Corny kegs without C02

[Banbeer]

You can use Corny kegs without C02 as you just add the desired sugar/dextrose to carb the beer as you would in bottles.

Posts copied here from an introduction thread - C_T.

 

[robster62]

Welcome to the forum, I can recommend Get er brewed or Malt Miller for all grain stuff or Brew 2 Bottle for kits. You can use Corny kegs without C02 as you just add the desired sugar/dextrose to carb the beer as you would in bottles. Good luck with your brewing journey.

How do you serve the beer afterward

 

[Banbeer]

How do you serve the beer afterward

With a tap, the Corny Keg will be like a big bottle as it is pressurised with C02 after a couple of weeks.

 

[robster62]

#banbeer so I can batch prime, Syphon into keg and serve with a tap after two weeks to carbonate at 20c. Have I got that right?

 

[Banbeer]

#banbeer so I can batch prime, Syphon into keg and serve with a tap after two weeks to carbonate at 20c. Have I got that right?

Sure, you may want to have some length of beer line between the corny and the tap to stop having a big glass of froth (I suggest at least 2 - 3 meters), you could also just add the sugar/dextrose straight into the corny before syphoning.

 

[The Furnace Green Brewer]

With a tap, the Corny Keg will be like a big bottle as it is pressurised with C02 after a couple of weeks.

Hi I am intrested I always read that you needed co2 to use corny kegs sealing the lid, more info please? I use 5L party kegs which is not too time consuming, anything to save time. Cheers

 

[Tanglefoot]

Hi I am intrested I always read that you needed co2 to use corny kegs sealing the lid, more info please? I use 5L party kegs which is not too time consuming, anything to save time. Cheers

Prime as Banbeer describes then seal lid and purge any oxygen with a couple of blasts of co2, via the pressure release valve.

 

[Banbeer]

Just remember that if you do carb a corny keg with sugar/dextrose etc. there may not be enough C02 at the end of the brew to serve it, but it is possible. Happy brewing folks.

 

[Victor Churchill]

That (@Banbeer) is my concern - OK you might have enough CO2 from secondary fermentation in the keg to push out some of the beer but then what? If you have the beer in a 'pressure barrel' then you can atleast dispense a (flet) beer through gravity. With a keg it seems like you have no option but to force it out under pressure.

 

[Banbeer]

That (@Banbeer) is my concern - OK you might have enough CO2 from secondary fermentation in the keg to push out some of the beer but then what? If you have the beer in a 'pressure barrel' then you can atleast dispense a (flet) beer through gravity. With a keg it seems like you have no option but to force it out under pressure.

I don't have the definitive answer but you could invest in a regulator that takes C02 bulbs so you carb it with the fermentable and then serve using the C02 bulbs, costs more over time than a C02 tank but works for some.

 

[Justin Dean]

How do you purge the oxygen out of the keg before filing. Also if you put in sugar solution into keg, purge then add beer it will mix up under closed transfer.

 

[Banbeer]

How do you purge the oxygen out of the keg before filing. Also if you put in sugar solution into keg, purge then add beer it will mix up under closed transfer.

As in #10. My wife does the admin.

 

[Tanglefoot]

How do you purge the oxygen out of the keg before filing. Also if you put in sugar solution into keg, purge then add beer it will mix up under closed transfer.

Add the priming sugar to the beer before transferring to keg, seal the lid by connecting co2 and purge any oxygen via PRV.
Then leave to secondary fermentation exactly as it it were in a barrel.
If towards end of keg carbonation is getting low then you can top as required with co2.

I don't do closed transfers but then I haven't yet brewed a NEIPA.
I've used this method for bitters and ales, though not suitable for some brews as above.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I always thought you needed a blast of co2 to seal the lid and purge, i might be wrong but if so you may as well just use co2

 

[LeeH]

I always thought you needed a blast of co2 to seal the lid and purge, i might be wrong but if so you may as well just use co2

With a softer seal it may be OK, I just do not see this as a reliable or accurate solution IMO unless you don’t care about having a over carbonated pint to start with, or pouring it out the keg at the end.

Purging is best practice, not a requirement.

 

[Binkei Huckaback]

I'm pretty sure you do need C02 in order to seal the keg and would say using C02 bulbs to seal and then dispense a bit counter productive (not to mention very expensive, unless you really don't have room for a small gass bottle).

Also, I've seen some American videos on YouTube of people doing something similar by having the keg on a kind of stillage, top end lower than the bottom, swapping the short dip tube to the liquid out post and using the kind of tap used for inline drinking water filters as a beer engine.

Bag in a box is probably a better idea if you can get over the fact the bags are single use. Or polypins. There are some people out there who've had great success using them. And you don't have to spend money on taps etc, though I have used them with a hand pull before.

 

[chopps]

I always thought you needed a blast of co2 to seal the lid and purge, i might be wrong but if so you may as well just use co2

Two of my kegs need a blast to seal, but the other 2 seal themselves. Down to the force applied by the lid lever.

 

[Bjorn Toulouse]

I am rubbish with kegs, so bad I gave two away to a neighbour.
But, I have done it by finishing off the bear with the sugar mix in the keg (no co2) and it sealed just fine. Only used Co2 to dispense. But as others have said nothing wrong with using Co2 to seal the lid.
Personally kegs were just too much hassle for me.

 

[foxy]

It could be possible, but what happens when the secondary fermentation runs out of legs? One would have to keep waiting for the pressure to build up again. Not a practical way to serve beer.

That (@Banbeer) is my concern - OK you might have enough CO2 from secondary fermentation in the keg to push out some of the beer but then what? If you have the beer in a 'pressure barrel' then you can atleast dispense a (flet) beer through gravity. With a keg it seems like you have no option but to force it out under pressure.

Even with a pressure barrel once a vacuum has been created gravity alone won't create a pour. Would still need an input of gas to displace the vacuum.

 

[Rodcx500z]

Or open the lid