The Last Straw

[brehm21]

Well, it happened.
I have perhaps bottled my last batch of beer.

Saturday night I started soaking and peeling labels. Takes forever in my small kitchen sink. I spent hours the next day peeling more labels, sanitizing, bottling and cleaning. About 3 hours of my Sunday gone altogether. Then, to top it off, I opened an Amber Alt I'm drinking and it didn't taste as great as some of the others. I've been fighting inconsistent flavors/carbonation from one bottle to the next for the last couple batches. After bottling all day and having an off taste, I sat down and ordered the 3 keg system from ebrew. I'd been shopping a bit and this was about the best system deal I could find. Plus, some other folks here seem to have had good experiences with them.

I'm stoked!! :rockin: I've got some Chocolate Milk Stout that can go in a keg this weekend.....that is....if I receive them, clean them, fill my CO2, and study up on some technique............time to start reading more!

 

[jdoiv]

I'm with ya!

I spent several hours this past Friday bottling up 10 gallons of a so-so ESB I brewed up. I decided to bottle it in the 12oz bottles as I'm not sure if I'm going to be thrilled with it. I think it took me about 2 hours to bottle due to various issues and problems. Maybe longer. I'm trying to erase it from my memory. I think I'm making a short road trip Thursday to pick up some kegs from a local soda pop distributor. Now I just need to pull the trigger on a CO2 tank and regulator.

I hate bottling.

 

[cnapierala]

Congrats! Kegging is great. It saves a ton of time and its cool. My neighbors and friends love to come over and have a choice of beers on tap in my garage.
It gives a different perspactive though when you go to your neighborhood bar. I pretty much always have better beer on tap at home. Lol!

 

[PenPen]

Well, it happened.
I have perhaps bottled my last batch of beer.

Saturday night I started soaking and peeling labels. Takes forever in my small kitchen sink. I spent hours the next day peeling more labels, sanitizing, bottling and cleaning. About 3 hours of my Sunday gone altogether. Then, to top it off, I opened an Amber Alt I'm drinking and it didn't taste as great as some of the others. I've been fighting inconsistent flavors/carbonation from one bottle to the next for the last couple batches. After bottling all day and having an off taste, I sat down and ordered the 3 keg system from ebrew. I'd been shopping a bit and this was about the best system deal I could find. Plus, some other folks here seem to have had good experiences with them.

I'm stoked!! :rockin: I've got some Chocolate Milk Stout that can go in a keg this weekend.....that is....if I receive them, clean them, fill my CO2, and study up on some technique............time to start reading more!

You're kidding me. West Liberty? I live in Bellefontaine and lived in WL as a kid. Small world. You've got to making your homebrew as you're living in one of the few dry townships in Ohio. Cheers!:cross:

 

[david_42]

Unless you are pushed for carboys, you can just leave your stout alone until a keg is ready. You don't even need the CO2, enough CO2 will come out of solution to fill the head space.

I went straight to kegs and I'm certain I would not be brewing if I hadn't. I clean my kegs when they blow and store them under pressure with a little sanitizer, so kegging a batch takes about 5 minutes + flow time.

 

[Cheesefood]

Might as well get that Northern Brewer 4 pack now. 3 kegs isn't enough.

Welcome aboard. It's bliss.

 

[brehm21]

Can't hack the $$$ for more kegs yet. First I need to land a chest freezer and some faucets. For now I'll have to make due with a fridge out in the workshop. A decent kegerator setup will be the next expenditure. Then I'll start charging my wife $3.50 a pint for beer, and I'll quickly have enough money to buy many more kegs.......or I'll be living out in the workshop with my beer and kegerator.......not bad either!

Everything came today! The regulator is nicer than I was expecting. The kegs are certainly used, but in good enough shape. Held pressure. Shipping was fast. 2 days from NC to OH.

I'm stoked!!!

 

[BierMuncher]

Double check to make sure you don't have gaskets that smell like root beer. That will stink up a beer like crazy.

Welcome to kegging. I can still bottle a 6 or 12 pack from the keg for transport or to hold onto some brew for keepsake.

Until you can tap that stout, hopefully this will hold you over....