Corny Keg For Homebrewing
Continuing the series of posts for converting from bottling to kegging your homebrewed beer, here is a post discussing the cornelius or corny keg.
The major piece of equipment you need to buy if you want to starting kegging your homebrew is a keg. Corny kegs, which were made for sodas, work well for homebrewers since they typically hold 5 gallons, are easy to clean and sanitize, and their size and shape is conducive to easy storing in a refrigerator.
It’s probably worth mentioning that before you starting thinking about kegging homebrew, you should have a place to store your beer at cold serving temperatures. If you have a beer fridge, then you are all set.
There are two kinds of corny kegs – ones with pin lock connectors (made by Coca Cola) and ones with ball lock connectors (made by Pepsi). Both can be used for homebrew but they are not interchangable. I usually see ball lock corny kegs for sale.
Now you can buy new ones but if you want to save some money, you can find refurbished ones that work just as well as new. I have seen homebrew stores sell both new and used corny kegs. You can find corny kegs for sale on Craigslist too. Mike suggested that if a restaurant has gone out of business, you may be able to get corny kegs from there.
One last thing about corny kegs – I have seen new 2.5 gallon corny kegs and they are just a little less expensive than new 5 gallon ones. To me, the price doesn’t justify the halved amount of volume. You’re probably better off getting a 5 gallon one if you are starting your kegging homebrew journey.
on August 16th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Hey guys, like the blog, been a subscriber for awhile now. I feel you left out a key piece of equipment that not only is extremely important, but also the most expensive. Of course, I’m talking about a CO2 tank and regulator. Cornelius kegs can only be pressurized this way, and you also can’t disperse beer using the pump taps which are more common with party kegs.
In my experience, regulators can be purchased online from $40-100 depending on the style and number of gas lines you want, and the CO2 tank and fill is best purchased at either a fire extinguisher or welding supply store. Here in Seattle, we have AAA fire and safety (also located in other parts of the country) where a tank and your first fill can be bought for $90. Additional fills are $10.
Sorry if I jumped the gun on your series, I just wanted to make sure your readers were prepared for the financial investment of kegging. I agree that it’s far easier (and beer is ready earlier), but there is a considerate financial investment to get started.
Cheers!
on August 16th, 2011 at 9:51 pm
Hi Aaron,
Yeah – we are going to go piece by piece…so that it is comprehensive. Price does play a big part in the conversion from bottling to kegging homebrew. It’s our experience that you will pay into the hobby as you grow with it.