Looking for keg advice please

[2pints]

I'm getting back to brewing and there's a lot of good stuff on here praising the Corny keg and some are using a Berco boiler.
I usually only work with kits as I don't have the time and space to get involved in the "tec" way with hops etc. Just do it the old way and put a kit into a fermentation vessel and wait for it to ferment out.
I like the look of the Corny kegs but I'm not sure exactly what model to go for. I'm used to making the 40 pint kits but as the Corny kegs seam to be 19lts I may need to make smaller kits. I must say though, I know nothing of what the Corny kegs are about or even if they would be any good for what I have in mind.
Any info on this is welcome. Thanks.

 

[Graz]

For me switching to Corny kegs is one decision I will never regret. I only brew kits too, more on that in a minute.

However to do it properly it's quite an investment as well as the kegs themselves, pipework, taps etc. two things you really need is something to chill them in (i.e. a fridge) and a big CO2 cylinder (~6.5kg is great) so check out if you can get hold of CO2 locally. If you get a fridge you'll probably want to turn it into a kegerator, do a search there's loads of threads.

I got my initial setup from here: BrewKegTap Great prices and very helpful.

My setup has expanded since then and I added a third tap to my fridge and now have six kegs on rotation.

So regarding kits and the ~23L into a 19L keg, I simply work out how many bottles I need to fill to make the difference from 19L and my kit size, typically about 7-8 500ml bottles for a kit without dry hops, 6-7 if there are hops, and sometimes less e.g. the Muton's flagship range only brew 34 pints IIRC so I only use 3 bottles with those. So when the brew is finished I initially siphon into the bottles with some priming sugar added, just under half a teaspoon typically, then once I've filled the bottles I disconnect the bottling wand from my siphon and the rest goes into the keg. If I've got things right I end up with a full keg and not beer all over the floor! The bottles get crown capped and put aside for a rainy day, I'll be enjoying a sample of what I've brewed over the year this Christmas. The keg gets force carbonated when I'm ready to use it with the CO2 cylinder.

 

[2pints]

Thanks for that Graz. Lots of really good info, though some of it I don't understand as yet but I'll learn!
I'm wondering why I'll need a fridge. I do have a couple of pub type Co2 cylinders that I use for my mig welder and I have a shop where I get them exchanged.
I think I will need a bit of procedure knowledge to understand why I need a fridge. I don't usually use bottles. Usually I put it all in a pressure barrel and let it condition that way. I did a lot of bottling in the eighties and found it to be quite messy and it took up a lot of space. Ok if you have an empty shed but my shed has classic car parts in it that I make a small living out of now I've retired.
Thanks for whoever has given me the two pints emoji up in the left hand corner!

 

[Donegal john]

How do you chill your pressure barrels in the summer time ?

 

[2pints]

I don't brew larger as a rule. Only bitter. If I do larger it would need to be in bottles as I find it keeps better that way and they go into the fridge. In my book, bitter/ale is drunk at room temperature. When I drink in a pub and the bitter comes up through a cooler I just don't enjoy it at all.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

This video is fairly comprehensive:
I cannot add much to what @Graz has said. Kegging took my enjoyment of homebrew to the next level (I don't actually like brewday that much, but I love my dispense set-up, even though it's nothing revolutionary and quite crude in places).

 

[Donegal john]

I don't brew larger as a rule. Only bitter. If I do larger it would need to be in bottles as I find it keeps better that way and they go into the fridge. In my book, bitter/ale is drunk at room temperature. When I drink in a pub and the bitter comes up through a cooler I just don't enjoy it at all.

I would imaging corny kegs served at 20c:25c would just dispense foam hence the need to chill. Sounds like a polypin might be a better idea (I know nothing about them)

 

[2pints]

I've had a look at the video and that does look like what I need. Simple to clean and use. My Co2 cylinder is about the same height as the keg so I may have a look for a smaller one.
The Polypin thing. Well if its a hard plastic thing I may as well stay with the plastic beer keg I already have. I could even hook it up to the Co2 cylinder and turn the reg down low. The other one is just a bag inside a box (just like the wine) and has nothing to do with brewing one's own beer as it comes with beer in it!
I can't see why at room temperature the beer would dispense from the Corny as foam. Surely if the Co2 pressure was not very high would it not just dispense at a normal rate?
I remember from years ago, using the Boots keg, that the first few glasses of beer came out quite foamy, but then it would as the keg, at that time would have a lot of pressure inside it. After a few more glasses it would then require an input of Co2 to encourage the beer to flow.
If I'm missing something here please help me out.

 

[2pints]

The interesting part of keeping the Corny keg in a fridge is that on Ebay, I've just spotted a warming jacket to fit the keg!

