Carbonation with table sugar

Hi

I have over some time now, been carbonating my beer with table sugar, with very satisfactory results.
For the most part the beer was bottled and poured superbly.
The problem with bottling manually, is that it is time consuming and messy and frankly from my point of view its a process I could do without.
I am about to brew a 44 liter batch and I want to retain the table sugar method of carbonation.
My question is,if the beer were to be carbonated in say 10 liter kegs (with a bottom tap) how should it be dispensed. Would it require some light CO 2 to push the beer without the danger of exposing it to air?
The beer is likely to be in the keg for a week or two before it is empty.
I'm looking for a simple and inexpensive DIY system to dispense the beer.
Any suggestions?

Think about ball lock 19 liter stainless steel soda kegs, some tubing and fittings, a picnic tap and a bottle of co2 with regulator. Well worth the investment, you wont need to wait for sugar carbonation. I tried some plastic kegs many years ago  with bottom spigot and lids that fit co2 cartridges, temporary solution at best. One split and leaked all over hardwood apartment floor.

Just found these,

Produced in Holland not too far from me (I'm in Sweden)
Take a look and tell me what you think
http://www.keykegshop.eu/keykeg.html
They look the perfect solution

The filling starter kit is quite costly. Cost out and know all the parts you will need to get started. Then compare to soda keg system. choose what suits you best CHEERS!.

By the way, it appears to use a regular bar type keg coupler for dispensing so I take it you still need the co2 bottle.They seem to target small pub type operations ( profits mentioned) so they are probably assuming you have the co2 setup already.

Yup,

I think you are right. I looked at this Dutch system again and I'm not even sure if the kegs are reusable.
That can stick to the wall as they say.
Your corny system is the way to go, only problem is on your side of the pond they are readily available and comparatively cheap where as here in Northern Europe, the only ones available are new at rip off prices. Add to that the CO2 gear and its not cheap.
However, I'm gonna bite the bullet and look into this.
I do have a question though, are you force carbonating with your system? The reason I ask is I like the level of carbonation I get with table sugar which I have used to date. Can I continue with what I know, use the soda keg and simply force the beer out with CO2?
This may all be basic stuff to a lot of brewers but what the heck?
I seem to have the knack of making beers that folks really enjoy, now I just need to take this a step further and refine the method of dispensing the stuff.

I force carbonate the kegs and prime some bottles with corn sugar in 500 ml and one liter plastic bottles. You could use one or two liter plastic bottles , they work well. For bulk consumption. There are a number of plastic kegs fairly inexpensive compared to a soda keg system that use  Injector caps and co2 cartridges. I had some round white ones from England, 23 liter capacity (link below)that worked well for a few years. You might start with those and see how you like them. Just keep them on a safe surface in case they over pressure and rupture, or keep the pressure low.
You can prime as normal and then use co2 to bump up pressure after dispensing a few pints.  CHEERS.
PS Isn't it a great feeling when others like your tasty brew?

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/King_Keg_Bottom_Tap_5_Gallon_Bulb_Pin_Valve.html#.VyOn5fkrIdU

Hi again,
If you have time take a look at this, its amazing how resourceful these Australians are:
https://byo.com/yeast/item/402-building-plastic-mini-kegs-projects

Mike

Auldyin said:

Hi again,
If you have time take a look at this, its amazing how resourceful these Australians are:
https://byo.com/yeast/item/402-building-plastic-mini-kegs-projects

Mike

Click to expand...

The entire article hinges on this phrase: "They are the ones made of thick food-grade plastic...." While I can't speak for Australia, I can say that this isn't universally true in the US.

The additives to certain plastics, including those for color, do not fall into the food grade category, here. For dry goods or just toting water, you're probably ok, but all bets are off for storage and fermentation. This includes some cheap, widely available bright orange buckets.

Thanks for that.
I get what you say and would have to check that out.
The problem I have is that here in Sweden, used kegs are really expensive and not that readily available.
One 19 liter Cornelious costs the equivalent of 925 US and I need two of them. That does not include the various fittings.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks again

Auldyin said:

The problem I have is that here in Sweden, used kegs are really expensive and not that readily available.

Click to expand...

I think that Cornelius kegs are going the way of th dinosaur in some places. Homebrewers in remote areas are replacing them with commercial kegs of the same size. When you look at the wide availability of commercial parts and the stronger, affordable pumps available now, it's pretty easy to make the switch.

Most homebrewers get scared about cleaning commercial kegs. I think this is just lack of familiarity with using kegs, not a real concern. When used for fermentation, the spear should be removed and replaced with an airlock. Pretty simple sprayball plans are out there (good for cleaning carboys, too). For secondary and serving, cleaning with the spear in place is what the kegs are designed for.

I'd bet that two or three kegs, with couplers, tubing and a cleaning pump would be less than a third of what a Corny keg would cost.