Packaging
Mini keg
A small sealed container for home use, lightproof but usually needing to be finished within days of opening.
A small sealed steel container, usually two to five litres, intended for home use. It is lightproof and reasonably airtight, and it lets somebody serve draught beer at home without the equipment a full keg requires.
The limitation is what happens after opening. Most designs let air in as the beer comes out, so the countdown that governs a cask applies here too — plan to finish it within a few days. Systems using a gas cartridge or a collapsing internal bag avoid this and keep the beer fresh considerably longer.
How well it protects the beer
| Light | complete. Opaque, so no light reaches the beer. Lightstrike is not a risk in this format at any point. |
|---|---|
| Oxygen | low. A small, steady rate of ingress. Over months it contributes to hop fade and eventually to cardboard notes. |
| Conditioning | Beer does not referment in this container; carbonation is set before or at packaging. |
| Material | steel |
| Typical volume | 2000–5000 ml |
Other formats
- Aluminium can — complete light protection, very low oxygen ingress.
- Brown glass bottle — good light protection, low oxygen ingress.
- Cask — complete light protection, high oxygen ingress.
- Clear glass bottle — none light protection, low oxygen ingress.
- Green glass bottle — poor light protection, low oxygen ingress.
- Keg — complete light protection, very low oxygen ingress.
See the side-by-side table on the packaging index, or how this plays out over time in storage and freshness.
Last reviewed 2026-08-15.