 

[Brewelder]

I've had a look at the video and that does look like what I need. Simple to clean and use. My Co2 cylinder is about the same height as the keg so I may have a look for a smaller one.
The Polypin thing. Well if its a hard plastic thing I may as well stay with the plastic beer keg I already have. I could even hook it up to the Co2 cylinder and turn the reg down low. The other one is just a bag inside a box (just like the wine) and has nothing to do with brewing one's own beer as it comes with beer in it!
I can't see why at room temperature the beer would dispense from the Corny as foam. Surely if the Co2 pressure was not very high would it not just dispense at a normal rate?
I remember from years ago, using the Boots keg, that the first few glasses of beer came out quite foamy, but then it would as the keg, at that time would have a lot of pressure inside it. After a few more glasses it would then require an input of Co2 to encourage the beer to flow.
If I'm missing something here please help me out.

I followed a very similar path to you and went down the kit route but now progressing into all grain as there’s much more in the way of different styles and and basically i couldn’t get the style of beers that i wanted in kit form. (NEIPA’s)
Anyway, i took the plunge and invested in a 2 (corny) keg set up and although expensive initially, i find them much easier and more reliable than the plastic keg types as found in Wilko etc. I have a 6’5kg C02 tank which is plumbed into both kegs, one i fridge cos that’s all i can get in my fridge, the other is at atmospheric temperature. Both kegs feed separate taps which gives me flexibility in what i store in them, plus i alternate which one i put in the fridge depending on what beer i fancy. Or, if we’re having a party i buy some ice and stick the none fridges keg in a builders flexitime full of ice as i like my brews chilled.

Corny kegs can be had on eBay for around £70, plus around £20 for tubing and fittings, plus you may need a regulator if you haven’t already got one, plus taps. As well as flea bay, try Ali-Express, takes much longer fir delivery but i find them reliable enough. You just need to plan ahead for anything you need from them as delivery varies and can take around a month to arrive from china.

Hope that lots of some use mate and enjoy your brewing.

 

[2pints]

Thanks for that Brewelder. Very interesting. I see you prefer your beer a bit colder than I do. Obviously, if its lager, the colder the better but I do like a nice ale at room temperature and I don't have the space for another fridge!

At our house we have a good size enclosed porch that has a tiled floor and is really quite cold all year round so I store my lager out there and transfer it to the fridge in the kitchen as I get some space in the fridge. I really just brew ale and keep it in a keg and it looks like a Cony keg will fill a pint glass a lot better than the plastic version that I was using in the eighties and that I've just taken from its long-time resting place to start brewing again.

I now find that so much has changed since I last filled a FV in almost every part of the operation that I need to get on here and ask questions most people may think are daft. I think I read somewhere that I don't need to prime when using a corny keg with a Co2 cylinder but I'll need some info on that I think.
So I think its time I splashed out again and buy some decent equipement and get stuck in to it.

 

[Brewelder]

Thanks for that Brewelder. Very interesting. I see you prefer your beer a bit colder than I do. Obviously, if its lager, the colder the better but I do like a nice ale at room temperature and I don't have the space for another fridge!

At our house we have a good size enclosed porch that has a tiled floor and is really quite cold all year round so I store my lager out there and transfer it to the fridge in the kitchen as I get some space in the fridge. I really just brew ale and keep it in a keg and it looks like a Cony keg will fill a pint glass a lot better than the plastic version that I was using in the eighties and that I've just taken from its long-time resting place to start brewing again.

I now find that so much has changed since I last filled a FV in almost every part of the operation that I need to get on here and ask questions most people may think are daft. I think I read somewhere that I don't need to prime when using a corny keg with a Co2 cylinder but I'll need some info on that I think.
So I think its time I splashed out again and buy some decent equipement and get stuck in to it.

Well i never prime my corny kegs mate (but i could be doing it wrong) Basically the C02 will carbonate your beer as opposed to when you just bottle direct from the FV where each bottle requires a small amount of sugar to add carbonation.
As for the temperature issue, well that’s always down to individual preference, so in your case you may not need a fridge.

You can go as elaborate or as simple as you want when it comes to kegs and serving and storing your beer. Some guys have the full on kegerator style set ups with temperature controls in place with elaborate tap set-ups etc, or you can just get a keg, soda stream type C02 bottle and a “Party tap” and that will do an adequate job in dispensing your beers. But, and i never use them so not sure on prices, the soda stream canisters can work out expensive in the long run i think. I have an industrial looking C02 cylinder set up with mine, but i wouldn’t want it in my house. Mine is kept outside in my man cave and it’s hidden away so it’s not really an issue for me.

Having said all that, my very first brew was kegged into one of those plastic barrels with mini C02 bulb on top and it worked fine. But i wanted to expand and liked the idea of the corny kegs cos basically they’re bullet proof and reliable.

It’s all down to preferences mate and whatever set-up suits your needs i guess.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Party taps are great and relatively inexpensive. I used these exclusively for a while. Only upgraded so I don't have to keep my fridge door open while I pour a pint.

