Cheap barrels

[johnnyh]

Hi all,

Just wondering about picking up a plastic keg to put a brew in (currently I have just mini kegs and bottles), and am wondering if anyone has much of an opinion on the cheaper generic £30 type white plastic kegs (as sold by wilkinsons and all HB shops) vs the £50 King Kegs. Both have CO2 injector bits on the top, but I appreciate the King Keg has a larger opening making cleaning easier.

Is the KK worth the extra?

Cheers and stay warm!

Johnny
:

 

[31bb3]

The cheap barrels are ok you will still need to prime them and then may need the occasional blast of co2 to dispense be careful not to go ott as they can distort

 

[johnnyh]

The cheap barrels are ok you will still need to prime them and then may need the occasional blast of co2 to dispense be careful not to go ott as they can distort

sounds good to me then, I was going to order some more mini kegs for this brew, but thought I'd give a barrel a try... and I am cheap

 

[31bb3]

Course if you want to go for the rolls Royce of kegs go for the cornys

 

[carl_saint]

+1 for Cornys but initial setup will cos a bit. Worth it IMO though!

 

[guyb]

+2 on cornies, worth the investment imho

 

[johnnyh]

don't cornys require a fridge etc to keep them in?

 

[carl_saint]

Not really. They work really well with a fridge setup as they are tall and thin so toucan get a few in! I used one just on its own before I got my fridge!
The main benefit is that you don't need to prime so will get hardly any sediment. You use a CO2 bottle to force carbonate so your beer is usually ready in a few days!
When I keg into a fresh Corny, I gas to 20psi and it is usually ready to serve within 36hours.
The other main bonus is you can use proper dispensing equipment very easily. Ie pub style taps! These are great when you have friends over or a party and people can pour their own pints from the bar!

 

[johnnyh]

So what would be the minimum needed to run a corny... (in for a penny in for a pound)

obviously a keg, but + ?

 

[wilsoa1111]

i think the cornys run to around £100, maybe bit more bit less depending on the setup u want-which is 3 value kegs ( i generally have two on at all times atm) and some gas... but then im lazy and bottle half my beer anyways- also cornys rely on u finding a cheap source of gas nearby... they are better though-and shiny :lol:

 

[carl_saint]

Yeah, you want a cornelius keg (£65), quick fit disconnects(15), gas line(2), beer line(2), gas bottle(20) and gas regulator(30). All prices are estimates and about what I paid. Plus you'll need some sort of tap/pump. Trust me its worth it though!

 

[johnnyh]

Haha she'll kill me!

I think first up I am going to run with a pressure keg (cheap aren't I), as I want to buy some kit to start BIAB for the start of Feb.

I do like shiny things though, maybe I was a magpie in a past life

Maybe Corny should wait for birthday...

 

[Scott]

Yeah, you want a cornelius keg (£65), quick fit disconnects(15), gas line(2), beer line(2), gas bottle(20) and gas regulator(30). All prices are estimates and about what I paid. Plus you'll need some sort of tap/pump. Trust me its worth it though!

Would it be possible for you to point me in the direction of a gas bottle for £20?

 

[carl_saint]

This place in Doncaster is good but fairly expense

http://www.yorkshire-co2gas.co.uk/homebrew-co2.html

This is where I got mine from for about £18 including the bottle

http://www.towler-staines.co.uk/

 

[carl_saint]

Sorry just read your post again, go with the bottom one.

 

[Scott]

This place in Doncaster is good but fairly expense

http://www.yorkshire-co2gas.co.uk/homebrew-co2.html

This is where I got mine from for about £18 including the bottle

http://www.towler-staines.co.uk/

I can't find the one for £18 and a search for "CO2" is coming up with nothing.

 

[rpt]

Are Cornies any good for real ale? All that talk of forced carbonation sounds like it's only suitable for lager.

 

[carl_saint]

This place in Doncaster is good but fairly expense

http://www.yorkshire-co2gas.co.uk/homebrew-co2.html

This is where I got mine from for about £18 including the bottle

http://www.towler-staines.co.uk/

I can't find the one for £18 and a search for "CO2" is coming up with nothing.

They don't have it on the website. Email them direct. This is where I get mine from so I know they do it!

 

[carl_saint]

Are Cornies any good for real ale? All that talk of forced carbonation sounds like it's only suitable for lager.

They are perfect for real ale. Force carbonating can happen at any pressure. If you want it carbonating like an ale then just turn the pressure down to about 5 psi. If you want it like a lager then turn it up to 30!

I've just recently done an American pale ale which I force carbonated to 5 psi and served through a sparkler tap as an ale. Then I tried it gassed up like a lager and served through a lager tap. Quite a bit of difference in flavour!

For me, one of the main benefits of a corny setup is the versatility!

 

[Bobw]

What about polypins? You could get 5 5l pins for the same money as a plastic keg so you have a spare. Theres plenty of leaking tap threads on here and if you can't get your hand inside the keg it's going to be a problem to sort out. I'm going to stick to bottling for now although I would like to get a corny in the future.

bob