Right now I don't have the room for kegging and getting tired of sanitizing, bottling and capping 5 gallons of beer. Has anyone used the Party Pigs as "kegs"? Looks like you may even be able to bottle condition in the Pig? Of course with 5 gallons I would need to purchase 2 Pigs. I am assuming dry hopping in the Pig would be about the same as in a keg? Let me know of any stories and or info on the product that you may have. Thanks in advance for the help and info.
I would guess this is something you could just try, if nobody replies with first-hand experience. I would take precautions, like putting it into a wash tub or something in case it leaks. You can buy 3 liter soda bottles that hold adequate pressure, so I would expect you could get a satisfactory result, but personally I have never bottle conditioned anything larger than a 750 ml bottle.
The size of the storage "keg" and bottle conditioning was also one of my main concerns. Making sure I get everything right for the size of container. Although in theory it's probably not much different than conditioning in one of those "Mr. Beers". Never used one of those either so not sure how that worked out. Pretty sure everything is already measured out for you though in their kits.
My father has become sort of a salesmen for party pigs. I don't think bottle conditioning a party big is necessary. The packets that come with it already give a constant CO2 process. I don't see why adding a small amount hops would become a problem, except if your planning on putting a mesh bag full of hops in their the bag might get in the way when you try to pour a glass. With party pigs the beer does not flow out very fast, especially when you get it about half empty. I think it would be easier just to dry hop in the secondary fermentation before the brew is finished. I'm not saying it can't be done though, because I have not tried it before.
You don't force carb in a pig, you prime and condition in it. The bladder is just to push the beer. Some breweries sell beer in pigs and you can get the beer + pig for cheaper than a new homebrew pig. The catch is that you need a "special tool" to reuse the party pig. However, it's pretty clear to anyone who's handy at all that the tool is not all that special.
Thanks for the info. Yea, been doing quite a bit of research. I think I am going to just suck it up and figure out a way to make room for a keg system.
