Using a 19l corny

[Razovich]

Hi, just got gifted a corny keg and am wondering if when doing a favourite brew I could put into keg then immediately brew same print (or different one as to do a custom blend) and then add it into the same keg? Should in theory only be a max of 12 days age difference and would make best use of kegs. As only 10l in it would leave way to much head space.

Thoughts and ideas please, cheers

[Thagomizer]

Razovich, welcome to the forum. 

You have an interesting problem - one I have never faced.  If you had two droids, this would be simple. 

I would suggest storing the first batch in a separate vessel at 4^oC (39^oF) until the second batch is ready to keg.  I would then allow the first batch to warm up to kegging temperature and then blend the two batches (both at kegging temperature) into the large keg.  Apparently, you will have an extra liter.  Just bottle it.  That will be your tasting sampler.

I hope this helps.  😀

[Dustin Frothman]

On 26/11/2022 at 10:44 AM, Razovich said:

Hi, just got gifted a corny keg and am wondering if when doing a favourite brew I could put into keg then immediately brew same print (or different one as to do a custom blend) and then add it into the same keg? Should in theory only be a max of 12 days age difference and would make best use of kegs. As only 10l in it would leave way to much head space.

Thoughts and ideas please, cheers

Hi Razovich and welcome.

You could store the first brew in your corny keg but you’ll need to fill the headspace with CO2 to prevent oxidisation. 
Someone with better physics knowledge than me could probably calculate the amount you’ll need but surely if you just do the maths and work out the volume of the cylinder dead space remaining, then you can calculate the pressure required from there.

Cheers!

[Razovich]

Thanks for the welcome. Really appreciate the response @Thagomizerand @Dustin Frothman. I am at least going to give it a go now with a little more confidence. Ideal to use the extra as a sampler.

Am super keen to learn even though my wife and I prefer simple brews. 

[Wazza_wantsbeer]

13 hours ago, Razovich said:

Thanks for the welcome. Really appreciate the response @Thagomizerand @Dustin Frothman. I am at least going to give it a go now with a little more confidence. Ideal to use the extra as a sampler.

Am super keen to learn even though my wife and I prefer simple brews. 

@Razovich using a 19l keg with 10l brews isn't too much of an issue. I'm doing it fairly frequently as I'm moving from 9,5l to 19l kegs or at least the plan is to end up with maybe half and half of each.

First, I wouldn't worry about the headspace left filling a 19l keg with only 10l as at some point when you are drinking the beer, you're going to have 10l or less in that keg.

The most important thing, as @Dustin Frothman said, the key is to purge the head space in the keg prior to filling to avoid oxidation which will spoilt your beer.

The easiest way to do that, fill up your keg to the brim with a liquid and then use CO2 to push that liquid out. The way I do this is to use 19.5l of StellarSan/StarSan and make it a part of my cleaning, storing and sanatising a keg before use.

Second most important thing, do not carbonate (either by carbonation or secondary fermentation) your beer if you intend to add another ~9l to it from the next batch out of the Droid. Otherwise you will get a lot of foaming which can get super messy and you waste all that good CO2.

If you are new to kegging, for some guidance, once a keg is empty, I use a cleaning and sanatising routine is as follows:

Rinsing:
Rinse the keg well with hot water. Once all the obvious matter at the bottom is removed, and sometimes you will need to use a clean soft cloth, I will use a mix of hot water from the tap and 2 or 3 kettles full of boiling water, close the keg and shake vigorously then leave upside down for 30-60 minutes and then turn right side up for 30 minutes to 1 hour. If I think the water has dropped too much in temp, just open and add another kettle full of boiling water.

Cleaning:
Pour out the boiling water and use a good cleaner such as PBW (Powerful Brewery Wash), sodium percarbonate, etc. and again fill with hot water and add your cleaner. Add a bit less than full of hot water, add the cleaning power, close the lid and shake like buggery. This will help to dissolve the cleanser and get the solution on every internal part of the keg. Again, then let sit upside down first for an hour or 6. Then turn right side up and let sit again for similar time. Pour out when done.

Drying:
This is the contentious part, you can safely leave your keg with the cleaning solution inside it (same goes for the sanitising solution) but I like to tip mine out into a container which I then reuse on the next keg or two. I then let the keg sit outside or in a dry spot inside upside down and then at an angle to let the remaining water drip out. Once it's bone dry, then it's good to be stored away until next step.

Sanatising:
As with the cleaning solution, with hot water fill the dry keg to near the top but leave some space, add the StellarSan/StarSan, close the lid and shake it around and leave upside down and then after some time, turn right side up.

Purging:
Just prior to use, attach your CO2 bottle via regulator and purge the sanatising solution from the keg. I like to keep pushing CO2 into the keg for a minute or so once the solution has come out as there will always be some residue, especially the foam that StellarSan is famous for and it also ensures you have purged all the O2.

Kegging Temperature, this is obviously a personal preference thing but I have kegged many times now at 3-4°C without any issues including adding a second batch to a half full keg. When brewing in the Droid, I always use Custom and set the Kegging temp to the same as the storage temp.

Good luck and cheers!