Everything You Need to Know About Cornelius Kegs

From soft drinks to beer, Cornelius kegs have played an integral role in the beverage industry. These kegs are popular among homebrewers, though they were initially used to store soda. Below, we'll go over what a Cornelius keg is and how they are used today.

What is a Cornelius Keg?

Originally produced by Cornelius Inc. in 1957, Cornelius kegs (also known as corny kegs) were used in the soft drink industry.¹ These kegs were eventually manufactured by Coca-Cola and Pepsi until Coca-Cola invented post-mix, a formula that enabled operators to purchase a tank of condensed syrup, mix it with water and CO2 at point-of-sale, and dispense fresh carbonated beverages. Post-mix became the industry favorite for creating soda, making corny kegs obsolete.

Since then, Cornelius Inc. has turned their attention away from kegs and become one of the leading suppliers of beverage dispensers and cooling equipment. This hasn't stopped homebrewers from keeping corny kegs alive since many have found that using kegs is a faster and more efficient alternative to bottling.²

Cornelius kegs are stainless steel cylindrical tanks that are 8¹⁄₂ to 9 inches in diameter and can range from 22 to 25 inches tall. These kegs can hold anywhere from 2¹⁄₂ to 15 gallons and have a maximum of 130 PSI with rubber gaskets that are available in ball- or pin-lock configurations.

Ball-lock kegs consist of a ring of ball bearings that lock gas and liquid connections to the keg, while pin-lock kegs use metal pins to secure the connections. Ball-lock Cornelius kegs are also taller and leaner than pin-lock kegs.³ While both types of corny kegs were used by soft drink distributors, Pepsi favored the ball-lock kegs while Coke preferred pin-lock kegs.⁴

Homebrewers and Cornelius Kegs

Homebrewers are now the primary users of corny kegs. Although beer is the most popular drink that homebrewers make, corny kegs can store a variety of beverages:

• Cold brew coffee is typically kegged with nitrogen to reduce oxidation.⁵ Kegging coffee with nitrogen extends the flavor and life of your coffee.
• Soda is kegged with CO2 and usually takes longer than beer to infuse because of the weight of the liquid.⁶ Essentially, the soda will taste flat until it is carbonated properly which takes time.
• Kombucha needs to be immediately kegged for slow fermenting and proper carbonation.⁷

Before kegging your beverage of choice, it must be chilled to around 35 degrees Fahrenheit.⁸ The corny keg has to be sanitized so the drink's flavor isn't ruined by past brews. The beer then must be racked into the keg using a siphon. This may seem like a long process, but it requires less labor and time than bottling.

Bottling homebrews can be a hassle between cleaning, filling, and capping, so some homebrewers may prefer kegging over bottling. Using a corny keg lets the beer ferment and carbonate quicker than individually bottling the brews. Though kegging is more expensive, brewers have more control over the level of carbonation in their beer.⁹ Brewers can hook a CO2 tank to their keg for roughly 20 minutes to force-carbonate a large batch of beer; this method completes the process much more quickly than bottling. While individually bottling brews involves the same steps, brewers have to repeat them for every bottle rather than just one or two kegs.

References

1. 10 Things You Need to Know About Cornelius Corny Kegs for Homebrewing. Beverage Craft. Accessed August 2022.
2. Cornelius "Corny" Kegs for Homebrewing. Homebrew Academy. Accessed August 2022.
3. Pin Lock vs Ball Lock. Maine Brewing Supply. Accessed August 2022.
4. Ball Lock Kegs Vs. Pin Lock Kegs. Northern Brewer. Accessed August 2022.
5. How to Keg Your Cold Brew. Alto. Accessed August 2022.
6. How to Keg and Carbonate Homemade Soda. Midwest Supplies. Accessed August 2022.
7. How to Make Kombucha at Home. Kegerator. Accessed August 2022.
8. Kegging Instructions PDF. Home Brew Mart. Accessed August 2022.
9. Bottling & Kegging. Brew Your Own. Accessed August 2022.