Can I rack my beer to a Corny for storage?

I think I got a line on some Corny Kegs. I am not ready to get my whole keg set up yet, but would like to have some beer ready for when I do later next month.

How long can I store beer in these kegs without the beer going bad?
What temp should I store them at?
Are there any other considerations? i.e. Should I prime the beer for carbonation like bottles or let it sit?

Store in a corny just like you would in bottles, same temp and everything. Just modify the priming sugar by half.

I have ales in kegs that are over three years old.
Colder is better, but you can store them at room temperature.
You can prime or not. If at all possible, you should put CO2 pressure on the keg to seat the lid.

Remember that sanitation will govern how long you can keep beer in kegs. Bottles are much easier in this respect. Just remember to take everything apart and give them a good soak in whatever you use. I also boil the poppets.

how do I go about putting CO2 pressure in the keg to seal the lids in order to prime them for storage?

jmjbj_h said:

how do I go about putting CO2 pressure in the keg to seal the lids in order to prime them for storage?

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You will either need a proper CO2 dispensing system (tank, regulator and hoses), or you could add priming sugar as Flyin' Lion suggested and let the yeast make the CO2 for you.

To piggyback on this thread. I'm going to start kegging and plan on providing 4 kegs for a party this summer, I will have the kegging setup and plan to force carbonate. My question is- how long can I store the beer that has been carbonated without keeping a CO2 tank hooked up to the keg? I'd like to force carb, seal the kegs, let them sit a month or so without CO2 hooked up and then serve them one at a time (4 different beers). Will the beer remain carbonated?

Think of a keg as a bottle. Beer will stay as fresh and as carbonated as it would in a bottle with the added beneifts of being completely light impervious, unlike bottles, and more resistant to tempurature fluxutations, because of the larger mass.

kornkob said:

Think of a keg as a bottle. Beer will stay as fresh and as carbonated as it would in a bottle with the added beneifts of being completely light impervious, unlike bottles, and more resistant to tempurature fluxutations, because of the larger mass.

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I agree, but would join in what David_42 said.

The keg is like a bottle and the corny hatch is like a bottle cap without a capper. You must supply positive CO2 gas from a tank to get the lid to seal.

I'm ready to fill a keg and have a question, can I fill the keg, give it a shot of CO2 to seal the lid and let it sit cool (~60) until I'm ready to force carb and drink it? I'm not in a hurry to drink it and it will be sitting for another 30-60 days or so, do you see any reason why I would need to give it a weekly shot of CO2 to be sure that it's still sealed? My keg is in great shape and has all new o-rings. Thanks...

Grant

The poppets are another point of failure for kegs that sometimes needs the positive pressure.


If you are confient that your keg points of failure are in good shape then all you really need is that hit of CO2 to seat teh seals and all should be well. No need to rehit the kegs constantly.

I've got a few cornies most of them seal (edit : Pressurize) just from the fermentation process. I had one that didn't seem to want to seal so I gave it a quick shot of co2 like is often suggested on this forum. That seemed to work and I was just about to post that I was wrong in my suggestion that there was a problem if you needed to resort to such measures.

Then I checked it last week. No pressure at all. It had leaked down to nothing.

So I am sticking with my assertion that if you need to apply pressure to get the lid to seal you might have a problem and at the very least you should check for leaks.

I don't doubt that some of you have had luck sealing a cornie in this manner.

But just wanted to post this cautionary measure that just because it seems to seal does not mean it isn't leaking.

It may have leaked OR the CO2 was absorbed into the beer.

david_42 said:

I have ales in kegs that are over three years old.

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Party at Dave's house. DUDE...we're gonna help you get rid of some of the old beer.

I use cornies as secondaries all the time. If you're not going to drink right away, purists will say prime the keg and let it condition naturally. You'll have some yeast sediment at serving time, but the first draft will flush that out.

I personally drink it too fast to wait so I force carb everything. That can really eat through your CO2 tough.

anojones said:

To piggyback on this thread. I'm going to start kegging and plan on providing 4 kegs for a party this summer, I will have the kegging setup and plan to force carbonate. My question is- how long can I store the beer that has been carbonated without keeping a CO2 tank hooked up to the keg? I'd like to force carb, seal the kegs, let them sit a month or so without CO2 hooked up and then serve them one at a time (4 different beers). Will the beer remain carbonated?

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I wouldn't do that and expectyour beer to be fully carbed when you tap them. The chance of a very small leak is pretty good. I have my C02 tank outside of the fridge and have a spot for a corny on deck.

olllllo said:

It may have leaked OR the CO2 was absorbed into the beer.

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There wasn't any beer in it. It was under test when the lid didn't seal.

Another issue, is I don't have cooler space to keep these kegs cold. My plan is to force carb at 68F and then cool in a tub of ice for serving. My concern is how much the carbonation will change when cooling the beer. It seems if the keg is not hooked up to CO2 then there shouldn't be much change (like a bottle of beer). I'm also hoping that when I cool the beer and then I can serve it at around 4-5 PSI to essentially allow for serving without changing the carbonation much. Or- should I force carb at a lower PSI and assume cooling the keg will increase the carbonation in the beer- I'd have to guesstimate. Does everyone else who brings kegs somewhere keep it cooled the entire time? Any advice appreciated.

anojones said:

Another issue, is I don't have cooler space to keep these kegs cold. My plan is to force carb at 68F and then cool in a tub of ice for serving. My concern is how much the carbonation will change when cooling the beer. It seems if the keg is not hooked up to CO2 then there shouldn't be much change (like a bottle of beer). I'm also hoping that when I cool the beer and then I can serve it at around 4-5 PSI to essentially allow for serving without changing the carbonation much. Or- should I force carb at a lower PSI and assume cooling the keg will increase the carbonation in the beer- I'd have to guesstimate. Does everyone else who brings kegs somewhere keep it cooled the entire time? Any advice appreciated.

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You really need a lower temp if you want to force carbonate. The lower temp allows more co2 to be absorbed by the beer. According to everything I've read about it. I haven't tried force carbonation at that hi a temp. If you have to keep the beer at 68f I would recommend that you naturally carbonate instead. Then use CO2 pressure to dispense.

abracadabra said:

You really need a lower temp if you want to force carbonate. The lower temp allows more co2 to be absorbed by the beer. According to everything I've read about it. I haven't tried force carbonation at that hi a temp. If you have to keep the beer at 68f I would recommend that you naturally carbonate instead. Then use CO2 pressure to dispense.

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I fully agree. If you can only store at room temp, use that condition to ... uh condition your beer with priming sugar.

Force carbing is effective when the beer is cold and can remain cold. IF you have to store at room temp, throw in a 1/2 cup of priming sugar and set them aside until 48 hours prior to serving. Ice them in a big ice-water buket, hook up the CO2 and serve.

Thanks- I'm experimenting with force carbing my first keg now, but it sounds like I'll just go ahead and prime the kegs and can do some touch up as needed with the CO2 and serve with the CO2. I did make a classic mistake and attatched a liquid disconnect to the keg under pressure (25PSI!)- what a mess!

You can force carb at room temp, but you'll have to adjust the pressure you're using to carb. There should be links to a chart for this somewhere on the forums.

However, it's certainly easier to do this at cooler temps.