To Keg or Not to Keg

[Homercidal]

I love having a release valve on my ball lock kegs, but honestly it's not that hard to press the gas in post button, or rig a spare QD with nothing attached to let some gas off when necessary.

 

[jschein]

I love having a release valve on my ball lock kegs, but honestly it's not that hard to press the gas in post button, or rig a spare QD with nothing attached to let some gas off when necessary.

Used a fork on the gas post for years. Always thought I would muck it up. Did get spayed a bunch of times but more stories for the family to tell!

 

[beskone]

I bottled the first 2 years I brewed, finally got all the components to put together a 5 tap keezer in the garage. Not only is it less of a pain in the ass the bottling, I also have noticed my beer has improved in quality.

It's a win-win. Less work, less cleanup, better beer.

I just fill up a growler now when I'm going out with beer and in the off chance I need to fill a bottle for a gift or something I have a counter pressure filler I can use.

 

[Murphys_Law]

Read carefully: don't keg. It's a disease. Sure, you'll start slow, maybe one keg. You think you can handle it. But next thing you know you're on-line looking for a second keg. It grips you, but you're ok, man. I control the kegs, they don't control me.

3 kegs...4 kegs...chest freezer or stand up...perlick worth the money...single regulator...dual...**** man, I'm losing control! I'm a keg-a-holic!





PS: my dual regulator just arrived. [emoji1]

 

[brewprint]

Haha my new investment will be 5 brand new ball locks from adventures. I can fit 4 of those tall boys in my keezer as opposed to 3 5 gallon pins and 1 3 gallon pin.

So now I have to convert all my fittings. Oh the joys of kegging

 

[DurtyChemist]

So there was an advertisement from home brew supply on here and they have a 5 gallon keg, gas line, beer line and regulator for $120 and after a 5% discount $113. This beats the crap out of any keg system I've seen this far by about $120. Wasn't planning debating kegging so soon but that price has me feeling like I need to jump. All I'd need is a co2 tank.

My dilemma is this though. I like the portability of bottles but hate waiting 2-3 weeks to carb. I'd like to be able to drink within days of kegging. So should I start a system of bottling some of my beers and keeping them around and kegging some others? That seems obvious. I am brewing every weekend right now so I'm not worried about keeping stock.

I think it's a no brainer right?

Start legging then b up a Blichmann beer gun. Best of both worlds. You'll never have a bottle bomb and it's simple enough to use you can bottle a six pack or all your beer with ease.

Search craigslist for a used 20 lb co2 tank. You'll want it because the price to swap out a 20 vs 5 is minimal, you can find them for cheap if you're patient and you'll almost never have to worry about running out of CO2. Hydroponic shops do swaps too.

 

[55x11]

Start legging then b up a Blichmann beer gun. Best of both worlds. You'll never have a bottle bomb and it's simple enough to use you can bottle a six pack or all your beer with ease.

Search craigslist for a used 20 lb co2 tank. You'll want it because the price to swap out a 20 vs 5 is minimal, you can find them for cheap if you're patient and you'll almost never have to worry about running out of CO2. Hydroponic shops do swaps too.

Agreed. I predict you will go through the following upgrades: (which I went though myself recently)

You will get blichman beer gun (or make a poor man's version but I don't think it works as well - ergonomics and CO2 purging worth it alone!)
Upgrade from 5 to 20lb CO2 tank
Get a lot more kegs! (I originally bought 2 keg set from keg connection, like you but now I have 7 and looking to get maybe 2-5 more)
Get a large keggerator (mine fits 9 kegs)
Get fermentation chamber (whats one more freezer?)
Get Perlick taps, shanks, and keep expanding. I have 6 taps now and will probably get a few more.
Get a nitro tap (I actually don't think you need Nitrogen tank, you can do just as well with high pressure CO2 as long as you disconnect and degas as to not overcarb).
Get more regulators (for separate pressure for different kegs), more lines, disconnects, carbonation caps for plastic bottles, manifolds, etc.

 

[ChelisHubby]

Dang...I can get a 2 keg system with pin lock kegs for $158 on keg connection. Should I get pin or ball lock?

I started with a pin lock and it was troublesome. I switched to ball locks and they have been much easier to keep leak free. I find myself bottling a six or a twelve pack off of most brews so I can share beer away from the house.

