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Corny Keg Question

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Pompeysie

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Got my first Corny Keg yesterday (excited!). I have a couple of quick questions.

1. At what point in the fermentation process would you transfer your beer into the Corny? I have just switched my latest brew from the primary FV to the secondary (where I'll leave it for 10 days or so). I would then normally bottle the beer and leave it to condition for a few months. Is it OK to transfer from the secondary, into the corny, force carbonate, then drink or would you leave it to condition further in the corny key?

2. How long will beer stay fresh in a corny keg? Same as in a bottle?

Thanks guys.

Simon
 
I trust it is in a kegerator, not room temp.

I start drinking the beer almost immediately (can't wait).  First I rack to the keg, purge with CO2, put it in the kegerator so it can cool down to the kegerator temp maybe overnight.  Then I force carbonate and start drinking.
 
I agree with Beer_Tigger.  Force carbing is quicker when the beer is cold.  I will also add that I disassemble and sanitize all keg parts before each use.

Assuming no leaks and adequate supply of CO2 the beer will stay fresh a good long time.

Mark
 
1. Semantically speaking, you will wait until fermentation has finished and any dry hop regime is done then transfer to the keg.  Quite often folks will chill the wort as low as they can before transferring to a keg.  This helps further clarify the beer and get the yeast out of suspension.  It is advisable to lower the keg temp into the mid to low 30's F and apply the CO2 to force carbonate.  It takes about a week to fully carbonate which is also a good amount of time to further clarify.  At this point you can start drinking the beer.  I usually find the sweet spot as I drink the beer over time.  Usually I like it best after it has been on the keg a couple weeks bringing the time to about 5 weeks from brewing to prime.  Of course different styles have different prime drinking ages.

2. I have had beer in kegs over a year that tasted awesome.  Usually after 6 months I am tires of the beer if the keg is not yet empty and will either bottle it off  the keg or dump it to make room for something else.  I have had 5 year old kegged beer that was stored in the 30's that tasted great.    Age is the great revealer fo your process.  If you have any sanitation or storage issues, they rear their ugly heads after a couple months.
 
As usual, amazing replies from folks in this forum.

I don't have a kegerator (yet!). At the moment it's cold enough (in the UK) in the cupboard under the stairs (the only spot I could negotiate with my wife!). I'll have to re-think for the summer month(s)!

Cheers again.

Simon
 
My typical process - not necessarily the right way: Leave the beer in primary for three to four weeks (until the SG stabilizes somewhere in the neighborhood of your desired final gravity plus at least one week) then cold crash for a couple of days and transfer to a CO2-purged keg. Transfer using a hose over the spigot at the bottom of the fermentation bucket connected to a liquid disconnect to minimize O2 exposure.

If you feel you need to use a secondary, write "Secondary" on the side of the keg. When you decide secondary fermentation is complete, chill then transfer from the secondary keg to the serving keg with a jumper - a hose with two liquid disconnects.

Chill the serving keg and apply 30 PSI for two days. Adjust pressure and sample occasionally until you think the beer is as good as it's going to get. You'll know the beer is as good as it's going to get when you get only CO2 out of the tap.

You can dry hop in the keg. Put your hops in a bag in a sanitized keg, CO2 purge, and transfer with a jumper. Hold the keg above serving temp for whatever time you prefer for dry hopping. Transfer to another serving keg - or not. I occasionally do a second dry hop in the serving keg; you don't get a lot of hop character quickly that way, but the effect is extended over a longer period.

I've never kept beer in kegs for extended periods. If it isn't appealing enough to drink within a few months, I typically dump it to make room for something new.
 
durrettd said:
Transfer using a hose over the spigot at the bottom of the fermentation bucket connected to a liquid disconnect to minimize O2 exposure.

If you feel you need to use a secondary, write "Secondary" on the side of the keg. When you decide secondary fermentation is complete, chill then transfer from the secondary keg to the serving keg with a jumper - a hose with two liquid disconnects.
Click to expand...

