Heineken Mini Keg

[cowdery]

Has anyone tried this? I saw it this afternoon, in Jewel, for $19.99 and couldn't resist. It holds five liters and comes with a tap. The "pressure system" is all inside the can, so the tap is little more than a very simple valve and hose.

It's chilling in the fridge now. I had to adjust a shelf, but that seems a small price to pay.

When empty, it's just a steel can that can be recycled like any other steel can. The "tap" is just a few cents worth of plastic you just throw away.

Supposedly, the beer stays fresh for up to 30 days after tapping, if refrigerated, although they are marketing it primarily for parties where it will be used up in a few hours.

But I figure, if I can't drink five liters of beer in 30 days, I'm no kind of man.

[Bourbon Joe]

But I figure, if I can't drink five liters of beer in 30 days, I'm no kind of man.

I drank 5 liters in about 3 hours at the "Oktoberfest" in Munich a few years ago. I barely made it back to the hotel. So if you need help chuck....
Joe

[cowdery]

My point exactly.

[Mark]

But I figure, if I can't drink five liters of beer in 30 days, I'm no kind of man.

LMFAO I've seen this Chuck and never did get one because I never read it to see it says how it is good for 30 days... For 20 bucks, thats quite a small price to pay for Heineken. Let me know if it is on par with its bottled counterpart

[Brewer]

I've used this type of system for my homebrew. The tap system that I have uses a CO2 cartridge, so the beer will keep for an extended period of time. I believe the ones that are bought at your favorite beer store, such as the Heineken, do not use CO2. I think the beer would probably keep for a week, but beyond that I wouldn't count on it.

[cowdery]

It should be fully chilled by now and I expect to tap it shortly. I'll keep you posted.

The paperwork that came with the product says 30 days. The website says 21. I suspect I'll play it safe and not push either envelope, but will at least stretch it over a few days and see if it changes any.

[Mike]

I used some of the 1 gallon CO2 containers until one blew up on me (what homebrewer hasn't had an accident?). It blew my head clean off. Fortunately for me, my dog, Barleycorn, put my head right back on, or I should say, wrong back on and it was only after I ran into a couple of things that I knew it was backward.

We, Barleycorn and me, made the correction and you have the person now before you, apparently none the worse for the wear aside from an occasional fixed stare into the distance for an indeterminant while. Barleycorn, thinking maybe he is a fault for this state, keeps a close eye on me during these episodes. Although, once I came out of it before he was ready and he had my bottle of ORVW 15 YO up to his mouth. That brought me back to full consciousness forthwith. He claims he knew that it would and that is why he resorted to 'faking' it with the Old Rip! Damn dog lies through his teeth. I have told him repeatedly that lying will get you into trouble...........'Yeah', he says under his breath, 'you ought to know'!

We never told my wife that I had temporarily lost my head........she would have found it completely in character anyway!

[cowdery]

So far so good. The tap went together very easily and works perfectly. The first two pours have been about half foam, but I was told to expect that and it is supposed to settle down. The beer tastes great and, maybe it's my imagination, but it does seem a little fresher than the bottled product.

The hose continues to drip a little bit after you turn it off, which required the placement of a folded paper towel. It seems to be just the residue in the hose, so no more than a few drops.

[cowdery]

Verdict so far: the Heineken Mini-Keg is the greatest invention of the 21st century. I know the century is still young, but this is the one to beat.

[Mark]

Haha too funny Chuck. I guess I'll have to stop looking at those damned things already and actually buy one now! It'll go good in the fridge next to the baby formula

[Brewer]

So, pretty soon little Mark will be saying the hell with the baby formula, give me a beer!

BTW, a friend of mine had a full keg of Celebration Ale prior to the holidays. No wonder I haven't seen him for awhile!

[bourbonv]

Hey Mark,
Isn't that illegal in Maine now?

[LogicalFrank]

The beer tastes great and, maybe it's my imagination, but it does seem a little fresher than the bottled product.
.

Probably it tastes a little fresher. The green bottles Heineken comes in allow too much light in which causes them to get skunky (light-struck is the beer geek term for this).

I've seen probably a good dozen of German and Czech beer in minikegs but the Heineken ones seem a little different. Does it not just have a little tap on the side that you pull out? There's plenty of beer in those that are far superior to Heineken (in my opinion) but they will go flat and oxidize if you don't drink it all rather quickly, certainly it wouldn't last thirty days (good for parties, not good for having beer on hand).

[cowdery]

Day two and still tasty. At the rate I'm going, I don't think I'll be able to provide much information about day 30 or even day 20.

I've never seen anything like this before. The tap attaches at the top. It's a two-piece dohicky and very simple. The valve appears to be in the can itself. All the dohicky does is press down on little cylinder that penetrates the top. In its high position it's off, in its low position the beer flows.

[bunghole]

Chuck said "dohicky".