I've been kegging for a while now and miss having a few bottles around from time to time. I do not miss the extra work of bottling however. I just wanted to know if there was any problem with putting say 3-4 gallons of fresh beer into the keg for carbing instead of the full 5 gallons? I would then bottle the other 1-2 gallons.
kegging less than full
- Thread starter Joe028
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EdWort
Well-Known Member
malkore said:
Yep, just connect CO2 at 12 psi, open the valve, wait till you hear it stop flowing, close the valve, and vent the keg. Repeat several times and you are good to go.
cheezydemon
Well-Known Member
Joe028 said:
Hey Joe, not meaning to jack your thread, but it seems like your question has been answered pretty well here.
From one bottle lover to another:
I have not kegged yet. I like to think that I prefer bottles, but I know that I am kidding myself at least a little bit! I will always want to bottle some from each batch, you can't take the Keg to a family christmas party (at least not my family, and I am not so sure that that is a bad thing).
I am looking at jumping to AG brewing, and I am also considering getting into kegging. It seems like a lot to get into all at once. I have 2 kids, and while money is not short, there are just more important things. In the interest of staying married, I can't just plunk down $4-500 and come home with a bunch of large equipment that will have to live somewhere.
It seems like kegging would come first since AG just lends itself to larger batches, but Kegging will take a lot more $ up front. Any advice or thoughts?
I take my little 3 gallon keg to all parties and family gatherings. It's got a CO2 charger and a picnic faucet on it. You can also fill up a 1-liter soda bottle or a growler from the keg and take that along for same-day consumption.
I started all grain and kegging at the same time and I'd recommend against it. Too much to think about at the same time. Either one would be a great next step.
I started all grain and kegging at the same time and I'd recommend against it. Too much to think about at the same time. Either one would be a great next step.
I'm not sure the exact difference in price from going AG vs Kegging, you would have to price everything individually. I can tell you my opinion though. Kegging by far has been the overall biggest improvement in time saving and simplicity of the whole packaging process. I would hate to go back to having endless bottles laying around the house, sink, some with sanitizer in them, scrubbing and the whole mess. I don't miss that at all, but I do miss the occasional benefit to having some beer in a bottle.cheezydemon said:
I also really like the AG part of brewing because I enjoy the process of brewing so much that I want total control over what goes into my glass...even if from time to time it could be a bit better. In addition, I really didn't like the cost of buying the extract. Seems a bit expensive to me. Going the AG route saves money over time with ingredients.
As for AG lending to bigger batches, I don't really know. I guess it makes it easier to go big, but I am just as happy staying with my 5 gallon batches.
You need to decide if it's more important for you to get rid of the hassle of bottling, or do a couple extra steps on brew day if you enjoy that whole process, while saving a few bucks in the long run.
david_the_greek
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Lets not forget the cost of refrigeration for kegging. I was one lucky son of a gun when I finagled some free cornies and a 20lb CO2 tank, I didn't think the refrigeration part all the way through and ended up with a bit of a hassle when it came to being able to drink my first two brews. Craigslist s a pretty good place to find fridges and chest freezers I guess though, I'm still working on my situation but am content enough to not want to drop any cash on it just yet. AG looks fun as all heck, I'm still waiting to make that leap.
Onescalerguy
Well-Known Member
Make bigger batches!We brew all ours in 6-6.5 gal batches so we get a sixer or two besides the corny full.We just put .5tsp of corn sugar in each bottle...works fine.It's nice to revisit some favorites that went WAY too fast through the tap
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Cheers
.Cheers
cheezydemon
Well-Known Member
Right on. Fridge Crucial to kegging. Got it.
dantodd
Well-Known Member
Joe028 said:
As others have said you can keg just 3 or 4 gallons but be sure to purge the O2 from the keg, not too hard since CO2 is heavier you can put the keg under a little pressure and then vent the pressure which should kick out most of the O2 laden air.
As for other options you got some good suggestions. It really depends on why you want some on bottles.
If you want to compare bottle conditioned beer to force carbed kegged beer then I would prime a gallon or 2 and bottle it off and put the rest in a keg. I like the idea of priming a larger volume rather than individually carbing the bottles because it's tough to keep the carbonation consistent.
If you just want to make sure you have some beer bottle to take to a party then I'd just keg the whole thing and use a hose extension on your faucet (or cobra) and fill up growlers, swing top bottles or PET bottles for your travel needs.
If you want bottles on hand longer term to keep your variety up as you go through kegs then I'd recommend kegging and force carbing the whole batch. If you just fill the bottles from your faucet it will oxidize after a couple days so you want to be sure to purge your bottles. Use a counter-pressure or beergun filler to lay up some bottles for later.
