mini keg system worthy?

Fri Aug 25, 2006 5:48 am

Does anyone have any opinions on the mini keg systems that are available from Northern Brewer? This is not the tap a draft system, but the mini keg system consisting of four 5 liter mini kegs that could fit in our regular refrigerator.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/mini-kegs.html

As we have limited space and funds I was wondering if this would be a decent substitution for getting a kegerator and cornie. The fact that there are 4 kegs to be cleaned, sanitised and filled does not deter me. I am guessing that if they are not tapped right away the would keep for quite a while.
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers.
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Corporal BN Amy
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Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:20 am

It's better than nothing but why spend the money when you KNOW that in like 1 or 2 years you will buy the other anyway?!
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bub
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Wed Aug 30, 2006 6:36 am

I've heard a few people say it's hard to regulate the CO2 pressure in those kind of kegs. So you end up w/ over carbonated or flat beer. Not sure how well it works for natural carbonated beer. I looked at getting one of these a while back and have recently decided to get the Tap-a-Draft system. It's cheaper and I've heard good things about it. If you are using this as a "fix for now" 'till you can get a full kegging system, you might consider the TAD since it's cheaper and would make good party/portable/picnic kegging system even after you have a full kegging system.


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Thu Sep 14, 2006 12:49 pm

I know this thread is kind of on the older side, but I wanted to say I like the mini-kegs. Aside from being a bitch and half to clean sometimes, they are really cool if you are big into bringing your homebrew outside the home. I for one like to bring it to family functions since whenever someone says bring a dish to pass, our invite always asks if I can bring some of my beer. Each keg is roughly a 12 pack and I have a mini-keg tap box that holds 2 mini's. I keep it in my fridge as my tap the rest of time. They must be keg conditioned like a bottle but once you figure out how much priming sugar to use it's a snap. Plus, if you keep pressure on the keg you don't really run into overcarbonating, if anything some people tend to have it undercarbonated. But with practice, just like your brewing system you tend to figure out your mini keg system as well. But I want to say that if just having your beer on tap at home is your main goal, just go with a regular kegerator. Many people have built portable bars and jockey boxes for the 5 gallon corny's but I wouldn't want to lug those things around if you take your beer places often, which is what I do. I don't like to keep tabs on bottles and such. I guess what you have to do is look at what you really want kegs for. For the most part I bottle half a batch and mini keg the other half.

and if you are interested in seeing my mini-keg draft box check out this link to a page on my website.
http://www.geocities.com/barleypopmaker/draftbox.html
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Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:06 pm

no worries on being late, I like the info from the experienced.
Believe it or not my wife wants to get me a kegerator, but due to space, getting a cornie and a Co2 tank are a bit much.
The mini kegs look like a great alternative.
This info is greatly appreciated.
Cheers and happy brewing.
Beer makes you smart, drinking is art.
www.fritzbrew.com

Corporal BN Amy
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