Kegging vs. bottling?

Well, im a noob and I have definitely jumped head first into this great hobby! Ive made three batches and none are ready for drinking yet, but I already know this stuff is for me! I was just wondering, do you get the full taste of the home brew from the keg? I was thinking maybe not because it don't have to sit as long in the keg. I got an extra fridge in the garage and I already asked the Wife to by me a kegerator conversion kit for Christmas (hopefully she gets it for me). But is it really the way to go or should I just stick to the bottles? Also does anyone know where to get a nice kit for a decent price? Maybe ebay?? Thanks
Mike

not sure what you mean by "full taste of homebrew", but if anything kegging will improve your beer, or at least make it clearer. Instead of getting sediment in every bottle you'll get a couple of cloudly pours and then its clear sailing. I do secondaries, so I get almost none.

there's nothing inherently better or worse either method (aside from cool factor) and the part where bottling gets pretty annoying after a few dozen batches.

I'd say hold off for a few batches though. rdwhahb

on a nonrelated note, having a co2 tank around is pretty cool. I bought an adapter kit, so I can pump up tires and spray out my computer really easily.

thrawn86 said:

not sure what you mean by "full taste of homebrew", but if anything kegging will improve your beer, or at least make it clearer. Instead of getting sediment in every bottle you'll get a couple of cloudly pours and then its clear sailing. I do secondaries, so I get almost none.

there's nothing inherently better or worse either method (aside from cool factor) and the part where bottling gets pretty annoying after a few dozen batches.

I'd say hold off for a few batches though. rdwhahb

on a nonrelated note, having a co2 tank around is pretty cool. I bought an adapter kit, so I can pump up tires and spray out my computer really easily.

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Thanks for the reply, I guess I was just wondering if kegging it affects the taste sice it doesn't age as long (i think). Im sitting around having a couple beers as we speak so maybe Im not wording my thoughts right. Im just gonna go for the kegging. I think it would be so cool to have a few home brews on tap! The only downside is ill probably be having a tough time getting the neighbors to leave.

How long you age your brew it is up to you, and is independent of how you decide to serve it. It can be conditioned in the bottles, in the primary fermenter, the secondary fermenter, the keg, or usually some combination of the above. Kegging does allow you to drink carbonated beer before letting it condition properly, but that doesn't mean you have to.

I love my keg setup. As stated before you can age in a keg just the same as a bottle. It is a sealed pressure tight vessel just like a bottle. How long you let it sit is up to you.

The down side is added set-up expense and the need for space for your kegerator/keezer. The upside is ease of kegging vs bottling, not having to wait to carb your beer up, and being able to quickly adjust carbonation levels. With a few extra items you can also bottle from the keg and not have to worry about sediment in the bottles.

Many places to find keg equipment, including the used market on the bay, craigslist, etc. If buying from a vendor there are several good choices. I used kegconnection and had a good experience as have many others. They are helpful, and also an HBT vendor.

Cheers

I bottle exclusively, and most of that in good 'ol 12 oz. longnecks, recycled commercial pryoff bottles. My brewing process, from grain milling to glass, is strictly K.I.S.S.- cooler conversion MLT, propane burner and cheap 30 qt. brewpot, plastic bucket for fermenter, carboy for secondary (increasingly primary-only), then into the bottles, capped with Grandpa's Prohibition-era capper.

Kegging may be fine for those who demand in-home draft, and have the inclination and space to deal with the cost and complexity of kegging, refrigeration, and everything that goes with it. I do maybe 25 5-gal. batches a year, and given my inclinations, it just doesn't make sense.

rico567 said:

I bottle exclusively, and most of that in good 'ol 12 oz. longnecks, recycled commercial pryoff bottles. My brewing process, from grain milling to glass, is strictly K.I.S.S.- cooler conversion MLT, propane burner and cheap 30 qt. brewpot, plastic bucket for fermenter, carboy for secondary (increasingly primary-only), then into the bottles, capped with Grandpa's Prohibition-era capper.

Kegging may be fine for those who demand in-home draft, and have the inclination and space to deal with the cost and complexity of kegging, refrigeration, and everything that goes with it. I do maybe 25 5-gal. batches a year, and given my inclinations, it just doesn't make sense.

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OK, I'll give you the added expense, but how is washing, sanitizing, and filling some 50 odd bottles simple. It is a great deal more work than a straight siphon into a keg. Also if your doing 10 gallons a month your likely gonna have extra refrigeration needs anyway for those 4 cases of beer every month.

Given that you can bottle from a keg and do so with less sediment and lower oxygen pickup than otherwise, there really is nothing you can do without kegs that you can't do better with them.

Even if you never served beer on draft, there are advantages to kegs.

Where to buy?

kegconnection.com Everything you need, great company to deal with.

Bottles are more portable than kegs.

I am all about kegging. I will condition beer in kegs just like in bottles. I try and have a pipeline of beers ready to tap (I am a little behind now).

I also recently purchased a beer gun and will bottle 6-12 a batch if I want to take it places ect.

I LOVE to brew but didn't enjoy bottleing. I can keg a batch in less the 15 minutes opposed to the 1.5 hours for bottling so I can do it more on the fly I don't need to set aside a different bottle day.

Bottom line is what ever makes the most sense for you. For me I wouldn't trade kegging for anything. For a lot of guys love having different bottles around to each his own!

yogensha said:

Bottles are more portable than kegs.

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I'm going to hockey practice tonight, so I want to take some beer. Instead of bringing 6 bottles, I'll bring a growler. A growler is definitely portable!

I am going to buck the trend and say there IS a flavor difference. There are some beers that I feel need some bottle conditioning - but honestly it's very few and the difference is not huge. I bottled, then kegged, then bottled and finally went back to kegging again because I would get depressed looking at 100 bottles that needed to get cleaned and stored away.