I have been brewing for a while now and I am comfortable with my ability, so I am kicking around the idea of kegging, but one question plagues me, Do you have to let the beer condition in the keg as if you had it in a bottle? or do you have to let it ferment longer so you can just keg,carbonate, and drink?
Thinking about starting to keg!
- Thread starter dentdr
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Wolfhound180
Well-Known Member
Oh man is it do much better than bottles! I made the jump about a month ago and will never look back. I just ferment mine out till it is done, siphon into the keg and set it at 11psi for two weeks in the fridge.
Schnitzengiggle
Well-Known Member
Stop thinking about it and start doing it. Kegging is becoming ever more expensive, buy your supplies now! And get e couple extra kegs if you plan on expanding/brewing more often. I just picked up four for a total of 8, and I am happy with that number. I can only brew 10 gallons at a time, and I only have 4 primary fermenters, so I obvioulsy can't fill all 8 at once 
Plus it beats the hassle of bottling which I still do on occassion because I like the nostalgia of bottles, having said that you can bottle from the keg, a bit more messy without a beer gun (I don't have one), but possible.
Nothing beats pulling a pint for the first time, or filling a couple growlers off the tap before heading to a gathering.
Plus it beats the hassle of bottling which I still do on occassion because I like the nostalgia of bottles, having said that you can bottle from the keg, a bit more messy without a beer gun (I don't have one), but possible.
Nothing beats pulling a pint for the first time, or filling a couple growlers off the tap before heading to a gathering.
briankb80
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2012
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
I kegged my first batch recently and went back and forth about the same question about carbonation. Since it was my first keg, I force carbonated it according to a beer style chart I found in a PDF on kegging directions (I don't have the link handy right now). It was easy and pain free. I might try natural carbonation in the future, but for now I'll force carbonate.
Folks get all out of sorts about the carbonation methods. Don't worry about it, do a little research and you'll find the method for you. Kegging is so much better than bottling- so much easier and you can still bottle whenever you want to...but you will seldom want to.
Kegging is just so darned easy. Make your beer, once it is done fermenting, gently transfer it into a sanitized keg. Refrigerate and hook up to your CO2, wait a few days. Start drinking it is that easy.
Kegging also makes dryhopping easy. Throw an ounce or two of hops into a porous bag -- I use women's nylon stockings - put the beer in the keg.
People get all worked up about purging the O2 out of the tank or how many volumes of CO2 you want in your beer. If you are scientifically minded, then those things are great. I've found a technique and timing that consistently works to my palate: Fermentation takes about a week, I let the beer set on the yeast cake for another week to allow it to clean up any off-flavors that may have developed, then I keg it, and wait another week.
Kegging also makes dryhopping easy. Throw an ounce or two of hops into a porous bag -- I use women's nylon stockings - put the beer in the keg.
People get all worked up about purging the O2 out of the tank or how many volumes of CO2 you want in your beer. If you are scientifically minded, then those things are great. I've found a technique and timing that consistently works to my palate: Fermentation takes about a week, I let the beer set on the yeast cake for another week to allow it to clean up any off-flavors that may have developed, then I keg it, and wait another week.
beertastic
Well-Known Member
I clean, sanitize, rack, and cleanup in about an hour with kegging. That's fully disassembling the keg. I bet some people can do 1/2 hour in their routine.
I freaking love kegging.
Don't get me wrong tho, it does come with it's own set of challenges. Tracking down leaks, finding your carbonation method (I do not care for fast carbing), cleaning the lines, etc.
I don't know, it's just worth it to me. I don't like bottling. Bottling day is OK, it's just all the bottles everywhere, everyday in between. Drink a beer, rinse the bottle, dry the bottle, store the bottle...it's too much on a day to day basis. Bottles bottles everywhere.
But to answer your question, yes you can just condition in a keg just like bottling (although use less priming sugar). I'm just starting to do that now, and I think I prefer it.
I freaking love kegging.
Don't get me wrong tho, it does come with it's own set of challenges. Tracking down leaks, finding your carbonation method (I do not care for fast carbing), cleaning the lines, etc.
I don't know, it's just worth it to me. I don't like bottling. Bottling day is OK, it's just all the bottles everywhere, everyday in between. Drink a beer, rinse the bottle, dry the bottle, store the bottle...it's too much on a day to day basis. Bottles bottles everywhere.
But to answer your question, yes you can just condition in a keg just like bottling (although use less priming sugar). I'm just starting to do that now, and I think I prefer it.
Similar threads
