AEB Corny Keg

The Homebrew Forum

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

dazzer22

Active Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2021
Messages
22
Reaction score
3
I am considering buying a AEB Corny Cornelius Keg 10L or something similar and want to know what people think about them other than bottles ? I will probably still use some bottles but the keg might be a good idea to have as well, i have a spare fridge and a cellar i can use in colder months and stock for xmas or birthdays , new or used they seem to be a few refurbished on Ebay with ball lock posts and pressure valve , tap and co2 regulator going for£160.
 
I have several of the AEB Cornelius (aka Corny) kegs and they are really excellent. Very smart appearance and good quality. I have the larger ones (19L) which personally I find a more useful size - and they are about the same price.

I get mine new from MaltMiller for £89 so I’m not sure about that eBay deal… i think I’d prefer to get a new regulator and the ‘premium CO2 regulator’ from Malt Miller (which is the same one as many people here use) is only £49

1625781171654.png
 
I (…) want to know what people think about (Corny kegs) other than bottles ?
Well opinions vary of course but all I can say is that personally once I bit the bullet and got set up with a corny and CO2 setup, I really felt no urge to go back to bottles. There’s a setup cost, that’s for sure - but I find the whole process a lot less hassle; it’s much easier to adjust the carbonation up or down ‘in flight’; and you can just serve whatever quantity you want, from a glass-full up to a bag-in-box to take round for a party.
 
One other advantage for those of us with a ‘less-than-patient-disposition’ is that you can force carbonate and start “quality control testing” almost straight after kegging, without having to wait for secondary fermentation to complete in the bottle athumb..

Not that I’m against bottles, mind… I still fill a bottle or two (from a Corny) fairly frequently to take round to my Dad’s or to post off for a swap.
 
I am actually considering the Dark Farm 10L Black Mini Keg ! I was wondering How long does it take to carbonation with co2 ? my other question is when the beer is fermented can i store the beer sealed in the keg but without any co2 .
 
I am actually considering the Dark Farm 10L Black Mini Keg ! I was wondering How long does it take to carbonation with co2 ? my other question is when the beer is fermented can i store the beer sealed in the keg but without any co2 .
Force carbonation time will vary on several factors, CO2 pressure, headspace, use of aeration stone, using a blichmann quick carb, desired carbonation level, volume of beer, temperature of beer ( plus some factors I've probably forgotten or don't know ).
But the length of a piece of string is twice the distance from the middle.
When beer is fermented it will actually have CO2 dissolved in it, even if open fermented. So I'm not sure if you really mean without any CO2.
You really need the keg filled with CO2 before filling it unless you are second fermenting in the keg.
 
I’ve got a couple of 19l ones (£105 for 2 refurbs from Malt Miller) and a new 1/2 size one. I‘ll be using the 1/2 size one for my latest brew (coffee Porter) as I want to bottle 10l or so to save for Christmas.
The full sized ones are great but do take the full height in an under counter fridge. Had no issues with the refurbs other than the rubber marking the bottom of the fridge, they do need a bit of pressure in for the lid to seal properly so, if you are doing a secondary ferment in one, you should put 5psi or so in to start with.
 
I got my cornies for about 50 each by hunting on ebay. And a regulator for 29.

I picked up two old nice pub taps for about 15 quid each.

And God knows how much I spent in pipe, connectors, and stuff. Not enough to make a note of. But enough...

Once your brew is finished you need to move it to your keg and gas it up from your co2 tank. The co2 pressure holds the corny keg tightly closed.
 
I have several of the AEB Cornelius (aka Corny) kegs and they are really excellent. Very smart appearance and good quality. I have the larger ones (19L) which personally I find a more useful size - and they are about the same price.

I get mine new from MaltMiller for £89 so I’m not sure about that eBay deal… i think I’d prefer to get a new regulator and the ‘premium CO2 regulator’ from Malt Miller (which is the same one as many people here use) is only £49

View attachment 50484
This is exactly what I would have said.

