need to drink the whole thing in one go. On top of that, there's no reliable way of adjusting the pressure so your beer often comes out as foam.

I recently got one of the 10 litre cornies and it's a huge improvement. I don't have a dedicated fridge, I just keep it in a cold part of the house. I don't know if that'll work come the summer but I'd definitely recommend them.

NewDirection

I'd be similar to you RATM in terms of frequency of use. I use a beer line chiller and just turn it on before I want to have a few pints. There's usually a few for sale on adverts.

If I just wanted one pint some night I just crack open a bottle instead of firing it up.

Ideally I'd get one of the under counter fridges, but just don't have the room for it.

VeVeX

Have a look at the Tap-A-Draft system.

Ive used one for my last couple of batches and it works fine. Ive a countertop fridge that the 6L container fits perfectly into. You batch prime as normal and use the Co2 bulbs to push the beer. Ive also got nitrogen bulbs for when I get around to doing a stout.

I'd prefer a corny system but I'm limited by space and by wife so the Tap-a-draft system is a good compromise for me.

RATM

Thanks for the info on the 5ltr kegs JohnC. As a former barman I know the importance of being able to regulate the flow of beer to deal with froth problems. So it sounds like a cornie keg is the way to go.

Also the an inline cooler is a good option too instead of having a dedicated fridge on the go all week while beer isn't been drunk. I looked on Adverts and there are a couple there complete with gas bottles for around €200 which is reasonable. But how do you find the beer temperature ? And how long do you switch it on before use ?

NewDirection

With the inline chiller I'd turn it on about a half hour before pouring a pint. I currently have it only looped through once, but it has two loops in it so I could loop it twice for colder beer. For me one loop is cold enough. The only downside to it is it is a fairly noisy yoke (oh and having to carb the keg at room temperature).

RATM

VeVeX wrote: »

Have a look at the Tap-A-Draft system.

Ive used one for my last couple of batches and it works fine. Ive a countertop fridge that the 6L container fits perfectly into. You batch prime as normal and use the Co2 bulbs to push the beer. Ive also got nitrogen bulbs for when I get around to doing a stout.

I'd prefer a corny system but I'm limited by space and by wife so the Tap-a-draft system is a good compromise for me.

I had a look at that and it looks interesting. It is attractive in that I could chill the keg in the fridge and probably even tap it in there too.

But how do you find it in terms of carbonation ? Like if you carbonated it at 7pm on a Friday night and drink 3 litres of beer (half the capacity) and then go back to it the following Friday is the beer likely to be flat and in need of carbonation again ? Or does the keg tend to hold the fizz in the beer once it has be carbonated once ? I suppose I'm asking that question not just about the Tap-a-draught system but about all home kegging systems.

VeVeX

RATM wrote: »

I had a look at that and it looks interesting. It is attractive in that I could chill the keg in the fridge and probably even tap it in there too.

But how do you find it in terms of carbonation ? Like if you carbonated it at 7pm on a Friday night and drink 3 litres of beer (half the capacity) and then go back to it the following Friday is the beer likely to be flat and in need of carbonation again ? Or does the keg tend to hold the fizz in the beer once it has be carbonated once ? I suppose I'm asking that question not just about the Tap-a-draught system but about all home kegging systems.

I've not had a problem with flat beer up to now. I've left it on occasion at different levels for over a week under pressure and when I go back the flow can be slow but the beer is still carbonated. I put it down to the beer absorbing the co2 like it would if you force carbonate using a keg rather than the gas escaping.

Saruman

Beer in a corny will last a lot longer than a month.
You don't have to use a chest freezer either, a fridge will work just as well and without modification to the thermostat or separate temperature control unit like with a chest freezer.
Just drill a few holes for the taps and put kegs in fridge. Simple.
Here's mine, I got my fridge new but you can get a cheap one second hand or even free if you are quick on adverts or jumbletown.

RATM

Nice setup Saruman.

Just a question- if you put a keg in there and it chills after 24-48 hours and then you drink a few pints on a weekend but know you won't use it again for a week would you unplug the fridge or would you leave it plugged in all week ? Would chilling and re-chilling the beer effect the taste/quality in any way ?

The reason I ask is that as stated further up the thread I wouldn't be a heavy drinker, sometimes I might go a couple of weeks without having one so although I love the idea of making my own kegarator I'm a bit concerned about using unnecessary electricity.

Saruman

I personally leave the fridge plugged in, like if I go away for a few weeks. I can't think of a real problem of course but beer is food and food stays fresher for longer when chilled.
That said, the beer is under pressure from co2 so no micro-organisms can grow.
I'm no expert but while a fridge uses a lot of electricity, according to the electric ireland calculator, a large larder fridge will use about €5 per month. To me it's not enough to bother with unplugging. Besides, once it's off, when you turn it back on it then uses a lot of electricity to cool down again.
Just reduce the thermostat to 1 or something if you are not using it for a while.

RATM

€5 a month isn't bad at all, I thought it would be a good bit more as it is on 24/7. But I suppose the thermostat controls power and it only really needs it to cool down after the door has been opened and warm air rises the temps.

With your set-up do you leave the gas bottle inside the fridge ? I read somewhere that chilling it decreases the lifespan of the gas, any truth in that. Also what price should I expect to pay to get them refilled ?

Saruman

I have done both. I had a small gas bottle which fit inside. I now use a much larger one which is outside. Outside requires an extra hole to feed your line in.
If it does make a difference, I don't know what it is.
The small one was a 1.5kg bottle and if you only use it to top up pressure, as in disconnect the gas from the kegs and have the gas off, then just manually conect to kegs, open gas for a minute and disconnect again, that little bottle could last over a year. I think I got a year and a half out of it.

Force carbonating or leaving the gas on all the time will lead to more gas loss and can reduce you down to a few months. I now use a much larger bottle, 5kg or more.
The cost of a refill is as much for a small bottle as a large one to be honest. About €20
Point is, it's not a lot of money for something you might only need to get refilled once a year or every few months at worst and you are too light a drinker to have to worry about that.