Racking with Corny Kegs

Hi Guys. Would really appreciate your input on my proposed system. I am about to brew an ale and use a Corny Keg system for the first time. What I proposed doing was to finish the ferment and add gelatine, wait for it to clear and then rack it into a Corny keg, attach the gas and burp it a few times then disconnect the gas and leave it with a CO2 blanket and store it in the fridge for a couple of weeks before filtering it into a second Corny Keg. The idea is that I allow it a decent amount of time to condition before filtering and significantly carbonating whilst waiting for the other keg to become available. As I see it this will not only allow the beer a decent amount of time to develop before filtering and allow me to run the system without having to buy a 3rd keg. Does anyone see any potential pitfalls in this approach? I have also considered blowing a gentle CO2 blanket over the fermenter following adding the gelatine to prevent oxygen attacking the brew whilst fining, is this worthwhile or am I becoming a little precious here :grin:?

hi Osric, how are the tentacles doing

just my take on your proposal,

first forget the gelatine, its only really useful for a cask ale you intend to drink green (before its matured).

secondly forget filtering, its a pita and unnecessary.

while you can naturally condition in a corny its only going to increase the sediment and create a larger volume of dirty beer to dispose of from the initial pour.

Just fill your keg, refer to a kegging chart for the level of pressure and temperature to store at for the level of condition your after http://www.kegerators.com/articles/carbonation-table-pressure-chart.php
and leave for a week to 10 days to condition and settle out.

once conditioned you can start to sample, the first 1/4-1/3 rd of a pint you pour will contain the bulk of the sediment that has settled in the keg so chuck that. Then sample and if matured to your taste enjoy, If not matyred to your taste leave til it is.

Its good to hear you have a fridge to serve from, the only other thing to consider once temp control and a regulated gas supply are sorted is the balancing of the keg pressure before the tap. most folk use 3/16" micro line between the keg and tap, the idea is to minimise the pressre drop at the tap point to 1-2psi, the mictoline restricts pressure between 1-2psi per foot length. Generally a length of 5-6ft of microline will let you serve beers varying from low to high keg pressures.

You mentioned a fridge in your post. Are you able to fit your fv into this?

If so, what I do after fermentation is complete, is move the fv to the fridge for a few days (I normally leave mine a week).

This is 'cold crashing' and will clear your beer (or pretty close!) for you without gelatine/filtering. Works very well on wines too.

You can then rack the beer to your corny and forget about it - see Fils post re carbing.

Thanks guys, big fan of the Tentacles BTW, inspired the name. I've already got the filter so I suppose I could just use it if there's a problem, but will try it without as suggested, was always a bit concerned about stripping some of the goodies out. Would love to be able to cold crash, and can certainly do it for my first batch, but thereafter I'm expecting a Corny to be in there being drunk which will take up too much space, I've already butchered the fridge by cutting out the rack slots to accommodate 2 Corny's. The other half took quite a bit of convincing to accept the one I got off ebay which was a fraction too small and let me hack about the house fridge:lol: but then I knew I had a good 'un when she let me rebuild my Triumph in the dining room. When it comes to beer and motorcycles I get that look in my eye and there's no stopping me. I suspect, at least in part, I'm not alone here;-)

I suppose if I put it straight in the Corny and into the fridge it will have the same effect as crash cooling, the only problem being there will be more sediment when I first dispense. A bit disappointed about the dispensing line, if there is such a clear rule of thumb you'd hope the home brew supply shops wouldn't supply one a foot and a half long and the same gauge as a gas line. Will have to look into converting it somehow, but a quick inspection of the one supplied reveals a push fit rather than a John Guest attachment which might render the entire thing useless, but so far I haven't found anyone that supplies a more appropriate rig.

Apart from the dispensing issue I'm very pleased that the Corny system is as seemingly foolproof as I had hoped. I'm very grateful for your help as having blown several months of my beer budget on this system I'm going to have to drink whatever I make, so I am keen to get it right.:

i hope im misunderstanding but if the cornies are going to sit in the house fridge along with your food your going to be limited to Cold and fairly high levels of condition, ideally you want a dedicated keg fridge with an added controller such as an stc1000 or similar device which will let you set a specific temperature for the kegs, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220V-All-...821?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f48e159ed food wants to be kept at 4C or lower while beer depending on the style wants to be served between 5 and 13C.

Fwiw when i took the plunge and invested in cornies i bought from a well known online brewshop who offered a 'delux corny set' which included a welders reg, 2 x kegs and a sexy looking attach directly to the keg tap which was/is about as much use as a chocolate teapot. and it took me months of serving nowt but foam to sus out whats what..

Sounds like you have a party tap?
http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=570
which if so is great for taking a keg somewhere for a party and pouring off using the contained pressure in the keg. They can be adapted, but a real tap can be ebayed for a few quid http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DALEX-BEER-TAP-/301593727059?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4638631053
(just the 1st an ebay search kicked out not a specific recomendation)
branded ex pub taps and fonts can be picked up cheap (fonts are heavy so only look locally) New, can cost upto £35 for the tap alone especially if u go for the sexy pertlick style.... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Draft-Bee...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item419055560d

gas line and beerline are basically the same,a and 3/8" is the standard, when kegging you will learn all about JG fittins

thing is its a dispensing system and the kegs are only the storage aspect of the system.

it can be a minefield, but you have found the right place to get help sussing it all out..

Thanks for your help Fil. Fortunately I do have a dedicated fridge although not a controller as yet. You were right that I did get a "party tap" although the connection to the line from the corny does not appear to have a JG thread so for the interim, because the cupboard is bare, I am thinking of cutting out the existing line and putting 5 ft. of 3/16 in between party tap and corny using JG reducers.

I also have a welding regulator which I suspect will be far from ideal, but given the state of finances it will have to do for the time being as any further purchases are going to have to be made from the money I save from not buying beer, the voice has spoken and I've pushed my luck far enough thieving the fridge and palming the groceries off on the eBay replacement that was 5cm to narrow for 2 Cornies. Got my brew on this afternoon so hopefully a half decent batch is on its way.

Thanks again for your help

afaik a welders reg is fine as long as the grade on the output gauge is in psi and a fine enough grade, if it increases in 4-5psi increments it will be a sod to set at the lower psi range we use, but an inline 2nd gauge is a £10 mod and as easy as screwing a guage into a threaded jg fitting and using a T or Y to break off the gas line..


**edit - conny kegs have a prv built into the keg lid other kegs without this feature do benefit from a reg with a prv...


your tap plan sounds fine..

and an stc1000 mod to the fridge is a simple job wire the stc up to provide a power socket to simply plug the fridge into, lots of how-tos here and on the web