Is my Stroh's keg a cask?

Systems, Gear, & DIY
1

Got this bad boy this morning, and I’m in the process of cleaning it up…

With the plug on the side and the non-Sanke connector, is this a cask?

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Any help would be appreciated.

2

That looks like a Hoff-Stevens keg, not a cask.
http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/backissues/issue7.3/parker.html

3

Yes, Jeff is right.  It is a Hoff-Stevens keg.  They are a pia to work with compared to sanke kegs.

4

Thanks, folks.

I did more research after the post, and saw that the best way to deal with them is cut the Hoff-Stevens out of the top.

SO glad there’s a machine shop at work. Time to figure out what it’s purpose will be (hot liquor tank, fermenter, etc.), and do some shop engineering!!

5

You will still need to deal with the bung hole too.

6

My friends at a local brewpub say they are a PIA for sure. They use those to age beer and temporary storage. Must have been cheap when Strohs went out of the beer making business around here.

7

I’m still on 6 gallon batches, so I won’t need it to hold pressure for dispensing or carbonating.

The good news is I got it free of charge, and I’ve got a full machine shop and a world-class welder at work, so I can get the works removed and the bung welded shut for Hot Liquor Tank or fermenter needs. I think it’ll be more than fitting for a HLT in a Franken-sculpture with the cooler mash tun and the boil kettle I already have.

So total cost for this project will be a little gas and a few bottles of homebrew to grease co-worker palms.

8

I have one with the bung welded shut, the top cut off except for the handles and ball valve welded in.  I used it as my kettle for many years.

9

I got a Miller keg at the same time, so it looks like I’ve got options for a new brew kettle, HLT, and/or mash tun.

Might be time to lose the igloo mash tun and build a brew sculpture.

10

You could always try and use the Strohs keg as a cask.  the bunk is incredibly convenient.

2cents

11

I had one that I would take up to my friend Steve Fried, the brewer at McGuires Irish Pub in Pensacola.  He would fill it with his barleywine, “What the Gentleman on the Floor is Having,” as a donation to the Sunshine Challenge every year.  A VERY nice barleywine BTW.

12

Yes, it is, plus it’s one of the best beer names ever.

13

  1. If I’m ever in Pensacola, I’m going to that pub on the name of that beer.

  2. I got the down tube (as it were) out without issue. Just remove the set screws (Allen head screws), put a flat head screwdriver on the right side of the “cross” and tap it counter-clockwise. Came out real quick. The bung came out in a few pieces, as it was semi-rotten and gross.

Both the kegs I got are rinsed out, draining in the shower stall, and ready to get a deep-clean and a decision on their fate.

Thanks for all the help, everyone.