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Tap a Crap (draft)
So this is super old, however, I just got my Tap-a-draft system from UPS today and will be filling one of them tomorrow. I'll add to the discussion once I've used it. It seems ideal for my situation. (hate bottling, but relatively no space to call my own) I got it on morebeer.com's deal of the day. the system (tap handle, 3 6L bottles, and 6 co2 cartridges) for $54.99 and free shipping.. figured I'd take a shot. I still plan on bottling a little bit or most of each batch. I was just tired of filling 60 bottles at a time.
make sure you get the caps on good. If you have somewhere to leave them that will catch any spill off, that would be a good idea too. I have a tap a draft and I had a couple of them leak beer everywhere. made a huge mess.
I have a polyseal growler cap on it. I doubt I'll have a leaking problem, I certainly didn't use the caps they came with. They didn't look too hot. I'm just using priming sugar on this one. Its a really good batch and I don't want to screw up force carbing, so I just have it standing upright anyways.
I also just got one of these - seems like a nice cheap'ish way to 'keg' beer and have the convenience of draft without the wallet shock of kegs, CO2 and a dedicated fridge. I will certainly get a real keg setup as soon as my wife and kids have everything they want and no longer need to spend all our money.
But seriously - I am going to fill a couple with my latest batch and see how it works out. In the meantime I'm thinking of stopping by the Mack and Jack brewery and having them fill one so I can try it out.
Mmm_Beer wrote:
I will certainly get a real keg setup as soon as my wife and kids have everything they want and no longer need to spend all our money .
Dream on, that day is never coming. 
Take it from me, your wife will always have "needs" and even once the kids are out of the house they need a little help from time to time. Even if they don't ask. So start accumulating what you need for the system you want. A little at a time and pretty soon you will have a keg setup.
I have thought about buying one of the Tap-a-Draft/Party Pig type systems, but I always figured it would be a short term solution and i would eventually spend the money on a proper keg setup. I saw an add on Craigslist earlier this week, a guy was selling his home brew equipment. Pretty much everything needed to brew a batch plus one of the newer style 3 gallon Corny kegs, a CO2 tank and regulator for $150. So I am picking it up on Sunday. Once I have the basic setup I can always add more kegs.
The next batch I brew 3 gallons will go in a keg! Expect newbie questions.....
I am checking Craigslist almost daily for a good opportunity. A week or so ago someone was selling a 5 gallon all-grain cooler kit for $50 (The same thing Midwest sells for ~$180). I was too slow that day is was gone very quick.
I got to get set up for all grain first. Then Kegging.
Don't get a 5 gallon cooler for a mash tun. That is what I bought and it is barely adequate. It is always full to the brim so if your temperature is a little high or low it is about impossible to adjust it. I should have bought a rectangular cooler and built a manifold. The stainless braids work but they can kink when you stir the mash. I think 10 gallon is as small as I would go to do 5 gallon batches.
The cooler setups sold by the home brew shops are a waste of money. you can build one yourself much much much cheaper. any cooler will work. then go to bargainfittings.com and get a bulkhead and valve set up, or you can find the parts at the hardware store. there are numerous instruction pages on the web if you do a search for "building a mash tun". if you do batch sparging, you only need 1 cooler. I use a 48 qt cooler, it has worked for me doing 5 gallon batches. if you are going to do 10 gallon batches, I'd suggest a bigger cooler.
Okay - I'm convinced. I was originally thinking I should do at least 10 gallons but then thought maybe 5 would be sufficient. Well after the last two comments I will steer clear of anything less than 10.
I'll also price out the parts to build one and see how that works. I like convenience but like saving money more.
Is it better to use a false bottom or a manifold? The braided hose seems easy but it also seems like it wouldn't be as efficient as a manifold or false bottom. Also it would seem like the false bottom would be easier to work with and more efficient.
A Plastic pipe manifold seems like a cheap option but it's plastic. And copper pipes might be as expensive as a stainless false bottom.
Finally - I apologize for turning this 'tap-a-draft' thread into a 'Mash Tun' thread but I promise to post about my tap-a-draft as soon as I use it. I'll be filling a couple of them this weekend now that my Kolsch has cleared out and is looking ready.
For now I am off to review some threads about building an all grain system.
May I direct your conversation here?
http://www.brewingkb.com/equipment/Home … -4882.html
ruralbrew wrote:
The next batch I brew 3 gallons will go in a keg! Expect newbie questions.....
That's a good deal, a 3 gallon keg by itself usually goes for $100. and the good thing about the small kegs is you can get the portable co2 charging unit and a cooler and build a portable draft beer unit to take to parties, picnics, work, etc...
I figured it was a pretty reasonable price to get into kegging. I consider the rest of the equipment as a bonus. It doesn't hurt to have extras of some things and I can always use extra fermenters and carboys.
And not having to bottle quite so much won't hurt my feelings.
I filled two Tap-a-draft plastic bottles from the Koslch that just completed. I got to say it was so nice only having to wash and sanitize 10 22oz bottles and a couple of 12oz bottle for the rest of the beer.
The 6l bottles are a bit awkward on the bottle tree - you have to make an effort to lift the bottoms to help drain the sanitizer as the bubble break up. I imagine using a carboy drain would be better fro draining/drying after sanitizing.
As I started filling the 6L bottles I also realized that this thing is going to be pretty heavy by the time is full. I made sure I had both hands on it and had a clear place to put the bottle after it was full. The bottles do not sit upright flat but tend to roll around on the round bottoms so you have to be careful they are secure. Deciding when to stop filling was a challenge; the instructions say 1.5 inches from the bottom of the neck but it is too bad they didn't mold in a fill to line on the bottle. Bottling went quick though - No wonder people love kegs
After a couple days the bottles are nice and firm. I am going to give one a full seven days to condition then I will attach the CO2 tap and see how well that works.
As promised I am reporting on my use of the Tap-a-draft system.
It's pretty cool considering how cheap it is -
I 'tapped' my 'keg' last night and that was pretty easy - really the hardest part was getting the lid off the bottle. I think the carb pressure was so high it made the lid quite hard to get off. I actually ended up using some channel lock pliers to get some leverage. I did let the bottle chill a couple hours first and after getting the cap off I just popped the tap on, tightened it down, set the bottle on the built in legs and loaded the CO2 cartridge. Be sure that you have you're tap locked when doing this - for some reason mine popped open when the gas started to flow. Spilled a little but not too bad.
I set it up in the fridge on the top shelf and let is sit for a while to settle.. Ha, no I didn't, I pulled half a pint as soon as I could turn around and grab a glass. The first pour was a little foamy but the beer was still not down to temp so I wasn't really surprised. But tonight after letting it sit and get nice and chill I pulled a couple more pints for the wife and myself and it was very good. Perfect creamy head with a nice carbonation. The pour was smooth but not fast. I am not sure how this compares to pouring from a real keg but it is a lot slower than a soda fountain but still fast enough.
Bottom line - I like it. Sure I would prefer a 3-4 tap Kegerator with a nice beer glass cupboard and plenty of kegs on standby but this sure beats filling a few dozen bottles.
The only bad thing - if you can call it that - is it is way too easy to have more that I should. Self control must be exercised.
Update: The CO2 charge ran dry after about 2/3 of the bottle was consumed. I popped another cartridge in and now the pours are a bit foamy - but still really good. I like this too much so I am am going to have to start piecing together that Kegerator starting with the mini-fridge and temp controller so I can keep brewing through the summer months.
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