Heineken draught keg

[otnemem]

Isn't this just a "high-end" (use that adjective loosely) beer ball like Budweiser used to have (still has?).

[solids]

[ QUOTE ]
Isn't this just a "high-end" (use that adjective loosely) beer ball like Budweiser used to have (still has?).

[/ QUOTE ]

From my understanding, Budweiser stopped selling beer balls a couple of years ago. Beer balls could also hold much more beer.

[KotOD]

Mini-kegs are a great way to get beer from local microbreweries when you're not able to drink a growler quickly. Other than that, avoid.

[hanimal]

Pretty sure I've drank out of many a Bud beer ball in the past 3 years.

Also, this thing basically sucks.
Novelty wears off reeeaaaaly quick.
I'm studying abroad in Paris and my room mates bought 2 I think.
Well they foam like hell and like people said don't have more beer than a normal case. Bogus and gay.

[Badger]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Isn't this just a "high-end" (use that adjective loosely) beer ball like Budweiser used to have (still has?).

[/ QUOTE ]

From my understanding, Budweiser stopped selling beer balls a couple of years ago. Beer balls could also hold much more beer.

[/ QUOTE ]
Didn't beer balls require pumping? I could be way off, I haven't seen one since high school and even then I only ever drank from a couple. The draught keg actually has a CO2 cartridge that it uses to dispense beer.

I wonder if the beer is carbonated differently than the bottles are. My understanding of carbonation is limited to home brewing.

Bottles have priming sugars added which yeast turns into CO2 which has nowhere to go so it dissolves into the beer.

Home brewed kegs are hooked up to a C02 canister which slowly dissolves C02 into the beer.

I think kegs in bars are force carbonated similarly, then shipped off to bars where additional C02 is used to dispense beer.

Anyone know how breweries carbonate bottles? The mini keg could potentially be slightly different from bottles if bottles are carbonated through priming sugars.

The only reason this matters is because beer that is not exposed to air (uses C02 like this draught keg/kegerator/bar) keeps much longer, which is why this is better than a hand pump keg or the other mini barrels with a gravity controlled spout.

[Klompy]

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Anyone know how breweries carbonate bottles?

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I believe most bottles have the beer pressure carbonated. This is the only way most of them can do it as they filter out the yeast.

[KilgoreTrout]

I tried one on a whim. First 6 glasses were excessively foamy - like pour two half glasses to get an almost full one, then dump the foam in the sink. Beer tasted funny, too - almost like a nitrous whip it - that could have been in my head though.

Once the foam settled down the beer was decent. I like that the keg itself has a deposit on it, reducing the number of bottles in the recycling bin, but the foamy issue and the strange taste were enough for me not to need to buy one of these again.

[Badger]

Added anonymous Heineken poll.

[Badger]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Anyone know how breweries carbonate bottles?

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe most bottles have the beer pressure carbonated. This is the only way most of them can do it as they filter out the yeast.

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Duh, makes sense I guess.

[guids]

bud def still makes beer balls