Keg vs bottles

I've only done bottles but keep reading post after post about kegs...what is good about kegging and why use them? Just want your thoughts on this matter

I think the biggest plus is simply being able to drink your beer sooner. No bottle conditioning. On top of that its much more easy to do. You don't have to clean, fill, and cap 50+ bottles.

Cold71 said:

I think the biggest plus is simply being able to drink your beer sooner. No bottle conditioning. On top of that its much more easy to do. You don't have to clean, fill, and cap 50+ bottles.

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but unless you are only drinking at home the kegging isn't convenient.. I mean I can take my bottles anywhere in a cooler or not and share easly... Why would someone want to spend on kegs, pressurizing, tap, adjusting pressure (huge head if you dont adjust well) , etc etc etc

Im not bad mouthing it, just want to understand it

Big_Cat said:

but unless you are only drinking at home the kegging isn't convenient.. I mean I can take my bottles anywhere in a cooler or not and share easly... Why would someone want to spend on kegs, pressurizing, tap, adjusting pressure (huge head if you dont adjust well) , etc etc etc

Im not bad mouthing it, just want to understand it

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So. You don't need to condition the beer before kegging? I mean, yes it gets carbed faster... but does the beer need to sit for an extra couple weeks as it would from bottling to meld the flavors?

Big_Cat said:

but unless you are only drinking at home the kegging isn't convenient.. I mean I can take my bottles anywhere in a cooler or not and share easly... Why would someone want to spend on kegs, pressurizing, tap, adjusting pressure (huge head if you dont adjust well) , etc etc etc

Im not bad mouthing it, just want to understand it

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You can bottle from a keg with picnic tap and bottling wand to take beer with you. The biggest plus to that is you don't have to worry about sediment in the bottom of the bottle because there is none when filling from a keg.

I do both keg and bottle. I like the ability to give away a lot of beer and take it with me places, which kegs are not always practical for. I have a 12 gal batch that I will be bottling within the next few weeks. I figure that will take me around 4 hours to bottle. Personally I don't mind bottling at all. But I do like to keep my kegs full as well.

beerloaf

Another advantage of kegging is you can pour yourself a half glass if that's all you want. Or just give a sample to someone before you pour them a whole glass.

crispy44 said:

So. You don't need to condition the beer before kegging? I mean, yes it gets carbed faster... but does the beer need to sit for an extra couple weeks as it would from bottling to meld the flavors?

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Conditioning time is going to be beer dependent, no matter if you keg or bottle. Kegs also make great bulk aging vessels. They're also safer, and have a smaller footprint than a carboy. You can also naturally carb your beer in the keg just like you would a bottle if you prefer instead of force carbing. And, if you really want a few bottles to share, or enter into comps, it's really easy to bottle off the keg.

Each process has its own pros and cons. Kegging is more expensive up front for equipment and will cost more over time with supplies required like CO2. If you decide to keg and still like portability you can always use a beer gun to fill bottles and growlers easily.

While you can carbonate faster there is still some conditioning time for the beer just like in the bottle but the overall time is reduced due to the faster carbonation.

It really comes down to choice and what works best for you. While there is a lot involved in bottling, there is a lot involved in kegging as well. Yes you are only filling one vessel to keg but you also have to regularly clean and sanitize lines, taps, gaskets, tubing and everything else that comes in touch with your beer so IMO the time saved packaging is eventually consumed by the regular maintenance tasks.

Some will say draft beer tastes better, some don't necessarily agree.

This is all my opinion, I elect to bottle and do not keg. My final volume is always 6 gallons and requires 60 bottles. I can clean, sanitize and bottle an entire batch in about 1.5 hours solo, about 45-60 minutes with a helper. We enjoy the process and the ability to have a myriad of variety in the fridge on any given day or the ability to put together mixed 6 packs to head out to a party and share.

I'm sure others will chime in with their thoughts as well

Kegging
Pros:

• Saves time in packaging
• Easier to clean one package than 50 packages
• No capping 50 bottles
• No risk of bottle bombs

Cons:

• Much more expensive than bottling, unless you happen into it for free
• Draft lines, O-rings, faucets, etc, etc need replacing/cleaning
• CO2 leaks are a HUGE PITA - nothing worse than trying to pull a pint and getting nothing
• CO2 fills are not convient for a lot of people
• Kegerators need cleaning, keezers need a lot more cleaning

That being said, I bottle almost everything even though I have a keezer and 6 kegs. I keep two kegs on tap at all times (two low gravity beers for home drinking) and use my other 4 kegs for lagering/holding sanitizer or PBW.

duboman said:

I can clean, sanitize and bottle an entire batch in about 1.5 hours solo, about 45-60 minutes with a helper.

