SYNEK (draft system): looking to replace growlers?

Ya seriously, who drinks craft beer from plastic cups/bottles.

 

Since you're from Cali, I understand your concern... California: the state where absolutely everything is a carcinogen!

 

Personally, I do not care about cost, but I do not drink the same beer by gallons. I like to try new beers all the time. One life span is not enough to try everything I want to try. The only time I might use the system is for a party. Then, there is another problem: some people do not drink hoppy beers, some do not drink dark beers, and some do not drink light beers. In one ward it is pain in the ass.

 

Hey if you wanna drink beer from a plastic bag and aren't concerned with chemicals and/or plastic taste in your beer it's fine by me. To each his own.

 

Nah, remember, I'm the guy who can taste the metal in cans! I was just poking at you!

 

Not to thread-jack, but I'm going to do it anyhow... it seems that this is a much better solution; it's cheap (and because of that, disposable), efficient, and uses a known / proven method of transporting beer, better than glass or plastic.

The "Crowler". Where did this originate? Anyone?

 

I used to only drink growlers as this was the only way that I was able to get certain beers in my location. However, I learned very quickly that this was not the best option in order to achieve my goal of drinking as many different craft beers as possible. I don't think this would be an option for me.

I do see the benefit that it would offer some breweries in terms of not having the 'hassle' of bottling their beers. But then where does that leave us. I am very involved in trading recently and have been able to try many different beers from places I have never visited and shared beers from my location with others. This seems like it would slow down that aspect of the beer community. Lastly, what about the amazing bottle art work? This si something that interests me and hopefully a number of others as well!

Prost!

 

@SYNEKsystem Is there a list of breweries that will be filling the cartridges yet?

 

I second the crowler... got 2 in a recent trade...no additional investment required.

 

Seems like this is complimenting to growlers and other packaging options. Growlers, bullets and other options are not going away.

This is obviously cheaper than buying a kegerator and appears to offer similar benefits. Anything that is CO2 driven and allows breweries to provide fresh and awesome beer to end consumers is a plus. It looks great so look forward to seeing the final package!

 

As a home brewer, I would definitely be interested in checking this out. I could fill a few cartridges from the fermenter, then bottle the rest. According to the website's FQA page, the refillable CO2 cylinder that comes with it is capable of force carbonating the cartridge, so I could essentially "keg" my beer a gallon at a time. For the record, I do not have a kegging system yet, so the Synek, at $299, looks like an attractive option. I would need to see a live demonstration, though, before I commit to dropping that kind of money on it.

 

It's really not that much cheaper than a kegerator though. A quick Google search and I was able to find 2 kegerators under $350. And if you don't mind a little bit of work you can easily build one for less than $300.

 

On equipment costs I agree that entry level kegerator is similar in price and of course you can always convert an old refrigerator. However, you then have to buy beer in a 1/6 bbl or larger at a time. I think one of the benefits of the SYNEK would be the smaller container of beer that you can purchase. Generally see this as all a good thing for people looking for more ways to get fresh draft beer at home.

 

No one ever said you had to choose one or the other.

I have a 2 tap kegerator upstairs in our Theater room, and I still bought a Synek. It can serve 2 purposes for us: a tap downstairs in the kitchen, for convenience, and for my 2 gallon home brewing sessions, I can force carb right away from there.

 

Girardin packages lambic in a bag-in-a-box package. So does Oud Beersel. And of course we've all seen boxed wine at the liquor store. So I'm not sure that beer from a plastic bag is really such a bad thing.

 

Still waiting on mine to arrive....

 

Anyone have any feedback on a Synek machine? I keep getting emails and I'm seeing more and more places around me becoming synek-compatible for filling those bags. I'm genuinely curious and would consider getting one at some point if a few of my favorite breweries around me jump ship

 

Cool, but not going to replace growlers. What an absurd claim.

 

I'm very seriously considering buying 1 of these for my friend as a gift, as well as myself.

A Growler Guys just opened up in my town like a month ago. They are advertising these for sale right now (only 3 left) at $329 each. They also have the bags as well as the correct adapter so they can fill the bags (obviously).

I was going to get him a kegerator, but they run about $500 new (which is what i'd want) and the only place to really get kegs unless you have a distributor rep hookup (I might) is Total Wine about 30 miles away. They really don't have that many options and some you have to order.

So i'm weighing the pro's and con's, Growler Guys has incredible fill prices, as well as a great rewards program that constantly gives you $1-$5 off on Growler fills. They have a TON of choices compared to kegs at Total Wine, he can constantly try new things, buy multiple bags at once and switch them out or keep in fridge. He just bought a house and I was his agent...he has a man cave style basement and is getting a pool table so that's why I wanted to get him a kegerator that could be used by both of us etc....but this seems so much more useful. If I got him one and it proved to be successful I would most likely purchase one myself.

Only downsides i'm really seeing are: 1. Have to buy new bag every time, unsure of why this is. 2. Not any taphouse/brewery can fill the bags, in my town it's for sure only The Growler Guys, but realistically this isn't that big of an issue as their prices beat anywhere in town as well as their selection.

Thoughts?

 

The syntek seems perfect for your very unique situation but you are hitching your wagon to an unproven horse. The nice thing about kegs is that it is extremely unlikely that the current solution is going anywhere, if you buy a kegerator today, I'd say there's a 98% chance it will still be usable in 5 or 10 years (assuming parts don't fail). You're risking that the syntek bags from a single source will continue to be a good solution for the future. They might be perfect forever, but you're just buying into unproven tech.