Cornelius Kegs Discontinued

I just read on this post that cornie kegs are not made anymore. Why not and what does this mean for the future of home brewers?

I know that you will be able to get them for years to come but at some point home brewers will have to come up with an alternative system that is cost effective. Is there anything you've heard of that will take the place of cornies?

I've been pondering kegging for a long time but if the prices go up there is no way I'll make the switch. I don't really mind the work and being able to hold onto a bottle or two for a couple of years to see how it ages out is nice.

I am wondering the same thing, I suppose it's time to bogart the cornies!

just start buying a couple every so many months. im ordering a 4pack possibly 8 pack from chi that will bring me up to either 7 or 11 since i already have 3.

shhh don't tell anyone olllllo.
But that is correct in the US cornies are no longer used, we use the boxed syrup now. the chinese are buying them up. get them while you can.

beerthirty said:

shhh don't tell anyone olllllo.
But that is correct in the US cornies are no longer used, we use the boxed syrup now. the chinese are buying them up. get them while you can.

Click to expand...

That isn't completely true. Some distributors are still using them. For busy places many places prefer them because they can daisy chain a number of kegs together so there isn't a risk of running out during a rush unlike with the boxes of syrup.

there are some places still using them but the box systems are getting better. so as places upgrade they upgrade to the better setups.

so, say we stock up on cornies now. how long will a corny last in a home brewer's hands? do they spring leaks around the seals? or rust? or just lose the ability to hold pressure eventually?

This thread is a bit alarmist. Cornies have been almost obsolete in the restaurant/food service industry for years. Ever wonder why it's so hard to find a brand new one, and why they're so expensive? Homebrewers have been benefiting from the giant soda industry's leftovers for years. We will continue to do so. Corny kegs will last almost indefinitely so long as they aren't physically damaged.

Royal Crown aka RC Cola still uses them...my local pizza place uses the ones from RC. The soda just tastes so much better from "tap".

Additionally I believe conventions, and fairs use kegs pretty much exclusively still, as they are currently (to my knowledge) still more mobile then a box syrup system.

There are still new cornies being made (check out the prices on 3 gallon cornies, expensive because they are most likely made new). The used ones on the market are as stated from the soda industry dumping them, but when those run out you will still be able to buy them new, at what $100 a keg or so? People may come up with alternatives at that time, but my guess is it is a long long time away since cornies don't really ever go bad if they are not banged around excessively.

Yuri_Rage said:

This thread is a bit alarmist.

Click to expand...

This is 100% TRUE...
But In true Homer Simpson fashion....I plan to hoard Cornies like a Southern Arkansas HillBilly hording PBR And Top Ramen noodles for Y2K.

If you need to horde some I'd suggest PMing Pedalbiker as he sells them by the pallet (25) and they are of good quality (though sticky with soda syrup still, need cleaning) and works out to around $15 a keg after shipping (depending on location).

+1 that Cornelius kegs are still available new at $100.00 each.

+1 that "eventually" they will cease to be produced.

+1 that if taken care of properly they will never need to be replaced.

It's a simple matter of buying similar gaskets from places liek Mcmaster Carr or otherwise. Now, poppets may become a more scarce replacement part.

Worst case scenario, we all learn how to deconstruct a Sanke 1/6th barrel keg and convert our systems to that. People do it everyday and there are DIY tutorials on HBT to show you how.

Okay, heres the deal.
People said the silicone breast implant wasn't going to be made anymore, pffffffft lies. Lot's of chicks got em again.
If people want good boobies, they gonna get good boobies.
If people want good corny, they gonna get good corny.


Amaright?


I'm sure the price will go up if soda drinkers move to something more efficient. One thing is for sure tho, people in hawaii will be able to pirate the ships going to china.

YArrgh! Then the ships bounty will again belong to Red...uh...I mean...Someone plan my vacation to Hawaii around a Cornie Shipment...

On a second note....Anyone remember the thread about the Plastic Cornies? Anyone Find out what they cost?

Yes, I did search...NO I did not find anything.

well that i was meaning is yes they are still in use. and allot of times distributors hope and pray something breaks in an old system to get the older systems out of the way.. have a friend who was upgraded to box a couple years ago. was a gift from the local distributor. he had 3 stores and each one was outfitted new. and he was exclusive Pepsi. helps also that he only had one other competitor in town also. anyway like a lot of things you can get allot of things new but you pay out the you know what. and as far as shopping. boxes of same size will always ship and store better then round.

Brandon O said:

Okay, heres the deal.
People said the silicone breast implant wasn't going to be made anymore, pffffffft lies. Lot's of chicks got em again.
If people want good boobies, they gonna get good boobies.
If people want good corny, they gonna get good corny.


Amaright?


I'm sure the price will go up if soda drinkers move to something more efficient. One thing is for sure tho, people in hawaii will be able to pirate the ships going to china.

Click to expand...

+1 for associating this with something I can motorboat! :rockin:

Haha, well I panicked and ordered 4 from Chi company. At the very least it'll get me started, but I'll want more eventually.

where is the chi company located. i tried to look it up under "contact" but i keep getting an error when i click on it.

