Yet another Tap-A-Draft question

[sullydavid]

I am still weighing my decision between going after a Tap-A-Draft or after Party Pigs.

I know that the Tap-A-Draft kits general come with one tap and three bottles (enough to do a 5 gallon batch). I also want to have several beers available on draft to drink. My initial thought was to buy about 4 kits so I can have 4 different beers on tap.

If I prefer not to force carbonate my question is this:
Do I have to have a tap on the bottle in order to naturally carbonate or is there a way to use a regular cap and then attach the tap onto it without losing your carbonation, or am I forced to have a tap on each bottle to naturally carbonate and then force carbonate the others?

[fuji6100]

nope, you get plain caps that you put on to naturally carbinate. I just do a quick switch from cap to dispenser when I'm ready to open one up. You lose a quick gush of co2, but that doesn't take all the C02 out of solution that is dissolved in the beer. Since you will be putting a c02 cartridge on it immediately anyway, your beer gets put right back under pressure before any more of the c02 can come out of solution.

[ray m]

I echo what Fuji said, who has helped me tremendously with just a couple tap-a-draft plights i had my first time using it. Can't speak highly enough about it---God, I wish I got it so much sooner than when I did. Extremely easy & trouble free.

Fuji...have you come up with a better way to clean the tap assembly?? I am following the supplied instructions by running the hottest water possible from my faucet through the assembly for a couple minutes, then CAREFULLY washing the screw top with mild soap & water. I am just wondering if flavors from past brews are going to accumulate in that little tap hose, leading to a colony of nasties a some point. So far, so good though, through 2 beer batches.

[fuji6100]

The first batch I ran through my tap a draft when I got it was a nice dark porter. The hose, of course, got stained from the contact with the beer, and even smells like it now. I basically did what you did, by cleaning it in hot tap water and carefully cleaning around the rubber rings. (But like a moron I lost one down the sink, be careful of the little ones that are the size of a cheerio inside the co2 holders! I had to buy replacements!)

I just tried to let the tap water pour down into the open "tap" end and it pushed on through and out the "hose" end. I never got the stain color out, but it doesn't seem to affect the flavor of beer that goes through it. I ran pilsners behind porters or black and tans with no off tastes.

As far as sanitation, I usually just dip the whole kit-N-Kaboodle into some one step, shake it dry, and then put the tap-regulator onto a new bottle. The alcohol content of the beer, plus the fact that it will be sitting in a 40-44 F beer fridge make me think that infection is less of a risk than fermenting beer so I don't think the hose is a cause for concern.

(I got a new hose anyway when I ordered replacement washers. A set of the 3 washers plus a new tank hose was like $5 at northernbrewer.com)

[ray m]

That's exactly what I'm doing now---got stains & all, too, but no invasive off flavors from one batch to the next. Thanks, Fuji.

[Brownbeard]

I told the wife I want a TAD for Christams. It is the most appealing of all the mini keg options to me. Glad to hear you guys like it. How does it work when force carbonating? The only complaint I have heard about them is that the CO2 runs out before the beer.

[fuji6100]

The tap a draft force carbonates, but only to a degree. Me personally, I don't like super frothy beer, so the carbination I get from tap a draft is sufficient. Basically, you put the beer in, add 2 co2 cartridges and let the flat beer sit with those for a few days. It eats up those cartridges in carbinating and you have to put more in to dipsense.

The only complaint I have heard about them is that the CO2 runs out before the beer.

I naturally carbinate to save on C02, but I usually average about 3 cartridges per batch. Some of my more carbinated beer has only taken 1 or 2 to dispense, while my flattest beer took 4. So if your c02 runs out, just add another catridge. (The instructions that came with it tell you that you will need 2-4 per batch, so anybody complaining isn't reading the instructions :P)

[Professor Frink]

I usually end up putting a third CO2 cartridge on after about a week. You can usually tell by pressing the outside of the keg, when it gets "mushy", the pressure needs a boost. More often than not I drink it all before that point. Other than that, I've been using tap-a-draft since my 3rd batch and love it. Gonna have pumpkin ale on tap for Thanksgiving woo-hoo!!!!!!!!

[b3s]

i also naturally carbonate with my tap-a-draft...i've ranged from not using all the CO2 in the 2 cartridges i put in to using 4 cartridges. i have found the following to hold relatively accurate:

using 1/2 C priming sugar (or 3/2 C DME) almost over carbonates (first 3 draws will be mostly foam), but the CO2 cartridges last longer.
2 CO2 cartridges, if appropriate level of priming sugar is used, easily lasts a week.
force carbonating with the TaD yields a weak head (i.e. no priming sugar at all).
using less priming sugar with something like an IPA might be a good idea (first 9 draws were all foam).
using more priming sugar with something like a wheat beer is also probably a good idea (last 6 draws were flat, even with new CO2).


YMMV.