How long does it take to finish a 5 gallon corny?

[GoneB42Long]

I am new to kegging. Last weekend I tapped my first 5 gallon corny filled with an American Blonde Ale. The kegging process took about a half hour on a work night, much faster than bottling. The beer turned out great. I will be kegging every batch moving forward. The only problem is less then two weeks later I have almost polished the keg off myself. The keg sure went faster than I expected. Maybe because it is hard to see how much beer I have left. I am curious, what is the typical time a corny will last in your fridge?

I posted some pictures of my garage fridge set-up and the first keg pour. Feel free to share pictures of your rig, I’m interested in seeing what you guys are working with.

 

[khannon]

So, five gallons is roughly 40 pints.. Always gets me how quick the good ones go. You could try leaving smaller glasses closer, like eating with a bigger fork..
I have 5 taps, and it always seems like one is empty..
I've had neipa's and hefeweizens kick in a matter of days, while others will stay around longer, but I also have 2 kids over 21 living with me, and their friends have determined that hanging out here is a lot better and cheaper than a bar, and we always encourage sleeping it off over driving.

 

[verboten]

We successfully finished 1 whole keg and most of another one day last year.

Just me and the wife will finish them off around 2 weeks time though.

 

[AJinJacksonville]

I am new to kegging. Last weekend I tapped my first 5 gallon corny filled with an American Blonde Ale. The kegging process took about a half hour on a work night, much faster than bottling. The beer turned out great. I will be kegging every batch moving forward. The only problem is less then two weeks later I have almost polished the keg off myself. The keg sure went faster than I expected. Maybe because it is hard to see how much beer I have left. I am curious, what is the typical time a corny will last in your fridge?

I posted some pictures of my garage fridge set-up and the first keg pour. Feel free to share pictures of your rig, I’m interested in seeing what you guys are working with.

You, my friend, have a drinking problem...haha. Either that or an irresistible homebrew recipe on your hands! Drink responsibly!

 

[njviking]

2 weeks?

rookie.

In all seriousness; it's a little over 2 cases of beer.... I personally go through 20 gal a month.

 

[TechFanMD]

It's the Tyranny of the Keg Equation. When beer is more readily available, and you can 'top up' rather than drink a whole bottle and then open another....it goes pretty quick. Times that I'd never have opened a beer because I didn't want a whole one (or a whole one of that style)....I'll pour 6 or 8 oz.....I just go through it way faster than cans or bottles.

If you think that was fast....wait until you brew a 'lawnmower beer' and it's July. You'll be looking for leaks.

You'll also see that 1/2 hour kegging time shrink as you get better at it, and have the keg ready ahead of time. I know that my setup is unusual....but I can keg and do a bsaic fermenter clean in 15 minutes. I have sanitizer pre-made, kegs are always cleaned then sanitized. I don't spend less time total.....I just do it ahead of time so that I can keg during my lunch break if I want to.

 

[Transamguy77]

I think it depends on the beer, the good ones can go in less than a week and the decent ones might take a week or two.

I’ve also had some big stouts last months.

 

[TechFanMD]

I think it depends on the beer, the good ones can go in less than a week and the decent ones might take a week or two.

I’ve also had some big stouts last months.

This is a good point.....If you have one tap, it might go pretty fast. I only have two taps....so even a Bourbon Barrel Porter can go fast, where if I had 3+ taps I'd let it ride a lot longer.

 

[Transamguy77]

This is a good point.....If you have one tap, it might go pretty fast. I only have two taps....so even a Bourbon Barrel Porter can go fast, where if I had 3+ taps I'd let it ride a lot longer.

I have 3 taps and I can let something’s sit because I have the other 2.

 

[gunhaus]

First - It is a well known fact amongst long time kegging fans, that the ingredient suppliers are in cahoots with the keg manufacturers, and that they build in a hidden evaporation device to hasten the emptying of kegs thus increasing grain sales. My experience indicates this is undeniably true.

As for the idea that finishing a keg quickly is somehow a sign of latent alcoholism - Nonsense. I have wiped out a ton of kegs quickly and I am not an alcoholic! An alcoholic NEEDS a drink. I do not need a drink thank you - I ALREADY HAVE ONE. I got it from the keg i just kicked.

hakuna matata

 

[TechFanMD]

I have 3 taps and I can let something’s sit because I have the other 2.

Consider me jealous. I have two. I think that three is the magic number at my house. One for regular drinking (project/lawnmower beer, the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale if you will). One for my better three-quarters which may be a cider or a Brut with fruit forward hops. Then the third a Bourbon Porter, RIS, DIPA or something for the late evening or weekends. Something that is too strong to drink a lot, or that could use some extra time but I still want to sample over time.

 

[Qhrumphf]

All depends on how much you drink.

If it's just you and you're a pint-a-day type or a "don't drink during the week but have a couple on the weekends" type, might take a while if it drinks easy and you're drinking regularly, then it could go quickly.