Steel-Reserve said:

where is the chi company located. i tried to look it up under "contact" but i keep getting an error when i click on it.

Click to expand...

I understand that they're somewhere in southern california. Their site kinda sucks, but they have good prices on kegs. I normally wouldn't order from a site that has so many errors (fear of getting ripped off or bad cust service), but lots of people have had great luck with them.

Laurel said:

I understand that they're somewhere in southern california. Their site kinda sucks, but they have good prices on kegs. I normally wouldn't order from a site that has so many errors (fear of getting ripped off or bad cust service), but lots of people have had great luck with them.

Click to expand...

They are in Diamond Springs, CA, it is up north near Sacramento sort of.

I didn't notice any errors just very slow page loading. but then I'm no computer expert.

thanks! appreciate it

pen25 said:

well that i was meaning is yes they are still in use. and allot of times distributors hope and pray something breaks in an old system to get the older systems out of the way.. have a friend who was upgraded to box a couple years ago. was a gift from the local distributor. he had 3 stores and each one was outfitted new. and he was exclusive Pepsi. helps also that he only had one other competitor in town also. anyway like a lot of things you can get allot of things new but you pay out the you know what. and as far as shopping. boxes of same size will always ship and store better then round.

Click to expand...

Nothing personal, but I suspect that folks are skipping over your posts due to the horrific writing style.

BierMuncher said:

Nothing personal, but I suspect that folks are skipping over your posts due to the horrific writing style.

Click to expand...

its all good. i write all day with tech notes. im not an english major. and these postings are not going to be reviewed in any industry rag. oh well.

Looks like we're probably good for many years to come. I don't know anything about kegging but the sixth barrel looks like it would be good as well. Is the problem with them that you can't open them up and clean them?

pen25 said:

its all good. i write all day with tech notes.

Click to expand...

You write for a living, yet you cannot be bothered to use capital letters and punctuation? No one expects you to write perfectly, but your posts are nearly impossible to read.

Yuri_Rage said:

You write for a living, yet you cannot be bothered to use capital letters and punctuation? No one expects you to write perfectly, but your posts are nearly impossible to read.

Click to expand...

Yeah its not all good. I just don't bother to read posts like that.

Agreed. I don't see the point of posting if people aren't going to pay attention to what you write because it's illegible.

Ok, enough. Back to kegs and beer.

I have been working in food service establishments of various sorts for over 20 years and have never seen a cornie keg being used.

I have been homebrewing for 11 years and have seen cornie kegs everywhere.

I am not worried. There will always be a product to fill a need.

Just going to stock up on cornies now....

jcarson83 said:

Looks like we're probably good for many years to come. I don't know anything about kegging but the sixth barrel looks like it would be good as well. Is the problem with them that you can't open them up and clean them?

Click to expand...

Yes they can. I have 2 of them, it took about 3 min. to bleed the pressure and open them both. Cleaning will be a bit more difficult due to not being able to get my arm in them. A good soak and a carboy brush should take care of it. Now just to find the new seals for them.
Of course now I will need a sanke tap.

can someone link me to the sanke keg homebrew info? I was wondering if there was a way to do this and would love to try it out.

Do a google search.

My question is: If Sanke kegs are going to be used, then wouldn't we have the same problems with obtaining them as we do with getting them for boiling?

Homercidal said:

Do a google search.

My question is: If Sanke kegs are going to be used, then wouldn't we have the same problems with obtaining them as we do with getting them for boiling?

Click to expand...

why would there be a problem with getting a sanke keg? if you just go buy a full keg of Miller or Bud or whatever have a bunch of people over to drink it... and then don't return it

then you would have a sanke keg and you can do what you want with it. you would be out whatever the deposit was on the keg but i don't see how that is different than buying one.

P.S. i searched for how to use a sanke keg for homebrew but can't find any how too stuff yet. Could you just build a rig to attach a sanke to a corny and run cleaning fluid and sanitizer through it from the other... and then fill it up the same way?

duck and cover....
DUCK....AND.....COVER

mwhc22 said:

why would there be a problem with getting a sanke keg? if you just go buy a full keg of Miller or Bud or whatever have a bunch of people over to drink it... and then don't return it

then you would have a sanke keg and you can do what you want with it. you would be out whatever the deposit was on the keg but i don't see how that is different than buying one.

Click to expand...

IB4TL


IB4TL

dunno i just boil in a commercial grade stainless restaurant pot. i don't plan on ever having a keggle anytime soon.

mwhc22 said:

why would there be a problem with getting a sanke keg? if you just go buy a full keg of Miller or Bud or whatever have a bunch of people over to drink it... and then don't return it

then you would have a sanke keg and you can do what you want with it. you would be out whatever the deposit was on the keg but i don't see how that is different than buying one.

Click to expand...

OK, I'll do it. This is a very touchy subject around here.

What is different than buying one is that they cost the brewery close to $200 each and you only put down a $30 deposit. Technically your stealing the breweries property. You are only buying the beer inside and borrowing the keg to drink the beer. The implied contract is that you will return it when finished. The deposit is intended to encourage you to return the keg rather than take it to a scrap yard. There are legit ways to acquire a sankey keg but stealing one is not something that is considered appropriate arround here.