Was wondering what experiences people have had with these kegs which apparently stay fresh for 30 days. First time I've bought one and am underwhelmed (carbonation level is too low). Looks and tastes different to the bottle pour I did. The old five litre open and drink kegs were fine for when friends came over (and tasted good too) though doubt I'll be revisiting these kegs, will stick to bottles.
Not worth it in my opinion. They are fun to look at, but I didnt find the beer to be better, and it didnt seem to save money. Buy bottles unless it is a good deal where you are.
Bitburger is much better from the can IMO. Buy a 4-pack of tallboys and try it. You might be surprised, it's always much fresher tasting and good carbonation.
Gravity pour kegs are going to be less carbonated than bottles or draft systems. It's no accident; it's an intended effect, much like cask vs. draft for English/American beer styles.
The only bitburger 5l kegs I've seen are gravity kegs. They can be hooked up to a handpump but I've never seen them with the installed CO2 dispenser like the Heineken kegs. There might be small keg dispensers for those bitburger kegs but the beer itself is carbonated to a lower volume because the metal minikegs are not rated to hold a high level of carbonation. Any pressure you are putting on the keg to dispense is going to push beer, not add more carbonation. The Heineken/Newcastle kegs, at least the ones I see locally, are more durable so the beer is carbonated the same as bottles. The CO2 canister in the keg is still only pushing beer out but it's pushing out beer that is already more carbonated.
I can vouch for the tallboy cans ... that beer might be the most underrated of them all. It's damn good ... sweet, light, fresh with good spicy bitter bite.
