Kevin Dean
Well-Known Member
I had the good fortune to find HBT before I had hundreds of bottles, so I skipped botting totally and went right to kegging.
Let me tell you, kegging is NOT the natural prograssion. Eath method of containing your nectar has it's benefits and drawbacks.
I managed to get lucky, finding a kegerator, CO2 tank, regulator and tap for $75. However, there came a point in my brewing where I found myself buying more commercial beer than I was drinking in homebrew. In fact, it got SO bad I found I would have rather spent $13 on two cases of Natural Bohemian than drink the homebrew on tap. Blasphemy, you say?
No, because I like variety. This is a factor in the bottle/keg dispute that I think few people really take into account. Do you really want to drink 5 gallons of the beer you have on tap before getting something new?
My answer, discovered ONLY after my wife suggested it, was that no, I wasn't willing. On tap right now is a Laubmeister hefeweizen and an Apple Afpfelwein - neither I want to drink.
Having abandoned the compulsion to keg (and it is a compulsion when you've spent hundreds of dollars to do it) I am now finding beer freedom. By removing my two kegs, reg and CO2 tank, I'm now able to store many MANY varieties of beer in my beerorater and not have to finish one before I start the next. In addition, I'm able to give bottles from the fridge instantly to my guests and share the homebrew wealth.
Perhaps the grass is always greener on the otherside, by my beer is more enjoyable in bottles.
Let me tell you, kegging is NOT the natural prograssion. Eath method of containing your nectar has it's benefits and drawbacks.
I managed to get lucky, finding a kegerator, CO2 tank, regulator and tap for $75. However, there came a point in my brewing where I found myself buying more commercial beer than I was drinking in homebrew. In fact, it got SO bad I found I would have rather spent $13 on two cases of Natural Bohemian than drink the homebrew on tap. Blasphemy, you say?
No, because I like variety. This is a factor in the bottle/keg dispute that I think few people really take into account. Do you really want to drink 5 gallons of the beer you have on tap before getting something new?
My answer, discovered ONLY after my wife suggested it, was that no, I wasn't willing. On tap right now is a Laubmeister hefeweizen and an Apple Afpfelwein - neither I want to drink.
Having abandoned the compulsion to keg (and it is a compulsion when you've spent hundreds of dollars to do it) I am now finding beer freedom. By removing my two kegs, reg and CO2 tank, I'm now able to store many MANY varieties of beer in my beerorater and not have to finish one before I start the next. In addition, I'm able to give bottles from the fridge instantly to my guests and share the homebrew wealth.
Perhaps the grass is always greener on the otherside, by my beer is more enjoyable in bottles.