Serving from a corny

[Thebiggestal]

Hi all

I’ve brewed some beers and carbed in kegs. Stored in the kegorator hooked up to the gas. At Christmas I want to bring the kegs into the house. If I disconnect from the gas to bring them into the house and use a picnic tap will they still pour? Or do I need to keep them connected to the gas to serve?

 

[Agentgonzo]

You still need it connected to gas to serve.

 

[Caramel Ox]

Fill a growler and serve from that?

 

[LeeH]

You’ll only get a few pints out, hardly any if it’s a full keg.

Mini bulbs or a sodastream set up.

 

[Rwilts]

Fill a growler and serve from that?

I find a nice 1.5L jug makes a nice vessel to bring in from garage ,

 

[DuncR]

Once the keg is half empty and the head space is pressurised you will get more than a couple of pints out, however, as above there’s always the jug approach.

 

[obscure]

You will likely have enough pressure for a couple of pints. It’s not a cheap way of buying CO2 but you could always buy a mini regulator and some 16g cartridges or with the right adapter use a soda stream cylinder. A 16g cartridge should be able to dispense about four or five litres of beer.

 

[The Baron]

Fill 2 or 1 litre pop bottles off the keg and take into the house. I do this regular in the winter as I have a bar/pub in my garden and it can be too cold to keep going out, works a treat you may have to squish the bottle to eject the excess froth and re top up depends on how it serves off the keg

 

[Leard]

How big is your CO2 cannister? Mine is only small, 15kg maybe? Smaller than a corny. Can't you just bring it in with the keg?

 

[phildo79]

Unless you have one of those giant 200kg cylinders, just bring it in along with the kegs.

I have a soda stream canister, mini regulator, adapter etc. that I use when bringing a half keg to my mates bar. But I wouldn't even bother faffing around with it at home.

 

[hoppyscotty]

This was my setup for a street party for the Queens Jubilee in 2022. Wrapped the keg in high density foam sheet and silver backed bubble wrap insulation which did a good job of keeping it cool through the afternoon. And a soda stream to maintain normal pressure. Strapped to a sack truck for wheeling down to the high street. Have used this set up a few times now and works well. Bet to maintain full pressure and not be tempted to drop pressure to prevent foaming. Best to get a long 10ft or so line of 3/16 beer line connected to your party tap to manage foaming as if you drop pressure the last third of your keg will be uncarbonated...

 

[phildo79]

How could carbonated beer become uncarbonated so quickly and whilst still in the keg?

 

[hoppyscotty]

because as soon as you release the head pressure then CO2 cannot remain in saturation to the same level so immediately precipitates (not sure if that is the correct term) and balances at the corresponding level of carbonation to the head pressure. This balance occurs instantaneously - the beer cannot hold CO2 higher than the environmental pressure it is in. by the time you're down to half to 3/4 of the keg it will be at the level of carbonation corresponding 3 - 5psi head pressure - i.e. not very highly carbonated at all...can muster a head while pouring but it wont last and you cant detect it i.e. its flat.

 

[phildo79]

I would regularly have two kegs running in my fridge. The second one would be hooked up to the gas to carbonate it, while the first would be already carbonated and not hooked up. I would draw pints from the first keg until it becomes noticeable that it needs a top-up of pressure. Can't say I have ever thought the beer tasted flat. The speed of the flow certainly decreases. That is quite noticeable, after a while. But once it is given a quick top-up, things are back to normal. The beer doesn't have to carbonate again.

 

[hoppyscotty]

If you've carbonated your beer to 2.5 volumes then that corresponds to a specific pressure and emperature combination - higher pressure at warmer temperatures. If you change the pressure, or temperature or both then you get a different volume of CO2 and a different level of carbonation. the fundamental laws of physics prohibit a different absorption of co2 in the liquid than the applied pressure and temperature corresponds to.

If you can keep your keg in a fridge or on ice then it will be better. Btu as soon as you drop your carbonation pressure to a lower 'serving' pressure the process of decarbonation immediately begins and with every serving you're losing co2 and pressure to atmosphere. Like I say, our a beer into a glass and leave it on the side and in 20 mins or so it'll be flat or at a noticeably lower level of carbonation than when it was freshly poured. The greater the differential in pressure the quicker it will lose carbonation.