 

[2pints]

Can't see me filling the wife's fridge up with a large keg! That would need a stand-alone fridge in another room or in an out-building (a shed) It has to be in the porch I think. At least I wouldn't need to leave the house to get a beer. How does this "party tap" work? Is that a case of drilling a hole in the side of a fridge!?

I saw on here the other day, a FV that had what looked like an electric kettle heater element drilled into the side of it at the bottom. It probably has a controller to moderate its temperature. Anyone know where I can get one of those kits? As we are all keeping the heating off in our houses, this would be a very good idea for the fermenting stage. Its probably a out of a travel kettle that you would have in say a caravan. (low amps)
I've also seen that there's quite a lot of Co2 cylinders on Ebay of various sizes and clean, which would be welcome as my pub bottles are about 70cm in height and pretty dirty.

Brewelder. You say you don't prime when using the Corny. What's your beer like in the way of fizz? It does look like the Corny keg for me though. Bit of an outlay but it has a lot of pluses.

 

[obscure]

Thanks for that Graz. Lots of really good info, though some of it I don't understand as yet but I'll learn!
I'm wondering why I'll need a fridge. I do have a couple of pub type Co2 cylinders that I use for my mig welder and I have a shop where I get them exchanged.
I think I will need a bit of procedure knowledge to understand why I need a fridge. I don't usually use bottles. Usually I put it all in a pressure barrel and let it condition that way. I did a lot of bottling in the eighties and found it to be quite messy and it took up a lot of space. Ok if you have an empty shed but my shed has classic car parts in it that I make a small living out of now I've retired.
Thanks for whoever has given me the two pints emoji up in the left hand corner!

Just for a slightly different prospective I use corny kegs unrefrigerated for my bitter, in the Autumn right through to early spring my utility room is rarely above 14°C it might be no good for larger but combined with a flow control tap and keeping the pressure fairly low I am able to dispense bitter without too much issue. When the weather gets warmer I have a few 5L stainless steel mini kegs which I can fit in the fridge and use to dispense beer with I also use these for beers which benefit from being served at a lower temperature. Effectively I use corny kegs in a similar way to how people use pressure barrels.

 

[2pints]

Just for a slightly different prospective I use corny kegs unrefrigerated for my bitter, in the Autumn right through to early spring my utility room is rarely above 14°C it might be no good for larger but combined with a flow control tap and keeping the pressure fairly low I am able to dispense bitter without too much issue. When the weather gets warmer I have a few 5L stainless steel mini kegs which I can fit in the fridge and use to dispense beer with I also use these for beers which benefit from being served at a lower temperature. Effectively I use corny kegs in a similar way to how people use pressure barrels.

Hi Obscure. This is what I needed to know. I'm looking to use a Corny keg just in the way I did with the plastic barrel. I don't want to have a second fridge. We already have a fridge freezer that's used for domestic service and at the moment, we could do without the cost on the energy bill of running an extra unit.
I think I could probably sort out the basic system for about £100 and then perhaps add some stuff on later. What got me thinking was the comment that I would end up with a lot of foam if I didn't use a fridge. The thought of drinking ale at the same temperature as lager doesn't figure with me.
Need some ideas about that FV heater though as its a bit cold in parts of our house. We heat using a wood burner and the heat doesn't get to some of the rooms.

 

[2pints]

I'm on the BKT site and I see the 19ltr recon kegs are in stock. Can someone let me have a proposed list of what else I will need from them assuming that I'll sort out my own Co2 supply.
Thanks.

 

[Nottsbeer]

Hi Obscure. This is what I needed to know. I'm looking to use a Corny keg just in the way I did with the plastic barrel. I don't want to have a second fridge. We already have a fridge freezer that's used for domestic service and at the moment, we could do without the cost on the energy bill of running an extra unit.
I think I could probably sort out the basic system for about £100 and then perhaps add some stuff on later. What got me thinking was the comment that I would end up with a lot of foam if I didn't use a fridge. The thought of drinking ale at the same temperature as lager doesn't figure with me.
Need some ideas about that FV heater though as its a bit cold in parts of our house. We heat using a wood burner and the heat doesn't get to some of the rooms.

I haven't seen a FV with a heater in it, but myself and many others have a brew fridge setup using a small heater in a fridge controlled by an inkbird. Works perfectly for maintaining a steady temp, and others use it to also cold crash. If you search for a brew fridge on here you'll find links on how people have put these together.

 

[2pints]

I may be barking up the wrong tree, but have a look at this.

 

[Nottsbeer]

I may be barking up the wrong tree, but have a look at this.

I guess if you went with something like that you'll also need an inkbird or someway to regulate the temperature. I have sat my FV on a heat pad in the past to keep the temp roughly in the correct range for the yeast. That worked well until I had to relocate brewing into the shed!!