Has anyone tried converting or reusing one of the Miller/Coors “Home Draft beer” systems for homebrew? I’m tempted to buy one and see if it would work for taking homebrew to a party that doesn’t need a whole keg, or to use for smaller batches of cask-style ales. My mom’s guy friend (70 yrs old) likes Miller lite, so I think he’d be happy to spare me having to “empty” the thing before experimenting with it.
If these are the 5L cans with a vent on top and a tap on the bottom, I’ve used them before. You don’t need much sugar to prime, and they work well for the cask style, especially. I used to use them a lot before I got corny kegs. If you can get them for free, I’d experiment with them. The only drawback is that you need to finish it off fairly quickly, as they’ll lose carbonation pretty fast. (That’s why the “cask ale” style is good for them.)
Monk
No, not mini-kegs - these are closer to a Tap-A-Draft. It’s a 5.7 L plastic bottle in a box with a small CO2 cartridge and tap handle.
I just found one of these at the recycling center. Seems like it will work to reuse. Just has a standard co2 cartridge like you use for those keg chargers. Was a plastic tab that was supposed to prevent unscrewing the co2 chamber but with a little encouragement it cam right off. Seems to thread back on just fine.