Bottle or keg?

[bel]

Does anyone recomend kegging over bottling for beginner home brewers? I have access to a commercial kegerator. Not sure what else i would need or how much i would have to spend. I have plenty of bottles. Any suggestions on what to do? I am planning on boiling my first extract batch in the next week or two.

 

[Mojzis]

This comes up a few times a week by new brewers and like always there's a heated debate that follows. I'll sum it up for you:

Bottling

Pros:
Ageing special beers (Belgians, RIS, etc.)
Sticking a few in the fridge
Relaxing process
Bringing a few anywhere
Giving out samples

Cons:
Takes about two hours
Have to collect and de-label bottles


Kegging

Pros:
Much less time
Pretty easy
Have house beers on tap
5g of beer ready to serve

Cons:
Much higher cost
Can't bring anywhere
Have to bottle from gun for samples to give
Slightly more complicated
Have to buy c02





I'm probably missing a few things. However I'll add that being a beginner, bottle first and see from there if your sticking with it or not. Make up your own mind

 

[whatdyisit]

Bottling is a right of passage. Your first few batches should be bottled IMO. Some people don't mind it. I'm not one of those people.

 

[mikescooling]

Kegging is so much easier and cooler. If you think brewing is something your going to stick with, go for it. Bottling for me is a pain in the back side. It takes me longer to clean/take the labels off used bottles than to brew 12 gallons that goes in them.

 

[whiskeyjack]

Don't forget to mention you have to clean 50+ bottles every time you bottle. My last batch I got about halfway through bottling and noticed about 5 of my bottles had dried on yeast inside them, I guess they never got the normal full bottle soak after my brother or I got done drinking them. Also they went through the dishwasher and it didn't catch it either (I blamed it on my brother lol). With kegging you just fill one big vessel and its pretty easy to clean

 

[sigmund]

I don't know if bottling is a rite passage or not but I think it's the right way to start out, it gives you a better appreciation for the whole process and I think it's a better way to "see" how fast a batch disappears. Kegging isn't the answer to everything but I know I like it better. Still bottle up a few for friends that appreciate the effort.

 

[bel]

Thanks for the advice. I have a bunch of bombers so bottling won't be to bad. If and when I start keging ill be back for more advice.