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And this is the one big benefit I'm surprised nobody's pointed out yet - the time and effort difference. Yes, some folks like duboman find a certain zen in the act of bottling - but that's a lot of cleaning and sanitizing right there to get all those bottles done.

Me? I clean my kegs when they get empty, then fill them up with a couple gallons of sanitizer and pressurize them, so they're ready to go come filling time. On filling day, I simply use the sanitizer in them to sanitize my autosiphon, rack the fermenter to the keg, and I'm done - takes about 15 minutes tops. Maybe 30, if you count the effort of cleaning the keg too. You just can't say the same for the effort of cleaning and sanitizing, then filling and capping 50 or 60 bottles. Most folks don't find that effort particularly fun. Maybe you do - more power to you if you do!

If you get used to bottling you can do it as duboman said in an hour and a half or an hour if somebody helps you. Bottling can be a PITA at the begining but gets a lot easier when you are used to it.

stratslinger said:

And this is the one big benefit I'm surprised nobody's pointed out yet - the time and effort difference. Yes, some folks like duboman find a certain zen in the act of bottling - but that's a lot of cleaning and sanitizing right there to get all those bottles done.

Me? I clean my kegs when they get empty, then fill them up with a couple gallons of sanitizer and pressurize them, so they're ready to go come filling time. On filling day, I simply use the sanitizer in them to sanitize my autosiphon, rack the fermenter to the keg, and I'm done - takes about 15 minutes tops. Maybe 30, if you count the effort of cleaning the keg too. You just can't say the same for the effort of cleaning and sanitizing, then filling and capping 50 or 60 bottles. Most folks don't find that effort particularly fun. Maybe you do - more power to you if you do!

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It's even easier when you clean multiple kegs at a time. Hot PBW, and just jump it from out post to out post from keg to keg, adding a little extra PBW as you go down the line as needed. Followed by jumping 5 gallons of star san. Sanitized and oxygen purged kegs ready when you need them.

For me... it saves my back from cleaning 60 bottles for each beer!

malweth said:

For me... it saves my back from cleaning 60 bottles for each beer!

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Two great things for that: Bottling Tree & Pump Rinser. I'll never bottle without those two things again.

I do both. Kegging is much easier IMO. Yes it is more expensive up front but having draft beer is nice. Carbing time is really about the same. I save maybe a week with Kegging. I like to bottle anything 9% and up because I find it dangerous to have that stuff on tap (and expensive). It is also easier to age big beers in the bottle since its not quite as "easy" to drink it all. If I want to take legged beer anywhere I just fill up a growler or two. Easy. ~Slante~

malweth said:

For me... it saves my back from cleaning 60 bottles for each beer!

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No need to hurt your back. Rinse out the bottle as soon as it's poured and set it aside. When ever is convenient put the empties on a bottle tree to dry.
Once dry store them for the next bottling session.
No need for long drawn out bottle cleaning sessions when a rinse and dry will do.

Mongrel said:

It's even easier when you clean multiple kegs at a time. Hot PBW, and just jump it from out post to out post from keg to keg, adding a little extra PBW as you go down the line as needed. Followed by jumping 5 gallons of star san. Sanitized and oxygen purged kegs ready when you need them.

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Very true but both of you are not factoring in the time involved when you actually have to take everything apart like lines, taps, replace rings and tubes and everything else involved.

If you are not doing these things on a regular basis then you are opening yourselves up to a waiting infection. Simply flushing hot cleaner and then sanitizer is not adequate.

I know 2 separate brewers that list batches of beer to infection and spent days figuring out through their legging system. Once they took everything apart they were astounded at the gook and crud they found in the connections throughout and wound up having to replace many components. They always assumed the flushing and sanitizing was adequate.

To me, to spend 45-90 minutes twice a month with a friend or two having some beer and watching some sports is really no big deal, after all, in the end the effort was spent packaging my tasty home brew!

One other thing you can do. When I keg, I always fill up a sixer or two and just use carb tabs. That way I have a few to give away if I want.

I almost exclusively bottle (I have a party pig I use from time to time) but I eventually want to get a keg system with a tap or two when I can afford the set up and have the space for it. Right now I am not brewing so much that it is inconvenient to bottle and since my wife actually likes the bottling process (particularly capping) it takes me half the time to bottle with her help. I could see how it would be too laborious to bottle 5-6 gallons every few weeks if I routinely brewed that much but it's manageable where I am right now.

For me the biggest drawback of not having a keg system, and somebody mentioned this, is not being able to have a small quantity without opening an entire bottle. I try to limit my drinking to the weekend evenings but there are some nights where I'd like just an ounce or two for flavor. If I open a 12oz bottle I am going to drink the whole thing. It's not such an urgent issue that I need to run out and buy a keg set up. But one day...

