Corny keg

[-Bezza-]

As Bezza mentions the corny isn't really to carbonate it, but simply to hold the beer in although you can carbonate in it.
An ale is actually carbonated unless you are drinking flat beer. If you are using pressure barrel at moment I am guessing you put your brew in and add some priming sugar. The yeast converts this to a bit more alcohol and CO2. Because the pressure barrel is sealed, the CO2 gets absorbed by your ale and becomes a bit fizzy. How fizzy is measured in volumes of CO2. Although that works fine there are some downsides - you have to get the sugar amount right, too much and your ale will be too fizzy and froth like mad when you pour it, too little and it will be flat. Also, you have yeast still in it so you have sediment and can have issues with cloudiness if it doesn't settle well.

Using a corny keg you can still carbonate using priming sugar like in a pressure barrel. However, you can also force carbonate it - basically if you connect CO2 to the keg and set the pressure, the beer will gradually absorb the CO2 until it reaches equilibrium. There is a handy chart here that shows what pressure you need for what temperature and carbonation level. carbonation chart

This has the advantage that you can put your beer into the keg already cleared and as there will be no secondary fermentation it will stay clear and you have precise control over how fizzy it gets. You can then also transport the keg without worryign about stirring up sediment. I guess you could also force carbonate a pressure barrel if you connect CO2 to it, but the keg approach I think is more convenient. They are also opaque so light does get to the beer to deteriorate it.

Given I already had the CO2 and bar font setup for commercial keg dispensing it made sense to me to go the corny route to be able to pour it out from my home bar setup.

I agree with everything you say apart from the first sentence - when homebrewing, I would say that the vast majority of people will use the corny for the purposes of force carbonation. There are some people who will still use priming sugar in a corny, but equally there are people in this world who like country music - we can't say they're wrong but best to just smile politely and let them get on with it.

Other than your case of buying commercial beers in a keg and transferring, and the growing numbers who ferment under pressure, I can't think that there's any other situation in which you would carbonate outside of the corny.

 

[StJayJay]

Unlikely that anyone has a corny keg. Most people buy a few and find that they breed rapidly. I have 8.

True that. The ‘R-Number’ for my kegs is steadily rising.

 

[MarconiBrew]

Interesting, a few things to think of then, at the moment I'm not entirely sure they're really suited for ale.

 

[StJayJay]

I’ve been using corny kegs for about 3 years, I was originally bottling, then a very brief flirtation with a king keg PB before I went to cornies. I mostly use them for ales, the odd lager. I’ve got a keezer made from a chest freezer for a home bar; I carbonate off a separate CO2 tank in my garage. I tend to have 3 beers on the go plus a keg of carbonated water (my wife likes a glass of chilled fizzy water so it was a bit of a sweetener in the negotiations to let me build the bar!)

 

[Graz]

Has anyone got a corny keg.
Are they good?
What exactly do I need to use one please I assume not just the keg.
How much am I looking at for everything I need please

Err yeah, 6 at the last count, never going back to pressure barrels. Best thing I ever bought (along with all the other gubbins to make my kegerator). My only minor gripe is I wish they held 23L rather than 19L (I make kits so my volume is dictated by them) but I bottle the first 3-4L so I have an healthy backlog of bottled beer as well.

 

[danmac]

Err yeah, 6 at the last count, never going back to pressure barrels. Best thing I ever bought (along with all the other gubbins to make my kegerator). My only minor gripe is I wish they held 23L rather than 19L (I make kits so my volume is dictated by them) but I bottle the first 3-4L so I have an healthy backlog of bottled beer as well.

How did you make your kegerator please? I'm having a 10x8:shed built so I can put my stuff in there

 

[ChrisT685]

I’ve been using corny kegs for about 3 years, I was originally bottling, then a very brief flirtation with a king keg PB before I went to cornies. I mostly use them for ales, the odd lager. I’ve got a keezer made from a chest freezer for a home bar; I carbonate off a separate CO2 tank in my garage. I tend to have 3 beers on the go plus a keg of carbonated water (my wife likes a glass of chilled fizzy water so it was a bit of a sweetener in the negotiations to let me build the bar!)

I've just making the leap and have a 19L corny, a 10L corny and a 10L minikeg which I'm about to get a ball lock spear head for. As you carb off a separate CO2 tank in the so I'm hoping you can answer my corny noob question

I have mini regs for the small corny and mini keg and would like to dispense from them using either soda stream or bulbs. How do cross over from you large CO2 bottle to whatever you dispense? Can you simply pull the disconnect off ? Then reattach the new disconnect with mini reg on? I'm hoping by doing this I can keep the mini corny and keg in the fridge.

Hope that makes sense ?!?!

 

[-Bezza-]

If you remove the disconnect, it doesn't leak gas or beer, if that's your question? The post seals off when the disconnect is removed.

 

[ChrisT685]

If you remove the disconnect, it doesn't leak gas or beer, if that's your question? The post seals off when the disconnect is removed.

Great. I'd assumed that so good to know I wasn't assuming wrongly, thanks.

Do you need to turn the regulator off completely before you remove? I guess I'm fearful of damaging something.

 

[-Bezza-]

Great. I'd assumed that so good to know I wasn't assuming wrongly, thanks.

Do you need to turn the regulator off completely before you remove? I guess I'm fearful of damaging something.

I'm 99% sure the disconnects seal off too but I always turn off the CO2 bottle to be sure. Like on a BBQ gas bottle, there's a valve on the CO2 bottle itself.

Edit: I say always. I clearly don't as I'm often drinking the "forgetful juice" when messing around with all this!

