Party Pigs

[Evan B]

Has anyone used a Party Pig for homebrew applications? I've seen these at a local brewery where you can take home a Party Pig with 2.25gal of beer, and dispense it from your fridge. Seems to me like it's a pretty awesome alternative for those of us without the space or funds to accommodate a full on kegerator. I'm considering giving it a shot if they're as cool as they sound.

[Evan B]

It has been pointed out to me by JP that the "Tap A Draft" system is superior to this. Who has used either one of these?

[EvilFrog]

I have used them in the past. A buddy and I used to brew 5 gallon batches together and the math certainly worked out well. We would each go our separate way after fermentation with equal amounts of beer and save ourselves the hassle of bottling. That is where my good experience with the pigs ends.

I could not pour a decent beer out of a Party Pig no matter how hard I tried. After the first pint had been served the valve would be prone to sticking (just like any rear sealing faucet might). Once you forced the valve back open to serve the next beer you would be rewarded with a glass of solid foam delivered in the most violent manner possible. I an pretty confident that I did not over carbonate these beers but I could never get a satisfactory pour. As I remember the recommendation is to add less priming sugar than you would for bottling. I think it is the same wisdom that holds for naturally carbonating in a keg.

Once I started kegging and trying to balance my lines this started making a little more sense to me. You cannot balance the lines like you would with a draft system. You have two inches between the end of your valve and 12 PSI inside the pig. Maybe if you attach 5 to 6 feet of beer line to the valve it would work out well.

That is just my experience. My buddy claimed to have better luck with his (but not much better).

Sorry, no experience with Tap A Draft...

[leftnut]

I used the party pig for awhile until I got cornies. I didn't really like them. Sometimes it was really had to pressurize the keg enough to activate the pressure pouch. You get a foamy pour, and sometimes a painfully slow pour. If small kegs like this are your only option, I would check into the tap a draft before the party pig.

[ddgbrewing]

I have been using the tap a drafts for a year now because I can't afford a kegging system. I like them because I fit a couple in the fridge and they are easy to take out and about.

[Evan B]

The tap a draft definitely seems like the way to go. I may sell/return the Scottie I just ordered from Morebeer and get this instead. I doubt I'd have the money/room to complete the kegerator project any time soon anyway

[ryan0914]

i use my party pigs when I go to bonnaroo and other multi day music festivals. its pretty handy but like EvilFrog said it pours a crappy beer. I've even had problems with it not pressurizing all that well. sometimes the bag wont inflate right and wont create enough pressure to dispense. also its a bitch to take apart. imagine a bag inside a bottle you have to snip to let the pressure out, while you only take off the cap barely enough to stick something in to pop it. on 3 occasion i have shot the cap/ dispenser across the room as well as a beer. but with all the problems i have stated it is pretty handy sometimes.

has anyone ever used the mini kegs and what do you think about them . i still bottle and cant really afford stepping up to the full kegging. just thought about these what does everyone thing.

[HighCountry]

Looks like I'm the only one that has had a good experience with the pigs, but I don't use them the same way as others have talked about.

I distribute finished beer from kegs into the pigs using a picnic tap and extension tubing to hit the bottom. I fill the pig to the fill line, drop in the pressure bag and seal the pig up. Then I open the valve and push CO2 into the pig at 12 PSI using a jerry-rigged old bottling wand. I flush the pig with CO2 a few times, then fill with CO2 to pop the bag. I have the great fortune to brew 10 gallon batches once a week and have to get rid of the beer somehow. I 'donate' the beer to folks who have had my beer and like it. It's sort of a pain, but it beats the shit out of bottling for folks.

I think this works better than putting beer right from the fermenter into the pig and carbonating naturally. But I suppose this doesn't help people looking for an alternative to kegging since I'm filling from the keg.