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?

 

[user 254557]

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.