 

[Homercidal]

Read carefully: don't keg. It's a disease. Sure, you'll start slow, maybe one keg. You think you can handle it. But next thing you know you're on-line looking for a second keg. It grips you, but you're ok, man. I control the kegs, they don't control me.

3 kegs...4 kegs...chest freezer or stand up...perlick worth the money...single regulator...dual...**** man, I'm losing control! I'm a keg-a-holic!





PS: my dual regulator just arrived. [emoji1]

Pshaw! I am quite happy with the 4 kegs I got. I can keep two in the kegeratore at one time, and I have a 3rd for filling and priming ahead of time, or for jumping clear beer into if I want. The 4th is for Root Beer only.

I also have a couple of 2.5 Gallon SS Fire extinguishers that I have more or less converted into mini kegs (Well, one of them anyway).

I also see they are making some nice 2.5 gallon kegs that stack on top of each other and clear the QDs. I should probably see if they fit my kegerator. I wouldn't mind having maybe 4 beers on tap at a time...

 

[Atlmustang]

I started with a pin lock and it was troublesome. I switched to ball locks and they have been much easier to keep leak free. I find myself bottling a six or a twelve pack off of most brews so I can share beer away from the house.

Thanks! Went with pin lock because the are a bit shorter and I wanted to be sure that they would fit in my fridge because i know width wise i would have plenty but height woud become a concern. Id have enough room either way but didnt want to leave it to any error.

 

[muels]

It's easy to keep buying! I have 12 5 gallon ball lock kegs, 2 2.5 gallon ball lock kegs, a 5 tap keezer, a 2 tap fridge, and a 2 tap portable kegerator. Started out with just a 2 tap fridge with 2 kegs! It helped that I was able to get 2 ball locks from a buddy for $15 each and then got a few free from a friend who clean beer lines for the bars. Also got lucky and found a junk kegerator randomly in the trash!! All junk but the 5# CO2 tank was good and in cert. and the regulator works fine as a spare and for the portable unit!

I think my favorite upgrade though is adding 2 single stage regulators. I can put 40 psi on the 2 stage for carbbing, then use the single stages for two different serving pressures. Each single stage goes to a manifold that I can feed 3-4 kegs each.

 

[Atlmustang]

Wow....thats impressive!

I am pumped. Mine are coming in today. Saturday I fill the first one up with my SMaSH IPA and the other with Belgian Trippel. It will be epic.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

It is a disease... And you'll keep finding ways go modify your setup if your situation changes - I used a brewPi to turn my lousy kegerator that did a poor job of keeping consistent cold temps into a ferm chamber, but don't have another full fridge that I can drill... But I didn't want to commit the while spare fridge we have to 5 gallon kegs since I'm brewing 2.5 to 3 gallon batches. So over the course of about 6 months I picked up 10 pin-lock 3-gallon kegs and converted them to ball lock. Its a disease, a disease I say!

 

[user 198378]

Idk why everyone is ragging on bottling. I have my own 4 tap keezer and still bottle. I think the main difference is that I can share my homebrew with friends easier by bottling. ALSO, very important, I find that some beers are just better for aging in bottles then the keg.

 

[Bobb25]

How about Grolsch type bottles? If you pour into those and close up with the stopper will that hold carbination for a short time?

After sampling the keg for two or three weeks, ( quality control ) When it is time to use the kegs for the next batch, I shoot the balance (beer gun ) into Grolsch type clamp top bottles and have kept the beer well carbonated for 6 months. ( I take a supply of each batch to my snow bird headquarters in South West Florida )
Bob

 

[Morrey]

I like ball lock kegs and connects....they seem to be more standard than pins, but just my take on things.

You'll need at least a 5lb CO2 tank to carb and gas your kegs. My local AirGas fills 5lb tanks for $17. Be forewarned many gas companies only do filled for empty exchanges, so your brand new empty tank says bye bye and you get a used filled one. I buy my tanks off Craigslist and could care less about the condition since I'll swap it out anyway. I have several 5's and one 20 lb, but again, CO2 is an important part of your kegging experience.

 

[Atlmustang]

I got a 5lb tank with the kit. Airgas is right on my way home from work. Should be awesome. How long can a 5lb tank last? If I force carb at 30psi for 3-4 days then return it to 10-12 psi serving pressure?

