I'm a little nervous... Just placed an order with KegConnection

So....
My wife got me a brewing kit for Xmas... Since then, I've brewed two beers and both are fermenting at the moment. I've kind of got into this really quick and really far. Meaning, my wife gave me another $200 budget because I wanted to start kegging instead of doing the bottles. I don't have patience for bottling and I know that.

So I figured for $200 I could get one keg, maybe two. Well.... I ended up buying a mini fridge, a two tap tower setup with the Taprite double regulator to allow for two different pressures, two perlick taps (one creamer because my wife loves porter) and two kegs and a co2 tank.

What I'm worried about is that I just WAAY blew the budget...
I'm hoping brewing is something I stick to because I really have committed financially to it.

Please give me some reassurance that it's going to be ok!

You should've bottled your first two batches and saw them through to the end before committing like that but you're already in with both feet so keep on keeping on.

TomSD said:

You should've bottled your first two batches and saw them through to the end before committing like that but you're already in with both feet so keep on keeping on.

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I really thought of that but having 100 beer bottles around and then sanitizing and filling etc etc just seemed too tedious to someone with my add tendencies...

We'll see what happens. Hopefully she won't cut my balls off...

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's jumped in like this right?

Worst case scenario - you have to sell all the kegging equipment. You should easily be able to get back your money minus the $200 budget. So you are ok

Kegging stuff keeps getting more and more expensive, so at the very least its a good investment

As long as she doesn't kill you before you can make more beer, you'll be fine.

brettwasbtd said:

Worst case scenario - you have to sell all the kegging equipment. You should easily be able to get back your money minus the $200 budget. So you are ok

Kegging stuff keeps getting more and more expensive, so at the very least its a good investment

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I agree with the good investment. You also got the good stuff which will move quick if you ever change your mind. i.e. Perlicks, Taprite, etc.

Just take good care of, your turn around on that used equipment should bring you most if not all your money...

I love brewing and I stictly keg.... LOVE IT. I hopped into kegging before all grain. I am mostly satisfied with partial mash and extract brewing.

I've been brewing for a few years and have never bottled a single beer (aside from off the keg). I think jumping into kegging right off the bat will allow you to enjoy the hobby much more. I know i wouldn't look forward to bottling 50+ beers every few weeks.

I brewed and bottled 1 batch before switching to kegging. Then, kegged a whole 2 batches before building a kegerator. Haven't looked back since. Now, I'll only bottle a 6'er every once and a while once I find those few recipes that I have to have on tap at all times. If your wife lets you have the money to do it, go for it. You won't regret jumping in with both feet. Good luck!

Gritsak said:

I've been brewing for a few years and have never bottled a single beer (aside from off the keg). I think jumping into kegging right off the bat will allow you to enjoy the hobby much more. I know i wouldn't look forward to bottling 50+ beers every few weeks.

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The good part to this was that it was no problem for me to leave the beer alone (in primary) for at least a month to put off bottling. The result was some fantastic, and super clear, beer. Now that I'm kegging, and it only takes a few minutes to get the beer into a pre-cleaned keg...let's say I get antsy The solution is that I need to build up a keg pipeline like I had a bottle pipeline. I kicked the first keg before I expected to :cross:

If it wasnt for my kegs I would have quit brewing a long time ago. You just skipped over the part where you learn how much of a hastle bottling is. Good luck with your new setup!

Capital expenses! You can always afford those! Don't ever look back!

Slipgate said:

Capital expenses! You can always afford those! Don't ever look back!

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Winston Churchill said:

If you're going through hell, keep going.

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Don't worry, brewing is much better than hell

I see people do one mr. beer kit then go buy a Sabco brew-magic system as they sign up for Siebel classes.

I think you exercised restraint

You should definitely get rid of the equipment as soon as you can. You better let me take it from you so you don't lose your balls

Mug

Is the issue that she doesn't know you blew through the budget she gave you?
If no, then you won't regret the kegging setup. If it is that she doesn't know, that's a whole different problem that we can't help with.

The nice thing about getting the kegging setup off the bat is you could easily and inexpensively "try" botting a few to see if you have any interest in that. You have ADD, so this won't be an issue.

When she sees the bill, just explain to her that that brewing beer is cheaper than buying it and that the money you save will eventually outweigh the start up cost. While you're at it, start planning some nice porter batches to help appease her in case that doesn't fly.

I thought it was cheaper than buying, until I have 20 gallons either kegged or fermenting at a time. No two ways around it, I spend way more brewing than I did buying. But needless to say, I have far more fun making it and is much more meaningful than just drinking a store bought.

But, I tell the SWMBO its cheaper and that's my story and I stick to it, even when she laughs rolls her eyes and walks away

I guess I am lucky. Me wife got me a keg and co2 cartridge setup. I thanked her but explained that more kegs and a gas canister is much better. Good thing she likes my beer or I would be in more trouble. She's a good one!

Hang in there bud. I've only been brewing beer for six months, but fell in love with it so much that I took the plunge. All my beers were extract up to this point and then I started reading about all grain brewing. Game over! I bought a Sabco brew magic, because I didn't have the patience to fabricate my own, and then invested in a bunch of equipment to go with it to top the system off. Heavily invested now. The best part is that I had no idea how cool the brewing community is. The friendliest and most helpful people I have ever been around. With a little time, you will quickly become the most popular guy on your block when everyone wants to drink your delicious and unique beer. That's what got me hook, line and sinker.

Best regards,

John

Your so fvcked! If I were you I would just cut my own balls off and hand them to the little woman...

Seriously, right on, you'll love kegging. And it's ok to convince the other half that your homebrewing to save money but don't start believing it yourself!

Haha. All very valid responses... After looking at how much I've spent and how much there still is to spend (heck I don't even have a wort cooler yet or a pot big enough to do a full boil!) there's no way that it's cheaper to brew.

The porter response is funny because that's her favorite and thats the first batch I started with. I'm looking at doing a RIS to maybe pass off as a porter to her.

She kind of knows how much I've spent, just hasn't see the full bill yet.

It was a hard call but The mini fridge is already in the garage and the rest of the keg stuff will motivate me to clean the garage more.

Also, I just need to brew a few more IPA batches in the kitchen before she gets fed up with the smell and asks me kindly to move the cooking to the garage.

The best part of all of this is that I don't think that she can get upset because she got the ball rolling...

Fight fire with fire

We have to spread the cost over time! At least that is my justification.

The more beer you make, the lower your fixed costs become...

Mindhop said:

We have to spread the cost over time! At least that is my justification.

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I tried but just too hard to do that with a keg setup. And I just couldn't install cheap parts only to pay full price when I wanted to upgrade.

And I am spreading it. trying to wait two months before buying my 10gal pot and wort chiller. I aleady sold the 5gal pot I just bought to a friend and part of the deal was that he had to let me use it two times.

onthekeg said:

The more beer you make, the lower your fixed costs become...

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That's right so I just need to keep brewing.

Hey, time is money! The less time you spend on bottling more time you get to spend with the wife.

Go for a 15 gallon kettle. You won't be sorry. I have a 15 and wish I got a 20. Since you don't have a wort chiller you can get the proper size. See I just saved you money. Don't buy two chillers like I had to.

I'm thinking of getting a keg and converting it to a kettle. Thoughts on that?
Someone also has a wort chiller that has a hose wrapped around copper for sale here locally. How are those wort chillers?

Shh. Don't tell the wifey.