aging mead/wine in cornys

[CBBaron]

I am considering getting some reconditioned cornys for aging my meads. I'm finding my mead making is starting to consume secondaries and I need to purchase some more. Cornys cost about the same as carboys but are easier to store (full or empty) and I can use them when I finally do get around to kegging.

My question is, Is this practical and what will I need besides the kegs?

Can i seal up the cornys without any gas or do I need to get some kind of CO2 source?
If I need CO2 can i just use a portable charger?
If I use a portable charger will I just end up wasting an entire cartridge every time I go to use it?
Also should I use nitrogen instead so I do not create lightly sparkling mead when I want still?

I tried doing some searching on kegs and aging but everything is about beer which is assumed to be carbonated and it is expected you already have the gas setup. Due to current finances I am probably another 6 months or more away for getting what I want for kegging so i want to spend as little as possible now to use the cornys for bulk aging mead.

Craig

 

[BigKahuna]

YES!
Good Call!
Get yourself one of those portable keg chargers that uses the little c02 cartridges, for about $20 and a cornie...you're good to go.

 

[ChshreCat]

I've been thinking about doing that too! Not just for wines and meads, but for my beers too. Not much space here and cornys have a smaller footprint. Plus, when we get a house, I'll have some cornys all ready to go when I start kegging.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

I have also wondered about the carbonation problem. Do you just seal the corny up with ~1-2 psi and assume that you will not have any carbonation issues. Slightly sparkling wine and mead is an unfortunate thing (from experience), so I want to avoid that.

 

[BigKahuna]

Yes. you just want to purge the o2 and give it a tad bit of posative pressure to keep any more o2 out. 1 - 2 pounds is a great amount. And if you do end up carbed....you can always de-gas before you bottle.

 

[BrewBeemer]

Around 4:45 PM Pacific Time I ordered another 4 pack of corny's. You can purchase one, two or four packs my guess easy to box and ship.
This is thru CHI Company ball lock kegs for sale, Home brewing and vending, beer kegs, Pepsi vending machines, flavor strips and vending labels or The CHI Company,LLC in California east of Sacramento in Diamond Springs. At one time a few years ago a partner split and went back east selling corny's.

CHI in California purchased all of Pepsi's corny's and complete carbonating, cleaning and filling systems. Many orders on corny's I was told are sent overseas to other countries not China for the stainless. Was told when gone there will be no more corny's thru CHI in California. I just paid $92 for another 4 pack with $13 shipping i'm only 115 miles away. Shipping could be an issue as your farther away. This is my 3rd time ordering a 4 pack thru CHI with only one keg dented up badly, they will exchange it or give me one extra depending on the shipping costs involved replacing it. Darn nice people and company to deal with.

Was told they only had six 15.5 kegs available at the moment with more coming as well more corny's, only time will tell when corny's are all gone. Hate to see future asking prices then.

The CHI Company, (530) 622-8265 or order on line. I'm collecting for future use before they are all gone.
They come cleaned and under a slight pressure, last 4 pack came with new replacement O-rings in a plastic bag.

I've got one odd duck in the collection, a pin lock Coke corny that's 9" x 23" vs a Pepsi corny 8 1/2" x 25" that I would want to swap.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

You can purge, pressurize, and even serve with argon or nitrogen if you want a perfectly still product.

 

[BrewBeemer]

I wonder if there would be a difference between using Argon vs C-25, both are handy and available in the shop?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

C25 is a CO2 mix and would negate the purpose of using any inert gas at all. The end result would be a slightly fizzy beverage.

However, C25 might be quite beneficial to a welder who wants to get a nitro-style pour from a stout faucet. Substitute readily available (but more expensive) C25 for beer gas, and the results probably won't vary too much (the ideal serving pressure might differ slightly). I've been considering it for the next beer I put on tap.

 

[BrewBeemer]

yuri; lets go a little deeper here, how would C-25 gas charge compare against using straight nitrogen in a beer a Imperial Russian Stout clone of Old Rasputin?

It would be a PITA to bring my big and heavy bottles into the house as they all are 280 cu/ft C-25 Argon and helium bottles.
Hey what about using the 280 cu/ft helium bottle I have so you can sound like Donald Duck while drinking your bier?

No way would the "War Department" aka wife let me have a bunch of these big bottles in the house. Just think the family room would look like a welding shop with a rack of big bottles chained to the wall. Welding table as a bar top?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

A little background first:
You don't exactly use straight N2 for a nitro beer. There are basically two ways to get that creamy pour. You either carbonate to about 1.2 volumes with pure CO2, then use pure N2 at 35-ish psi to serve OR you use beer gas (75% N2, 25% CO2) to carbonate and serve at about 35 psi. The advantage of beer gas is that it should maintain the CO2 level perfectly, while a pre-carbonated beer served on pure N2 may eventually go flat (though the high pressure and cold temp SHOULD keep the CO2 in solution).

My speculation is that C25 is very similar to beer gas. The difference is that Ar is roughly 4 times more water soluble than N2 (but still 25 times less soluble than CO2). So, a slightly lower serving pressure might be in order when using the CO2/Ar mix so that total dissolved gas remains about the same.

Disclaimer:
There's a bit of generalization in this post for the sake of simplicity. I'll post empirical data if/when I have it.

Apologies for the thread hijack...I'll split the thread if the OP so desires.

EDIT:
See here for a dedicated thread on this topic.

 

[BrewBeemer]

I'm guilty also from hijacking the OP.

This is intresting on the different gases and their ability to absorb into the bier. Yes this would make an intresting new thread.

 

[CBBaron]

Thanks for the replies answering my questions about using cornys for aging mead. I think I will have to put an order in for some cornys and a portable charger very soon and I have need of a secondary from my 09-09-09. I also hope to have some cyser going very soon in addition to an ice wine kit.

Of course if I have the corny and a charger, I might as well get a picnic tap and beer out line so I can have a party keg if the need arises.

As for the thread taking a tangent. I have no problem with that. Thats what I feel forums are for. Plus I find the discussion interesting.

Craig

 

[BrewBeemer]

My replies are like a bowling alley, left and right from the straight answers with the gutters keeping me within the main course, just me. Hard to keep out of the gutters at times.
I don't recall if it was on this forum or somewhere I was told that scrap staniless prices have dropped a little but I still think the corny's will become harder to get and more costly in the future. I would buy what you need just in case with spares. Heck HCI told me he only had 6 Sanky kegs left at the moment with more coming soon and they have a large operation here in northern California. I was told the deposit for party kegs 15.5 gallon are up to $70 now but even then they cost a lot more for the keg owners to replace missing kegs. I don't recall if the splinter partner of HCI here in California that went to I believe was North Carolina is still in business. If so maybe they would be cheaper on shipping cost wise vs from California. I have nothing but great results with the corny's from HCI in California as my source. No 10 gallon corny's availble I asked.
On your corny's I would check on how much to shorten the liquid tube preventing it from sitting below the settled trub and yeast in your corny fermenters.