Regarding time to carbonate, as @RoomWithABrew said, many factors at play, but I use set and forget and normally leave a couple of weeks hooked up at whatever tempp and pressure the carbonation chart tells me to, but then again, I am paitent wink...
 
my thought was when fermented just fill the keg make it airtight and store and let naturally carbonation happen, then maybe a few weeks before use start adding some Co2 from cartridges.
 
just fill the keg make it airtight and store and let naturally carbonation happen,

Even if carbonating naturally you should put a bit of pressure in to start with, doesn't need to be high, only 5psi or so just to make sure the lid has sealed properly. Not sure if you should stick a spunding valve on as well so you can set the pressure so it doesn't over carbonate if you get your sugar calcs wrong.
 
my thought was when fermented just fill the keg make it airtight and store and let naturally carbonation happen
Yep I see where you're coming from, but in order to get the desired level of carbonation that way you'd have to (1) transfer to the keg before fermentation is finished; or (2) add priming sugar once it's in there. I'm not a big fan of either option: (1) requires careful judgement, and (2) involves waiting for secondary fermentation to complete before you can start the 'quality assurance testing process' :beer1:


then maybe a few weeks before use start adding some Co2 from cartridges

If you mean those little mini 'sparklet' cartridges, they work but are a bit of a pain in the backside because you will go through them like there is no tomorrow.
You really need a gas pressure regulator anyhow, so that you can serve the beer without just delivering pints of foam; so unless your budget is extraordinarily tight you'd be better off getting either a SodaStream bottle (available from Robert Days, Argos store-in-stores at large Sainsburys etc) or a pub-type cylinder (not difficult to get, and much cheaper in the medium term).

Generally the process works like this:

1) when fermentation is complete i.e. about 5 days after the SG has stopped falling, flush the keg (Corny, King Keg, whatever) with CO2 to expel the air - then transfer the brew.
2) seal the keg, connect the gas and set the regulator to about 20psi depending on the style of beer
3) leave for 2-3 days or if you're in a hurry lie it flat and gently 'rock' for 10 mins or until the regulator stops feeding in gas
4) leave for 2-3 days to settle (unless you're impatient) then reduce the regulator to serving pressure 3-6psi, and start sampling
5) if the carbonation is too high or low then add more gas or vent off.

of course the beer will continue to improve in appearance and quality if left to condition - but there's no reason not to get a few pints down while that's underway :-)
 
I agree with everything said above, I bought all of my kegs/regulator/taps etc from BrewKegTap. Connectors and lines etc can be bought cheaply from the Kegland store on AliExpress but you could have to wait a while for it to arrive. I would also look at getting a pub size gas bottle, after the initial deposit the refills are dirt cheap and will last a long time, my last one lasted over 12 months and then I only got a refill because I was nervous about running out over Christmas
 
I agree with everything said above, I bought all of my kegs/regulator/taps etc from BrewKegTap. Connectors and lines etc can be bought cheaply from the Kegland store on AliExpress but you could have to wait a while for it to arrive. I would also look at getting a pub size gas bottle, after the initial deposit the refills are dirt cheap and will last a long time, my last one lasted over 12 months and then I only got a refill because I was nervous about running out over Christmas
Best to have a second full one on standby then you can replace the empty at your leisure. They do last a long time though. I think I'm currently on keg #21 from my current cylinder and I use it for headspace purging, carbonation, serving and pushing cleaning fluid/water/starsan through.
 
Best to have a second full one on standby then you can replace the empty at your leisure. They do last a long time though. I think I'm currently on keg #21 from my current cylinder and I use it for headspace purging, carbonation, serving and pushing cleaning fluid/water/starsan through.
That would be ideal but I don't think I bre enough to justify having a full tank taking up space in the garage, I do have a soda stream adapter so worse case scenario would be to run out to Argos and pick up a soda stream bottle in an emergency
 
That would be ideal but I don't think I bre enough to justify having a full tank taking up space in the garage, I do have a soda stream adapter so worse case scenario would be to run out to Argos and pick up a soda stream bottle in an emergency
There’s 60L of CO2 in a soda stream canister. So it’s 1 per keg to carbonate 19L to 2.5 vols and dispense. You’ll be spending £10-15 per keg on CO2. Also, I fill the keg with Oxy no rinse and empty it via a party tap as part of a closed transfer, which uses another 19L of CO2.
A small bottle of gas will pay for itself after 3 or 4 kegs.
 
There’s 60L of CO2 in a soda stream canister. So it’s 1 per keg to carbonate 19L to 2.5 vols and dispense. You’ll be spending £10-15 per keg on CO2. Also, I fill the keg with Oxy no rinse and empty it via a party tap as part of a closed transfer, which uses another 19L of CO2.
A small bottle of gas will pay for itself after 3 or 4 kegs.
That was just a worse case scenario for if I run out after a suggestion that you could have a second bottle as a spare. I have a 6.5kg bottle of CO2 and a 6.5kg bottle of mixed gas for every day use acheers.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top