Conditioning in Keg

Easy question that is hard to find an answer to:

Can I use a corney as a secondary without hooking it up to CO2?

Yes, but it depends on what you mean by "hooking it up to CO2". Putting beer in a keg is best done with some CO2. You should make sure you purge the headspace and apply enough CO2 pressure to seat the seal on the lid.

Also, carbonating the beer won't affect its conditioning.

-Steve

New to kegging and anxious to transfer some beer that's been in the secondary a long while. I'll wait until I get my kegerator running and get better acquainted with my set-up.

I've recently started using cornies for a secondary. I figure they cost me $25 and I'll be kegging soon enough so I might as well buy some. But most importantly I wanted stainless and got tired of goofing around with plastic fermentors. Just my opinion.

But getting to your question, yeah you can easily use them for a secondary. Many use them as a primary as well but you typically need to cut back on the volume. My last batch was a brown ale that I was racked to a a corny as a secondary and it has seemed to turn out great. I did not pressurize the corny and just relied on the force of the corny lid and it also had an airlock on it.

So you just steralized, transferred, and didn't bother purging the headspace with CO2? This seems to me an unnecessary step so it's good to know I can do without. Thanks!

Cheers,

Better off purging/sealing with the CO2 - you'll find getting a seal on a corny is not guaranteed. So, you not only reduce the oxygen contact, you'll ensure you're lid (and the gas in/beer out lines) are truly sealed.

I asked a similar question the other day and the recommended PSI for sealing was 30psi.

There is a guy in our HB Club that use's a corny to secondary all of his brew.
He keeps them in his basement at 70 degree's or so, Every so often when he goes down to do laundry or whatever he just bleeds off a little pressure and calls it good.

pdbreen said:

Better off purging/sealing with the CO2 - you'll find getting a seal on a corny is not guaranteed. So, you not only reduce the oxygen contact, you'll ensure you're lid (and the gas in/beer out lines) are truly sealed.

I asked a similar question the other day and the recommended PSI for sealing was 30psi.

Click to expand...

I think adding the CO2 is not a bad idea for the exact reasons you stated. However, its not entirely necessary and I simply don't have the capabilities to do it right now. Also, I'm transferring to the corny when there is still some residual fermenation and therefore CO2 production. This purges my headspace with CO2 just like using a carboy as a secondary. As far as ensuring a proper seal by adding some pressure, people rely on carboy caps during secondary which have been shown by many to be poor at sealing.

Edit: Also with an airlock on the keg, if it's bubbling I can tell that I at least have as good a seal as I typically have on my carboy. If it were not bubbling it would most likely be from a poor seal somewhere.

You're points are all very valid and when I get the capabilities to pressurize the corny I probably will be doing just that. However, I don't feel it's completely necessary if you can't or don't want to pressurize it.

pdbreen said:

Better off purging/sealing with the CO2 - you'll find getting a seal on a corny is not guaranteed. So, you not only reduce the oxygen contact, you'll ensure you're lid (and the gas in/beer out lines) are truly sealed.

I asked a similar question the other day and the recommended PSI for sealing was 30psi.

Click to expand...

You recommend pressurizing to 30psi. Does that mean you take it up to 30 untill the regulator stops and then unhook the CO2? Just curious.

Scut_Monkey said:

You recommend pressurizing to 30psi. Does that mean you take it up to 30 untill the regulator stops and then unhook the CO2? Just curious.

Click to expand...

The answers on how to add the CO2 were varied -

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/primary-keg-co2-technique-140245/

I primary for 2 to 3 weeks. Then transfer to a keg. Purge off any air. Put in my kegerator at 30 psi. In about 3 or 4 days dial back to 10psi, ready to serve. I haven't used a secondary since I've been kegging. 10 or 15 batches. It's nice, One less step..

Thanks for the info! Finished my 4 tap kegerator and transferred my first AG IPA this morning... rapidly approaching beervana.

-Cheers