River Tubing with a Cornie Keg

Here in Texas when summer rolls around, the gang and I always go to the Frio river for some drinking and tubing. Since no bottles are allowed on the river, we always just load up a big cooler with a few cases of various canned beers and stick it inside of a spare tube to float down the river with us. Now that I have the ability to keg, I'm starting to plan for the soon approaching summer by figuring out a way for me to finally be able to bring my homebrew along. I've looked at various options, and read different threads about people taking their kegs in coolers on boats and picnics and such, but I think this is a unique problem I am having...

Basically the keg needs to be in some sort of vessel that can be squeezed into the hole of a floating tube...or possibly be a self-contained floating vessel. It has to be sturdy enough to survive some bumpy rapids and bottom scrapes from rocks, as well as be easily picked up and down at points where the river is too shallow to tube-it.

One option I'm thinking of is getting a 70+ quart cooler, in other words one that is long enough to hold the cornie on its side. If I did this, would I be able to swap the gas and liquid lines so that the co2 is being fed through the dip-tube, pushing the beer essentially from the bottom of the keg up. I have no idea if this would work or not, in my mind I can see it happening, but my mind works kinda funny...has anyone tried this?

Another option, and the one I'm leaning towards, is to take my 50qt cooler, cut a hole in the lid just big enough for the cornie to stand upright, strap the cornie to the handles of the cooler to keep it sturdy, and jam that into a tube. The cooler would be full of ice and probably a case of canned beers for backup. I would secure the co2 tank inside the cooler with the tubing running up the side of the cornie, and be using a picnic tap secured to the front of the cooler for easy access. I already know the cooler fits snugly in a tube, so the only thing bothering me about this is whether or not the cornie would make the cooler too top-heavy, causing it to flip over during rough waters. With one of my cornies inside the cooler, it extends 12.5 inches above the top of the cooler, so probably not too top-heavy...especially considering the first gallon would be gone within 10 minutes. I'm not sure if the splashing water would be bad for the keg or not though.

The last option I can think of is to get three 5L mini-kegs and stick em in the cooler along with a diy-tap similar to this one:The Northern Brewer Homebrew Forum • View topic - New design for DIY 5L mini keg taps (Lots of Pics) I would rather not go out and buy mini-kegs now that I have cornies, but it does seem like the safest bet to me at this point.

Any ideas??

When I was a kid my Dad used to do a lot of fishing. Before he ponied up the cash for a boat he used to use waders and a float tube.

The waders were water tight like a scuba suit and the float had an integral seat. Point is, a pair of waders for a big boy properly tied to a seated float could hold 2 kegs easily.

I'd have to get the upper half of a mannequin and fix the faucets to the hands or something.

Anyway, theres an idea. I'd bet a pair of jeans would work too cept', I wouldn;t trust the belt loops with my kegs.

That's not a bad idea, but I'd much rather the kegs be sitting in something solid like an ice chest or bucket in case the tube crashed into a rock. And have a way to hold the ice and co2 tank.

Rental Canoe? Kayak? One person Bass Boat (the little blue ones).

Strap the full keg and tank to two air filled empties (pressurized) for a beer pontoon?

I always thought it was obligatory to let the river be your beer cooler. Pre and Post consumption.

You don't need to take a CO2 tank, look at these:
Cornelius Keg CO2 Charger
You'll have to google it, I can't make a picture post. Luck - Dwain

A swamp bucket would be even easier.

I personally have a large Ice cube with a small draft system and 2 3gallon corny kegs.

Dwain said:

You don't need to take a CO2 tank, look at these:
Cornelius Keg CO2 Charger
You'll have to google it, I can't make a picture post. Luck - Dwain

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I believe this is what Dwain is talking about. For your use I'd put it on the inside and then just have a picnic tap coming out of the top. This way it'd stay sealed for the most part with only the hole for the tap line to come through. If you go this route pick up a couple of 2.5 or 3 gal. kegs and you're good to go.

I know this isn't exactly what you were asking for but.......


If you wanted to bring along some HB but can't bring glass bottles, why not bottle up a few in those aluminum bottles from Bud. I know its a lot more work than kegging, but until you figure out your River-tube-arator it's a viable option. Either way have fun......I miss river tubing

How about a keg shell and a really big tube? Let the air out of the tube, then put the keg shell in the hole. Fill the tube back up. Add ice and your kegs and you're set! Just for safety, tie a bit of rope to the corny keg handle and tie the other end around the tube. If it flips of whatever everything will stay together.

im planning on pet pop bottles for our float trip coming up in june. they dont allow more then 3.2 on the river. but who will know? haha

uh no one will know in A&W Rootbeer PET bottles.