Question:  if you're draining from the bottom of "1st fermentation" bucket, aren't you getting all the settlement and yeast transferred to the "serving" or "secondary vessel", (keg)?  Or is the spigots high enough up to keep this from happening?

Second:  when transferring from secondary keg to serving keg with a "jumper"  I'm assuming you are pushing from secondary keg to serving keg with C02.  Is this correct?
 
durrettd said:
My typical process - not necessarily the right way: Leave the beer in primary for three to four weeks (until the SG stabilizes somewhere in the neighborhood of your desired final gravity plus at least one week) then cold crash for a couple of days and transfer to a CO2-purged keg. Transfer using a hose over the spigot at the bottom of the fermentation bucket connected to a liquid disconnect to minimize O2 exposure.

If you feel you need to use a secondary, write "Secondary" on the side of the keg. When you decide secondary fermentation is complete, chill then transfer from the secondary keg to the serving keg with a jumper - a hose with two liquid disconnects.

Chill the serving keg and apply 30 PSI for two days. Adjust pressure and sample occasionally until you think the beer is as good as it's going to get. You'll know the beer is as good as it's going to get when you get only CO2 out of the tap.

You can dry hop in the keg. Put your hops in a bag in a sanitized keg, CO2 purge, and transfer with a jumper. Hold the keg above serving temp for whatever time you prefer for dry hopping. Transfer to another serving keg - or not. I occasionally do a second dry hop in the serving keg; you don't get a lot of hop character quickly that way, but the effect is extended over a longer period.

I've never kept beer in kegs for extended periods. If it isn't appealing enough to drink within a few months, I typically dump it to make room for something new.
Click to expand...

+1, This is almost exactly how I do it.

I have a flander's red that has been in the keg for 2 years, and a barlywine that has been in for 1, and a apfewein that has been in for 2. 

OzarkBrewer said:
Question:  if you're draining from the bottom of "1st fermentation" bucket, aren't you getting all the settlement and yeast transferred to the "serving" or "secondary vessel", (keg)?  Or is the spigots high enough up to keep this from happening?
Click to expand...

You guessed it.  The spigot is high enough to keep this from happening.  Every once in a while, with a very big beer...I'll get a little bit.  Bit that's manageable by opening the spigot slowly.  Plus, since I take daily samples out of the spigot during fermentation...I know its going to happen and the samples actually help to create a well around the spigot as the yeast is pulled out with the sample.

OzarkBrewer said:
Second:  when transferring from secondary keg to serving keg with a "jumper"  I'm assuming you are pushing from secondary keg to serving keg with C02.  Is this correct?
Click to expand...

Yep.  If I were worried that the secondary keg was going to have sediment (eg, a bright tank, or a real refermentation), then I would ensure that the secondary keg had a shorter dip tube (1/2 inch is usually enough).  This helps to prevent drawing the sediment up and transferring into serving keg.

 
I don't have a kegerator (yet!). At the moment it's cold enough (in the UK) in the cupboard under the stairs (the only spot I could negotiate with my wife!).
Click to expand...

Most kegerators they sell are made for Sankey kegs, not the soda kegs we use.  So you can convert a commercial kegerator... or make you own!

This is a fancy version of what I did. 

http://billybrew.com/kegerator-collar

I used scrap pine and didn't bother to stain it. It's in an unfinished basement and I don't have company very often, so I didn't see the point in being all aesthetic about it.  Though I did discover that it's better to have the CO2 and regulator on the outside because condensation and metal aren't friends.

You should be able to find a used freezer on the cheap.  You'll need something to control the temperature.  That thing in the picture dangling over the back on the right side is the lead for thermostat. 

I use a Johnson Control unit like this one.

http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/keg-equipment/thermometers/A419ABG-3C___9161.shtml

Put it all together and you've got a nice kegerator for a fraction of what it would cost to convert a commercial one. 

Beer is the mother of invention!
 
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