 

[Atlmustang]

It came! But they forgot to send the damn Co2 tank. Rats. Going to have to wait a bit longer.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

I'd also like to point out that kegging can really help with bottling - I bottled 3 batches from kegs the other day. I'll bulk age in kegs, treating the keg like a secondary that can be sealed and purged - then when I have several batches ready to go (or I'm running out of kegs) I'll add priming sugar, purge, swirl around to distribute the sugar and get any yeast into suspension, break out my beer gun and bench-top capper, and bang out a couple batches in a few hours while I have a brew going.

I've done 6 batches of Belgian ales like this since I got back into brewing a little over a year ago and have another 2 aging right now and want to do more, but I'm running out of Belgian Pils! (and have a ton of 2-Row to use up!)

 

[treacheroustexan]

I got a 5lb tank with the kit. Airgas is right on my way home from work. Should be awesome. How long can a 5lb tank last? If I force carb at 30psi for 3-4 days then return it to 10-12 psi serving pressure?

I'm on keg #7 with my 5# tank I had filled last year. I wouldn't leave it at 30psi for more than a day and a half though. Chill it, 30 psi for 24-36 hrs, and then set to serving pressure.

 

[Knkbrand]

Yes I use the flip tops sometimes works fine. I also have this to fill soda bottles but haven't tried it yet.View attachment 350971

these work great, just used it last night to bottle some beer for a friend. I like the plastic bottles because you can take them places where glass is not allowed, like the beach.

 

[muels]

I'm on keg #7 with my 5# tank I had filled last year. I wouldn't leave it at 30psi for more than a day and a half though. Chill it, 30 psi for 24-36 hrs, and then set to serving pressure.

I pretty much agree. I do 40 psi for about 24-48 hours. Drop to serving pressure and it's ready in a few days.

Keep in mind if you are kegging it warm it will take longer. If you fill the keg too full, it will take longer. You can error on the side of 48 hours in those instances.

There is the shake method as well. I do it sometimes but if you go overboard it ends up taking longer to drop the carb level. Proceed with caution. It is handy to be able to drink it 2 days after kegging though!

 

[PADave]

Idk why everyone is ragging on bottling. I have my own 4 tap keezer and still bottle. I think the main difference is that I can share my homebrew with friends easier by bottling. ALSO, very important, I find that some beers are just better for aging in bottles then the keg.

Agree. Bottling day is not my favorite part of brewing, but I want nothing to do with kegging. Too much extra equipment. I can bottle a batch, enjoy some now, let some age, move on to my next brew. Got a nice selection going. Plus I enjoy tasting how a beer evolves in the bottle.

 

[Atlmustang]

I just got to try my first kegged beer last night! What an amazing process. 3 days at 20psi (per northern brewers youtube channel) and it was ready to drink. Certainly like anything else Ive learned, some aging will continue to occur but it is certainly a drinkable beer and I am very happy.

My father in law is coming into town from Germany and I wanted to get my Smash IPA and belgian trippel carbed and ready and sure enough we are ready to go. Excellent for carbing in a hurry. Very happy with the purchase.

 

[kombat]

I think the main difference is that I can share my homebrew with friends easier by bottling.

Maybe, but it's not that much more difficult to bottle some beer off of a keg. The problem I have with sharing bottle-conditioned beers with friends is the need to educate them about the yeast cake at the bottom, and how it's important that they let it chill in the fridge for a couple of days (for the yeast to settle back out), and decant it into a glass. If they screw it up and end up with a cloudy/yeasty beer, it taints their impression of home brewing.

Bottling off a keg, they get crystal-clear beer, no matter how much they jostle it or whatever. I can skip the "how to store/pour" lesson, and they can treat it just like any commercial beer, which helps lend the impression that home brew beer is "real" beer.

 

[kombat]

Plus I enjoy tasting how a beer evolves in the bottle.

But you have to "burn" an entire bottle each time you sample it. With kegging, you can just pour a little 4-6 oz sample to get a sense of how the beer is evolving, without going through the batch as quickly.

Kegging is great for IPAs because I can be drinking it while it's at peak freshness, instead of having to wait 2-3 weeks for it to carb up in the bottle, at which point the hop nose has already started to fade.

 

[kombat]

It's really personal preference. I prefer ball locks because they're taller and narrower, and I can fit 2 of them in my kegerator. It's a tight fit though, and there's no way 2 pin locks would fit in there. Also, I believe pin locks are generally a little bit cheaper (possibly because people like me prefer ball locks?).

 

[ballandkeg]

This will work great if you have room in your fridge. You'll need a CO2 tank as well. It will get you going right away. I would go with the ball lock system.

Cheers