Displaced MassHole said:

I know this isn't exactly what you were asking for but.......


If you wanted to bring along some HB but can't bring glass bottles, why not bottle up a few in those aluminum bottles from Bud. I know its a lot more work than kegging, but until you figure out your River-tube-arator it's a viable option. Either way have fun......I miss river tubing

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Not to steal this thread, but are those aluminum bottles reusable?

I had never seen them before last week, (Vegas with the SWMBO) I thought about drinking bud just so I could bring back the bottles. But then I thought a suit case full of metal bottles, probably wouldn't go over too well on the scanners, and thought it would be safer not to.

You could get a keg glove. they're neoprene. Neoprene floats pretty well. Also insulates from heat and bumps.

I'd get a tube, and double wrap it around the keg, then inflate it Make sure the tube is at the top of the corny when you do. You could put a handfull of SS bolts in the keg when you keg up the beer to add some more weight at the bottom so it floats upright.


Or go the easy route and get some 3 gallon cornys. You'll love them, you just won't love the price!

B

Cut a circular piece of wood for the bottom. Drill holes around the outer perimeter of the board, thread rope thru it while lashing it to your tube. The ropes that go around the tube tying the bottom on are excellent for bungy cords. So bungy your corny into the tube, works with a half barrel, don't see why not a corny.

-OCD

yeah but texas river water is warm, if you dont contain the keg in an ice chest, it will get warm.

My vote would be for a 3gallon setup or just put it into 2 liter soda bottles.

Frio river baby!!!! :rockin: We will be there June 17-21. Pretty much one of my top 3 favorite places on earth. Think I'm going to bottle up a couple of cases in PET bottles. I think the best option for a keg would be to just buy some 3 gallon kegs. The prospects for the river being up this year are not that great and I know dragging a big heavy ass cooler or contraption across rocks or road crossings is not fun. Seems to me a big keg would get pretty shook up anyway. Good luck, let me know if you figure something out.

As long as the co2 doesn't run out I shouldn't have to worry about any shaking of the keg as the gas will keep it pressurized. I like everyone's input and ideas so far, but I'm still trying to figure out if a keg will work sideways. I know it's been asked here before and dozens of different answers and opinions have been offered, but never a conclusive answer that I've found....anyone?? Bueller, Bueller?

why wouldn't it work sideways. Just do as others have said, dispense from the gas side.

Displaced MassHole said:

I know this isn't exactly what you were asking for but.......


If you wanted to bring along some HB but can't bring glass bottles, why not bottle up a few in those aluminum bottles from Bud. I know its a lot more work than kegging, but until you figure out your River-tube-arator it's a viable option. Either way have fun......I miss river tubing

Click to expand...

This is actually one of the first things I thought of when I first started homebrewing a few years back. The general consensus we came up with was that it would be too much trouble to have to open a bottle with a bottle opener and carefully pour it into a cup every time you wanted a beer. Obviously this isn't something that is hard to do, but when you're laying in a tube flowing down a river and you've had a few, anything is complicated.

I'm still thinking about some different options, feel free to post anymore ideas ya'll come up with...I'll be sure to update with info and pics as available.

I'm thinking buying one of these, loading 1 or 2 cornies in it, dumping ice on top and stringing it to one of our tubes would work just fine. They're made of durable pvc, have handles and tie-off points, and would look darned sexy with couple kegs sitting in it(sideways). A one person boat that holds 190lb costs $15, a two person boat that holds 400lb costs $20. Anyone know how much a full cornie weighs?

As far as dispensing from a sideways keg by switching the beer and gas lines, I'm still not 100% sure this will work, as the only answer I have gotten is "why wouldn't it work". Has noone ever done this?

Well its not a complicated concept to dispense from the side. When I clean my kegs in the kitchen , I routinely dispense star san and PBW from the IN port by laying the keg on its side over the sink and connect a Gas Quick Disonnect. What problems are we anticipating here?

My main concern is whether or not the cornie will need to remain in the same position with the tap line on the bottom, since the co2 would bubble up to the top. Not a big setback, easily fixed with some rope I'm sure.

The boat is probably your best option. How long of floats do you do?

We usually spend 6 hours on the frio, including stopping for the occasional smoke break..

I would put the corny sideways in an ice chest and put the ice chest in the boat.

