1 gallon kegging options

[jaw005]

I just recently moved to a small apartment and now only make 1-2 gallon size batches.

Looking for a 1 gallon kegging option.

Has anyone used the Ukeg or ManCan?

I want to be able to force carb and serve just like a normal 5 gallon keg.

Any recommendations are great.

 

[dx250]

There are a number of options, 1.5 gal torpedo kegs and 1.75 gal cornys would be my first stop.

 

[Leezer]

I recently bought two of the 1.75G kegs from Adventures In Homebrewing. I’ll be kegging up a pale ale in one this weekend.

 

[BBBF]

I just recently moved to a small apartment and now only make 1-2 gallon size batches.

Looking for a 1 gallon kegging option.

Has anyone used the Ukeg or ManCan?

I want to be able to force carb and serve just like a normal 5 gallon keg.

Any recommendations are great.

I have a few ManCan kegs. I like them. They will do what you want, but I don't know if I would recommend it. They aren't cheap and bottling a gallon worth of bottles doesn't take long.

 

[ba-brewer]

The small 1.5 and 1.75gal kegs work great and because of their small size they carb up in couple days doing set and forget.

Might want to see if you do 2.5gal batches that way you can 5gal kits and cut in half so you dont have much stuff laying around as inventory.

 

[probablynotnick]

GrowlerWerks just started offering a ball lock top for the uKeg. While this does seem like a perfect answer to what you want to do, you're talking about $229 for the 1gal + $40 for the new cap for ONE "keg" that's hard to clean and hard to fix when something goes wrong.

I love my ukeg as a growler, but I wouldn't want to rely on it as my only dispensing option.

If I were you, I'd pick up the 1.5 or 1.75 kegs and work with those. They're small enough that at least one could stay in your fridge with a paintball tank for CO2 (depending on roomates etc). I bet you could fit one in the extra small countertop fridges without too much effort as well.

Just my thoughts

 

[El Nino]

I have a few ManCan kegs. I like them. They will do what you want, but I don't know if I would recommend it. They aren't cheap and bottling a gallon worth of bottles doesn't take long.

Second this, I bought a 1g mini keg (Kegsmith) when I started the hobby, and it's a cool looking conversation starter, but honestly when looking back on it, wasn't worth the $$. I barely use it anymore, and just went to bottling exclusively. It doesn't take much time to bottle a case of beer (i do 2.5g batches), and transporting the small keg is still more of a pain than just packing 8 or so bottles in a cooler.

Not to mention the cost of co2 cartridges is expensive after a while. If you're getting into kegging I'd go for a torpedo keg with a co2 hookup. Refilling a 5lb tank is way cheaper than the cost of cartridges in the long run. There's a 2.5g size that'd probably work perfect for your 2g batch sizes.

But the 1g mini kegs can be used to force carb. I did that with my kegsmith. Shoot it at 15psi overnight and it's ready the next day. Although I don't really use mine anymore, I still keep it around, as it'd probably be useful if I needed a quicker grain to glass time on a batch Though once you get a pipeline established, getting a fast turnaround starts becoming less important.

 

[jaw005]

Thanks for all the input.
I do have been kegging before when i was making 5 gallon batches using 5 gallon ball lock kegs. I guess the easiest thing is to get a 1-2 gallon keg.
Just thought it would be less hassle/cooler to have one of those fancy growler-kegs that can carb and serve

 

[Maylar]

I can recommend the Cannonball keg from Northern Brewer. I keg 1-1/2 gallon cider batches in it and it's great. Small enough to fit in a dorm sized fridge. Very nicely made.