"It really comes down to choice and what works best for you."

Exactly! I package in 5 gallon cornies, and 3 gallon cornies, and 12oz bottles, and 22oz bottles, and 750ml bottles, and TAD, and 1.5L mini-keg, etc, etc. Do whatever works for you.

I have a three tap keggerator. I could never go back to bottling as I like to have multiple beers on hand. For me it was about not having so many bottles around. I got rid of almost all my bottles except for enough to bottle a batch. So far I haven't bottled one batch. Depending on location a real pain in the ass can be finding Co2. For me it's a 45min drive.

I have a 3 tap set up too but I currently have 10 different beers on hand because I DO still bottle. 3 taps limit you to three types of beer so how does a decision to not bottle any more allow you to have "multiple beers on hand"? Perhaps I misunderstood your post?

I like kegging because it takes less time and effort to keg than it does to fill 54 bottles. I do long primaries, so I don't have to worry much about bottle conditioning, but I set my pressure low for serving so I have to wait about 2 weeks for carbonation anyway.

I also like having homebrew on tap because it's less work for me when I have friends over. Most of my friends are not familiar with homebrew, so I found myself pouring their beers a lot so they wouldn't get the sediment. But anyone can pull a tap handle.

But I also bottle occasionally, too: 1-gallon batches mostly, but also meads, etc.

I only bottled my first two batches then went straight to kegging. To share or transport I will bottle up a couple 22s or fill a growler or two. I also have a couple three gallon cornies so I can just drop one into a backpack with a CO2 cartridge hookup/picnic tap and go walk about.
Bottling is a giant paint for me. Kegging is easy. Like others, I will do some bulk cleaning. I do take apart and check my rings but I don’t replace on a regular basis unless they are worn. I clean my lines far less than I should. However, they don’t sit empty (don’t you judge me).
If I had only one faucet, I would likely bottle. However, I have three regular faucets and a stout faucet. I have two more waiting to be installed in my next kegerator. I usually don’t have much time between fermentation complete and being tapped. Multiple taps allow me to have a variety (not as much as bottles though) and let beers condition until they start tasting good. I also like to be able to walk by anytime and grab one of my taster glasses and take a sample to see how the various beers are doing. The down side is that I can walk by anytime and take a pint sample to see how the various beers are doing.

I bottle merely because the start up cost for kegging is a little steep right now. On bottling day I run the bottles through my dish washer on the hottest setting. The steam from the drying cycle seems to be enough to sanitize them. When it comes time to bottle, I set my bottling bucket on the counter right above the dishwasher with the bottling wand hanging over. I then bottle with dishwasher door open to catch any mess.

Not a perfect setup, but just my $.02.

I quit bottling this summer because I was tired of having 372 bottles lying around. It's also nice when I drink beer from a bottle, I can throw it in the garbage.

I went from bottling to kegging. I likely will never go back. Not that bottling was not enjoyable. To be honest I didn't find it to be that big of a pain. I just really enjoy getting to tinker with my kegs, lines, keezer, co2, etc.

Both bottling and kegging take a bit of work to do. Kegging a little more initial setup while bottling is a little more laborious per batch.

I have a few swing tops so anytime I need to take one I just fill it right from the keg tap and I'm good to go!

beer in a keg tastes better to me than bottled. Could my imagination... Or...

1. I get a better, more consistent carbonation in kegs than in bottles (flat beer sucks)
2. Takes WAY less time to keg (more time for drinking)
3. It's just cooler to have a keg of beer to drink (wow factor)
4. I like that I can adjust pull a tap and cold beer flows vs remembering to stock the fridge

I like to bottle a 12 pack of a batch to take to a friends house but honestly, I'll probably get a few growlers to fill from my keg before heading out.
I've bottled before and had to scrap the batch because it had very little carbonation. Sad to throw out flat beer because I couldn't get the ration of priming sugar right.

Really, it's up to you. Do you have the space to store a keg? It not, go bottles.

PNWB

Oh, one trick to bottling... Do it in your dishwasher.

1. Let the fermenter rest on the counter for a few hours to settle the sediment
2. Wash the bottles in the dishwasher if you have a serialize feature (mine does and it works great!)
3. Take the bottles out and dip the top in sanitizer (just a precaution)
4. Place the bottles right side up in the dishwasher racks (get them to stand up straight)
5. With the dishwasher door open. Start filling. Any mess you make will fall onto the door and wash away when you close after you're finished
6. Cap the bottles on the counter (they tend to have a hard time standing up once their full if left in the dishwasher rack) or even better, in the sink.
Wipe up the counter, load and run the dishwasher when you're done. Stale beer is disgusting after a few days in a dishwasher. Easy breezy and shouldnt take long.