Why Use Cornelius Kegs

[IanRMartin]

I've ticked for serving Bright beer as that is the main reason for me ordering one

How ever being able to transport is another.

And not long after those two its shiney and cool.

I like things made out of proper materials like this so much stuff these days is made of plastic <_< , now don't get me wrong i am not against plastic in the right application, how ever i don't think everything should be made of plastic as some manufacturers seam to just to save a few quid
Ian

[PieOPah]

I have thought about a cornie keg but really can't see anything that would convince me to get one. From what I uderstand you need to force carb them.

I have been very happy with my Budget Barrel and so far have never had a problem with it. Okay, I can't keep it cool properly, but at the same time I couldn't fit a cornie into my fridge anyway so I would have the same problem.

The one issue I do have with my Keg is that it isn't the easiet thing in the world to move around. BUT if I am making a beer, in general I know whether this will be a beer that I will drink, people will come to me to drink or I will take to them to drink.

If I know I will be taking the beer to somebody elses house, then I will bottle it.

I thikn the only reason I would use a cornie keg would be for the smaller footprint and the nice sleek shiny look.

[confused]

The main reason I want to replace my KK's with Cornies is the application - I want to rack and store my beer in a brewery (a yet to be converted unused coal store on the sideof the house) and serve it to taps two feet away indside the house.

Hopefully the store I'm going to convert will be big enough for me to install a sluice/sink, boiler and storage.

I need to work out a trade off for swmbo first though, I think she has other plans for the space!

[AT]

Reliability and probably cause it's nice and shiny, dam me and my love for shiny things

[sagwalla]

I use a corni because my wife got tired of washing bottles

[Road Runner]

As you say, most reasons apply. But I went for "Serving Bright Beer", which also ties in with "Ease of Transporting", as the beer is hopefully still bright once the Cornie has been dragged to wherever I want to drag it to.

Cost would have been another factor. I used KK's for a couple of years, I have 3 at £47 each and a Hambleton Bard gas cylinder at £18. I also changed the original taps to Brewgas taps at £12 each, as I couldn't get on with the original drum taps. Total = £195

I wish I knew before about the much cheaper costs of setting myself up with Cornies. I got 3 at £20 each & £16 for a 7lb gas bottle, £35 for a 3 way regulator & 3 Sparkler taps with flow control at £10 each. Total = £141.

That's £54 cheaper at cost, but the gas will hopefully last me an age.

The Cornies are far more durable & reliable than KK's. I've mannaged to break 2 KK caps by over tightening (Don't know my own strength at times). Also had a few occasions with problems sealing KK's around the taps.

And of course it goes without saying, they are way cooler than KK's or Budget Barrels.

They impress my mates far more than plastic barrels. As of course, presentation is part of the enjoyment of the beer.

Having now got the Cornies, I hope soon to get hold of a fridge & hopefully manage to get 2 in at a time. With the shape of KK's, I'd only manage to fit one in I would think.

:beer

[jasonaustin]

The top reason for me is the reliability - no more leaking caps and taps of King Kegs, no more opening the keg up to reach in to fiddle with the misbehaving float.
Their more compact design also allowed me to build my 2 keg kegerator ('fridge' and 'footprint' - to me, these are related).

Looks - sometimes a disadvantage. I've had people not believe it's homebrew - insisting that the kegs look so professional (and the beer tastes so good!!!) that I must be buying beer from a brewery!!

Can I ask a question? How do cornis help to serve bright beer? ie, what advantages do they offer over other kegs in this area? I used KKs for years and served bright beer - I don't see how the type of keg helps. Now, it is often advised that beer is bright before kegging in a corni, but I thought this was because an unmodified keg has the dip tube going all the way to the bottom meaning problems if the beer hadn't dropped bright or was naturally conditioned. In fact, doesn't a top tap King Keg have advantages in that you can start drinking cleared beer sooner (as it clears from the top)? What am I missing?

[confused]

Silly Question Alert!

I ferment my kit in the trusty bucket (soon to be all grain brews I hope).
It then goes into a wine fermenter for a couple of weeks with a small amount of spraymalt, blast of CO2 and an airlock to complete fermantation and begin conditioning (as I only have one Keg at present and I'm still drinking from that)
When my KK is empty it's cleaned/sanitized then the contents of the wine fermenter are drawn off into it and after about another week or so I start drinking it.

I never add finings or head enhancer, the kit always sems to work well and fall clear naturally, BUT if I move the Keg it does disturb enough sediment to cloud my beer and require another 48 hours to fall bright again.

Is this small amount of sediment in the KK from ongoing fermentation because the beer hasn't had finings added or is it because I'm importing it from the wine fermenter (despite being careful not to)

In short, if i want to keep perfectly bright, transportable beer in my Cornie's do i need to add finings, and if so is Keiselsol still around as I have a couple of vegans to look after so isinglass is a no no.

[PieOPah]

I know that when you naturally carb by using sugar (or any substitute) then sediment is created due to the yeast slightly growing etc.

I assume that when you rack to a cornie, since there is no need to add priming sugar (since you will be force carbonating) then there will be no sediment. This is why you need to rack only when your beer is already crystal clear. Since there is no sediment then there is nothing to disturb (or ther eis so little as to make no real difference).

I suppose you can always get the same results from a regular keg by force carbing in exactly the same way. Personally I always naturally carb!!

I do force carb occassionally but this is only when natural carb runs out. I think that the cost of a cylinder refil (about £5) is too much for me to always use this method. I have no idae how much a bigger CO2 container costs but the one I use is about half the size of a Soda Steam cylinder

[bod]

i'm slowly gathering up everything i need to use cornies again, as i cant stand washing and filling and capping 40 bottles of beer in one sitting!!!!!" although it does look imprtesive when its done.

[johnmac]

The "veggies can't have isinglass" argument is interesting. Tell them that if they're drinking clear beer, the isinglass is all left behind in the barrel. I think all but the most extreme veggies will drink real ale in the pub and that is highly likely to be fined with isinglass.

[Vossy1]

I got a cornie because:-

Having finished my 1st kit (Brupaks Fixby Gold), I decided to bottle it....never again. What a waste of time bottling is. I'm not disputing any benefits of bottling, just the time involved, washing, sterilizing, rinsing, filling and capping.

I don't trust plastic and pressure (splitting).
The prohibitive cost of small co2 quantities.
Lack of maintainance required with stainless.
Storability, the cornie has a smaller footprint than 40 bottles.
I don't like bleach spotting all my clothes, pinny...forget it
Re-sale value, though hopefully I'll never find out....touch wood :huh:

Last but not least, maybe this should be added to DaaB's list

The recommendation from members of this forum and Jims own web page

ps, and the fact its nice and shiny,

The bit I dont like, it looks like a smurf....that's it, I'm going to name my cornie bigster

hmm, party time.... ladies I'm going to get the cornie

ladies I'm going to get the bigster

....make your own mind up

[Frothy]

Easy to clean
Well designed for pouring, draining
Designed for industrial use (reliable/ tough)
Reasonably priced

+ Vossy's points particuarly on the gas side of things. Getting a proper gas system and with nice clean kegs your far more likely to achieve a consistent product I think.

Matt