As said, 5 gallons is 40 US pints. Math is easy. 3 pints every day, you're looking at about 2 weeks.

 

[TechFanMD]

All depends on how much you drink.

If it's just you and you're a pint-a-day type or a "don't drink during the week but have a couple on the weekends" type, might take a while if it drinks easy and you're drinking regularly, then it could go quickly.

As said, 5 gallons is 40 pints. Math is easy. 3 pints every day, you're looking at about 2 weeks.

I think that where a keg gets you.

I pour a pint...drink some and do some stuff, walk by and top it off, wash-rinse-repeat.

Especially on weekends, I may never drink it empty before a top-off. Next thing I know it’s empty.

This is where the guys with flow meters and displays have an advantage (or disadvantage depending on how you look at it). They have a visual display showing what is left, and probably look often enough to know how much they’ve been drinking.

 

[bracconiere]

4 days, i don't have a wife and kids....

 

[501irishred]

4 days, i don't have a wife and kids....

Nor much of a liver! (humor to disguise my jealousy)

 

[bracconiere]

Nor much of a liver! (humor to disguise my jealousy)

as long as i keep eating my beans, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, rice bran...my liver is fine (according to blood work)

 

[Gnomebrewer]

4 days, i don't have a wife and kids....

Thanks bracconiere. You make me feel good about mine (7 days).

 

[sDriver]

I created a beer-bacus to keep track of progress. The top weld in the keg is about 36 pints. My regular rotation takes about 2 weeks from grain to glass so I can tell when I need to brew. Since it is just me I brew between 2 to 3 weeks to keep things flowing.

 

[kh54s10]

 

[kh54s10]

Sorry, double post.

 

[kh54s10]

How big is your mug?

 

[ABI Brewery]

I use a pint glass, and am generally the only one drinking out of the keg, but only about 2 or 3 weeks, but i rarely drink during the week, maybe three pints through out the week

 

[schematix]

I go through about 3 completely full (5.25G) kegs every 4-6 weeks.

I try to limit to 3 / day now. For a while i was burning through close to 6 a day and it takes a toll on you.

Enjoy! Kegging enables you to brew more often, buy more kegs, establish a pipeline, and get you further into the rabbit hole.

 

[501irishred]

I’m not as fancy as all that with pint glasses and all, but I use anywhere from 12oz to 16oz depending what was on sale last.
I’d imagine i average between three weeks to a month per keg. I usually have about 8 tapped at any given time. Some go faster than others, depending on what friends were over.....

 

[kh54s10]

My kegs are in storage at the moment and I find the next mornings easier. I can see how many bottles I have had. I don't remember after the first few trips to the tap, how many times I have already been there.....

 

[brewcat]

A couple weeks sounds about right if that is my only beer.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

My kegs are in storage at the moment and I find the next mornings easier. I can see how many bottles I have had. I don't remember after the first few trips to the tap, how many times I have already been there.....

I limit myself to just one glass of tap beer a night...just not sure how many times I filled that glass.

 

[bobeer]

2 weeks is my average I'd say. It really depends how much I give away though. I hate having a beer around for a long time; It's cruel and unusual punishment to you and the beer!

 

[PADave]

I guess I’m a rarity, but I actually drink less since switching to kegging. I usually only have a short pour. Sometimes my kegs seem to keep going, when I think they should have kicked long before. 4 taps, still working on beers from last sept/oct.

 

[parjay]

About 2 weeks at two taps. I am installing a third and it might add a couple more days. I like to host friends on brew day every couple of weeks. We can usually get through about 1 keg on one of those afternoons.

 

[grampamark]

I started kegging about 5 years ago. I'm pretty sure I don't drink any more than I did before I had beer on tap. Of course, I don't drink any less, either.

Seriously, 5 gal lasts me about 3-4 weeks if I don't give any away.

 

[beernutz]

10 gallon batches FTW.

 

[seatazzz]

I'll fall back on another beer/bartender joke...I only have two beers a night; the first, and the last. Kegging makes it harder to keep track, since I have many sizes of glasses; pints, tasters from beer festivals, snifters, and the ever-ready Costco red solo cups that live in the garage. But it's nice if I'm just getting home from work at 11pm and just want a taster to help me sleep.

 

[Dhm8484]

I just finished a rye pale ale bottled 6 to give away, keg kicked in about 10 days just myself 5 gallon batches

 

[El Nino]

4-6 weeks depending how much I share / give away. I'm not that heavy of a drinker and usually stop after I'm feeling pretty good. As I've gotten older (and tired of hangovers) I drink more for flavor than getting wasted lol. Even more so if the surf is good, I'll forgo the extra drink if it means I'll wake up in time to catch the surf before the winds pick up the next day.

With that said, if I wasn't so serious about surfing I'd probably drink more haha.

 

[firerat]

About a month as I only have maybe 2 pints a night during the week. Maybe a bit more on the weekends.

I also have a bourbon as my night cap.