 

[ChrisT685]

I'm 99% sure the disconnects seal off too but I always turn off the CO2 bottle to be sure. Like on a BBQ gas bottle, there's a valve on the CO2 bottle itself.

Edit: I say always. I clearly don't as I'm often drinking the "forgetful juice" when messing around with all this!

Cheers (pun intended!)

Learn by doing !!! Got a Mosaic IPA nearly ready to go in at the weekend so getting myself ahead of the inevitable first time faff

 

[gavp1979]

I'm 99% sure the disconnects seal off too but I always turn off the CO2 bottle to be sure. Like on a BBQ gas bottle, there's a valve on the CO2 bottle itself.

Edit: I say always. I clearly don't as I'm often drinking the "forgetful juice" when messing around with all this!

The disconnects should seal when you remove them. However I have one that leaked when it was disconnected, after dismantling it I have discovered that there is a small o-ring inside that had split, not sure if this is a common problem or I was just unlucky

 

[-Bezza-]

The one you need to watch out for is removing the tap without having disconnected the beer out from the keg. Guaranteed wet crotch.

 

[Graz]

How did you make your kegerator please? I'm having a 10x8:shed built so I can put my stuff in there

Pretty straight forward to be honest, purchased 1 tall fridge second hand from a local seller off eBay, a premium keg kit from BrewKegTap with flow control Intertaps (cause I thought flow control might be handy) and a drip tray, and finally a 6.35kg cylinder of CO2 from a local supplier. Carefully drilled a few holes for the taps, plumbed it all in and Bob's your Uncle....

Keg kit here: Premium Double Keg Kit - choice of Keg, Tap and Regulator

I started with 2 kegs and taps. Later I added the 3rd tap, 4 more kegs, and secondary regulators allowing the pressure to each keg to be individually controlled.

You can do something similar to this with a chest freezer (Keezer). There's loads of threads about Kegerators / Keezers on here for inspiration.

 

[gavp1979]

@Graz I notice that you have attached your secondary regs to a piece of timber on the back wall of the fridge, how have you attached the timber to the fridge? I am looking at putting a manifold and secondary regs in mine but not sure how to attach them to the back without risking going through the refrigeration pipes and I don't think I could fit them to the side wall.

 

[Graz]

@Graz I notice that you have attached your secondary regs to a piece of timber on the back wall of the fridge, how have you attached the timber to the fridge? I am looking at putting a manifold and secondary regs in mine but not sure how to attach them to the back without risking going through the refrigeration pipes and I don't think I could fit them to the side wall.

Kind of a bit of luck with regard to how my fridge is constructed (it's a John Lewis one). The main cooling gubbins are exposed at the back of the fridge with a bit of plastic over. With a bit of persuasion I manged to get the plastic cover off and was then able to screw through the back of it into the bit of CLS (3x2) that I mounted the regulators on. I then fitted the plastic bit back into the fridge. It's a bit flimsy but provided I'm careful when adjusting the regs or operating the shut off then it's been fine to date.

If I didn't have this option then I'd probably put some brackets or bits of timber into the side of the fridge (so long as no coolant pipes there) and then mount a strip of wood onto those.

 

[-Bezza-]

I'd just use a grab adhesive, like Sticks Like Sh*t or similar.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/evo-stik-sticks-like-sh-t-adhesive-290ml/22070

 

[Will B]

Hi there - sorry to latch onto this thread but you sound like you know what you are talking about...

Two days ago my siphon filter broke 30 pints into a 36 pint 2dary fermentation transfer into keg. I have bought another siphon and plan to carry on the process for the last 6 pints worth left. Will if be alright to undo the keg and add the rest in or will I damage the process that has already begun , perhaps including carbonisation?? Sorry if asking a silly question and grateful for help..Will

 

[m_kc]

I just got my first Corny keg and have set up the gas stuff for my home bar based on commercial kegs. I just got round to tidying up the gas part. My cooler has 3 product lines so I've got three separate secondary regulators:
View attachment 43277
I have a 6.35 Kg cylinder with a primary regulator just out of shot on the left. This is set to 30psi and connected to the three secondary regulators using 3/8 tubing and JG quickfit couplings. The end regulator on the right has a stopper in the end. In theory you can connect as many together as you want.
The pipe on top of the keg is a gas connector for the corny keg. The other end just pushes into any of the bottom outlets on the secondary regulators.

As I alternate weeks between my girlfriend's house and at home with my son, I have filled the Corny with Stella from that keg and brought it to her house and have a smaller 1.5 kg CO2 bottle here.

I got the corny from BrewUk
View attachment 43282

And the gas regulators, pipework etc from RLBS. The secondary regulators are about £25 each.
Gas from Adams gas - they are based down south but have stockists nationwide. I used them as no rental on the cylinders, just a deposit.

When my first brew is ready I'll be putting it in the Corny and also this 5l growler from Dark Farm which is great for taking round to friends, when we can again
View attachment 43283
That will be dispensed using a mini CO2 bulb. The disconnects for the tap and gas are the same as the corny keg.

:) your growler was my main keg! I have the same from dark farm, not sure if the prices are the most competitive but it's quality stuff. I only did 5L batches but have recently bought a 10L corny, stepping up my game!

 

[MartinF]

...Will if be alright to undo the keg and add the rest in or will I damage the process that has already begun , perhaps including carbonisation?? Sorry if asking a silly question and grateful for help..Will

In all likelihood, it'll be fine. Yes, you may lose a little pressure, but if you're using a CO2 bottle for conditioning, then it'll re-pressurise. Just take usual precautions with cleanliness