JesseRC said:

I would put the corny sideways in an ice chest and put the ice chest in the boat.

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What purpose would the ice chest serve at that point?

Well first to keep the ice from melting. Second to contain it in case of raft flipping. And finall just easier to keep the corny in the righ position, plus I'm sure you will be taking along other perishables.

pizzaman said:

What purpose would the ice chest serve at that point?

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It would keep the ice from melting a lot longer than just ice in an open top boat in the sun!


I would thank you would get crazy foam from this, Plus your yeast will never settle. Why not just take PET bottles?
What kind of rapids are we talkin' here?

pen25 said:

im planning on pet pop bottles for our float trip coming up in june. they dont allow more then 3.2 on the river. but who will know? haha

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pen let me know when you are headed to tahlequah i am floating this year too
in fact we should try to get a oklahoma members float trip planed

IrregularPulse said:

I would thank you would get crazy foam from this, Plus your yeast will never settle. Why not just take PET bottles?
What kind of rapids are we talkin' here?

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We are just talking about tubing, so when I say rough water I don't mean white water or anything near it, but it is rough enough to leave a dent in a keg if proper care weren't taken. Would the foam be caused by it laying on its side or by the shaking around; I thought as long as the keg is pressurized there wouldn't be much of a foam problem. I originally wanted to just take bottles, my thought bubble went from glass to aluminum to plastic. The only problem we would have is having to pour from the bottle into a cup; not an easy thing to do when laying in a tube. It would be easy enough to fill a cup from a tap...you do raise an interesting point about the yeast though.

Now that you have the keg, force carb and bottle from the keg. No worries about decanting.

flyangler18 said:

Now that you have the keg, force carb and bottle from the keg. No worries about decanting.

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wait, wait, wait, wait, wait......I can bottle beer AFTER I force carb it? Would there still be any bottle conditioning? Wouldn't there still be yeast in the bottles?


[EDIT]I see..... https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/we-no-need-no-stinking-beer-gun-24678/[/EDIT]

no, do a search for We dont need no stinkin beer gun

pizzaman said:

wait, wait, wait, wait, wait......I can bottle beer AFTER I force carb it? Would there still be any bottle conditioning? Wouldn't there still be yeast in the bottles?

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No bottle conditioning, since you've ideally aged in the keg.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/we-no-need-no-stinking-beer-gun-24678/

I am in the process of gathering parts to build somthing like this. The plan is to get one of the large square igloo coolers, and make a protable draft box out of it much like the picture posted above by using 2-3 gallon cornies and a paintball CO2 tank.

Now as far as floating, My bro-in-law took one of these coolers, and mounted a collar of 6"PVC around the midline of the cooler. Now the cooler is self floating, you can roll it with the wheels and handle, holds all the beer you want, and with a dry bag and some caribiners can hold all the stuff you don't want to get wet. This way you do not need to rent any extra tubes and your cooler is self contained and portable. Hope this helps!

Just had a thought for how to contain the corney upright inside my cooler with an extra bucket I got for free from walmart, the pics are pretty self-explanatory:




How it will look once the hole is cut in the lid of the cooler:



I do like deathweeds idea to put a ring of pvc around an ice-cube type cooler...it's snug but I can fit two cornies in mine if needed: The pvc idea had crossed my mind after coming across this forum: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-building/pvc-raft-17578.html (scroll down a bit to see the madness)

deathweed said:

I am in the process of gathering parts to build somthing like this. The plan is to get one of the large square igloo coolers, and make a protable draft box out of it much like the picture posted above by using 2-3 gallon cornies and a paintball CO2 tank.

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If it flips in the rapids, you're not worried about getting the co2 regulator wet?

I've got a 2.5 gallon setup (with a paintball tank), but I'm not willing to risk possibly destroying it on the river...I realize the rivers in Texas are pretty low this year, so there's not much risk of damage. But, one liter soda bottles (counter-pressure filled) and plastic cups meet my needs well on the river.

Thats awesome. We've got a litle bit of property over at Medina Lake, and I've thought about using pvc as flotation for my dock. Nice to see someone's used it already. The lengths we will go to , just to make sure we can have a brew.

Clayton said:

pen let me know when you are headed to tahlequah i am floating this year too
in fact we should try to get a oklahoma members float trip planed

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we plan on being on the river june 20th. i have to send an email out to the group to tell them to save the soda pet bottles if they want my fat tire and soon to be creme of 3 crops on the river.