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"PARTY PIG"
Ha, I just happen to be thumbing through the new Williams Brewing catalog that I got in the mail about an hour ago and they have a picture of the tap-a-draft system. The only difference between theirs and mine, is I don't use the big 6 liter blue bottles. I just buy 3 liter soda at the grocery store, dump out the soda, clean them, and then fill with beer!
Visit here and see all the components:
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/TAP_A_DR … M_C120.cfm
But this is the only thing I bought (and a few boxes of cartridges) and I got it for about $25:
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/TAP-A-DR … 31C120.cfm
Hope that helps!
DT
Thanks DT, I suppose that after I upgrade to a 2 stage of 5 gallons, I could always rack 2.5 gallons from secondary to my Beer Machine that comes with a CO2 tapping rig......hmm, one case bottled for sharing and mobility and one case on draft....could be good.
Wow, this thread started off on the wrong foot, glad it eventually got back on track.
A friend of mine who kegs his beer now let a friend who just started brewing use his 'party pig' system to carbonate his first batch. I tried it last night and it tasted good, so I'm giving it a thumbs up.
Keep in mind both ways of fermenting have their advantages and disadvantages, so putting it on the Mr. Beer level isn't fair. The pig can be taken on the road, uses less parts and costs a lot less. It keeps the beer fresh and helps maintain carbonation.
~Adam
I had a party pig, but sold it when I stepped up to a keg setup. For what it is, it works well. It is definitely easier than bottling, and is a cheap 'half step' to kegging. Replacing the bladders gets to be costly, and getting the metal ring screwed on right can be a real hassle - if it's not just right the thing can leak. You have to tighten it like you would lug nuts on a car, in a criss cross fashion. Pressurizing it to prime the bladder requires some pretty good strength. It doesn't carbonate the beer, you still have to prime with corn sugar and wait like you would if bottling. I sold mine very easily on ebay for a decent price, so you won't lose much if you end up stepping up to kegs.
Don't mind Cubx, he can be a beer snob and a grump. It's not worth getting into a flame war with him.
cubx wrote:
Never used the party pig. I rate it right up there with Mr Beer you cannot use product popularity as an indicator of quality or usability. also, how do you know that "more people don't use them"?" Oh... YES I CAN! I have been brewing for several years, and I know NOT ONE mainstream brewer who uses these products. Yes, it IS in fact safe to say this. I say most people do not use them because, well, do me a favor my friend, search Homebrew Digest, this web site, Homebrewing (that is a web site), or anything else that comes up on the first page of google hits when you type in "homebrewing", and ask how many of them use this. That speaks for itself. It is not common.
I said both are grouped in the early stages of learning, and both are not quality products.
Why are the the majority of positive reviews from those who know ZERO about brewing?
3. "the quality looks pretty good to me. if you look closely at the picture you will see that the spigot assembly actually uses two metal rings and 4 bolts to form a clamp that should create a very secure seal (that doesn't seem cheap to me wink). other than that it's just a big bottle, I'm not sure what kind of quality you would be questioning?"
You are a novice brewer. Looks mean nothing.
AOD wrote:
A friend of mine who kegs his beer now let a friend who just started brewing use his 'party pig' system to carbonate his first batch. I tried it last night and it tasted good, so I'm giving it a thumbs up.
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The party pig is not meant to replace a CO2 system but is a less expensive alternative (to those who bottle) to have draft beer on tap and provides portability, unless you like lugging CO2 tanks and 5 gallon corny kegs around!!!
Everyone is a novice at some time......you shouldn't discourage and judge!!!!
NOT COMMON.....I counted 53 breweries in the US alone using them for carry out and 70 homebrewing shops that sell them (they know nothing about brewing)....not mainstream or common in Portland???...won't find corny keg if you type in "homebrewing" either....just my opinion.
HAVE A NICE DAY 
and ....GOODBREWING
Wow I purchase a party pig when I bought my first extract kit. Kind of wish I would of found this web site before. It has one more week to prime then I will give it a taste. I thought it was like a small keg but when I opened it up its is more like a big bottle and if I don't like it I will sell it like crasher1339 did. Oh and hi everyone!
Yeah the main disadvantage I would see is having to replace the bladder for every single batch.
I guess a lot of this just boils down to what you need at whatever stage you're at.
For example, at this point I have absolutely no desire for a kegging system because:
1) I give away lots of beer. I like making it so I need the open space, therefore I bottle it. If I had a kegging system I'd either have to wait till it all got drank or toss it...
2) I don't have a fridge dedicated to brewing (yet, I probably will eventually though) so tossing a keg in the fridge when I know I have company coming isnt really an option, and since I have teenagers and a husband who think that the fridge should have room for boring stuff like food, I can't just keep the keg in there.
I think the party pig or the tap a draft system would be a better bet for me than a corny setup. The quality might not be as high as a nice shiny keg, but as far as my personal usage, it'd be more in line with what works for me. But, I'd imagine the quality would be sufficient for my needs... Not trying to sound arrogant but I've been told I make excellent beers (LOL one guy at work calls me the brew goddess and wants to know when I am starting my own religion up and can he be the high priest.... cracks me up). I think the quality of the beer is going to be a major factor to any system.
Personally, I think the CO2 systems aren't as much fun...(ducking) I like bottling and making lables (and yes, I make some really corny pun labels sometimes) and waiting patiently for them to carbonate. For me, there's something zen about the whole process of bottling (even though it can be a major pain in the butt) and I like opening my linen closet turned brewery and gloating over the neatly labled rows of beer....
I've just started making my own labels too...can be quite fun. Nice swingtops!
You aren't the same Jen that's on the homebrew group on Facebook, are you?
Nice bottle collection!!!