How to Brew Beer in a Soda Keg

Brewing beer in a soda keg (sometimes called a Cornelius keg) is a home-brewing method that involves replacing the standard 10-gallon brewing pail with a 10-gallon soda keg. Allowing the brew to ferment in a serving keg also eliminates the need for bottling.

Things You'll Need

• Bleach
• 10-gallon keg
• Thermometer
• 22-quart or larger pot
• Hydrometer
• 40-oz. can malt extract
• 9 cups corn syrup
• 1 packet of brewer's yeast

Instructions

Sanitize and Brew

1. Wash all of your materials in warm soapy water. Rinse well before combining 1 Tbsp. of bleach with 1 gallon of water and soaking materials in the solution. Rinse away all traces of bleach.

2. Fill your keg with 2.7 gallons of cold water. Fill the pot with 7.5 quarts of water and put it on the stove to boil.

3. Pour the malt extract into the pot of boiling water. Stir and allow to continue boiling for 20 minutes. Add corn syrup to the mixture and continue to stir. When the syrup dissolves, immediately pour the solution into your keg of cold water.

4. Fill the keg with liters of cold water until the temperature of the brew reaches about 68 degrees F. Add the yeast to the keg and stir.

5. Close the soda keg. Allow the beer to brew for six days at room temperature. Do not open the keg during that time.

Serving

1. Use a hydrometer to find out if your beer is ready after six days. The relative density of a light beer should be about 1.008, while darker beers will be between 1.010 and 1.015.

2. Store the 10-gallon keg in a warm, dry place for at least two days before serving.

3. Serve the beverage in the 10-gallon keg or transfer the beer to smaller kegs for serving.

References

• Bodensatz Brewing: Soda Kegs for Fermentation
• Professor's House: Homemade Beer