Who prefers bottling over kegging?

[Sir-Brews-Alot]

There sure are a lot of people who won't keg, because they like to bottle for portability and varietal factors. What they apparently don't realize is they can have the best of both worlds with kegging!

Sometimes I simply keg and drink the beer from the keg...

sometimes I keg the beer, carbonate it, then bottle the carbonated beer with a beergun...

sometimes I siphon my beer straight from my primary (or secondary) into the keg, purge the oxygen, then add just enough pressure to push it into bottles with my beergun, add a couple grams of honey or sugar to each bottle, and you got bottle conditioned beer. Essentially my keg and beergun act as the bottling bucket/filling wand with the added bonus of bottling under the protection of c02...

If I only have a keg of something, but no bottles, and I want to bring it to a party or what not, I fill a growler or two and purge with c02. That'll stay fresh for a couple days if not opened. I even bought one of these nice growlers which keeps my beer cold for like 24 hours: http://www.hydroflask.com/products/hydro-flask-insulated-water-bottle-and-beer-growler-64oz

Now if money or space is an issue, that I can completely understand as a previous college student/apartment renter. Or if you just simply enjoy bottling (glutton for punishment, lol) than by all means have at it!

 

[Flipadelphia]

Started brewing September 2011, flipped to kegging in April 2012, haven't bottled a batch since. Probably never will. All that cleaning, scrubbing, soaking, rinsing, shudder.

 

[RM-MN]

There sure are a lot of people who won't keg, because they like to bottle for portability and varietal factors. What they apparently don't realize is they can have the best of both worlds with kegging!

Sometimes I simply keg and drink the beer from the keg...

sometimes I keg the beer, carbonate it, then bottle the carbonated beer with a beergun...

sometimes I siphon my beer straight from my primary (or secondary) into the keg, purge the oxygen, then add just enough pressure to push it into bottles with my beergun, add a couple grams of honey or sugar to each bottle, and you got bottle conditioned beer. Essentially my keg and beergun act as the bottling bucket/filling wand with the added bonus of bottling under the protection of c02...

If I only have a keg of something, but no bottles, and I want to bring it to a party or what not, I fill a growler or two and purge with c02. That'll stay fresh for a couple days if not opened. I even bought one of these nice growlers which keeps my beer cold for like 24 hours: http://www.hydroflask.com/products/hydro-flask-insulated-water-bottle-and-beer-growler-64oz

Now if money or space is an issue, that I can completely understand as a previous college student/apartment renter. Or if you just simply enjoy bottling (glutton for punishment, lol) than by all means have at it!

Remember that post I made about 20 varieties of beer? Having kegs for each of those varieties would get pretty expensive and takes a lot of room too. What do you do when you make half size batches, half fill kegs? As soon as I have 25 bottles empty I can bottle another half batch of a new variety and now I have 21 varieties.

 

[rico567]

If I interpret the OP correctly, it's asking if I think either method of storage produces better beer. My answer would be no. I am well able to afford kegging, and when Madame Rico and I go out, we invariably drink draft. But I bottle only, and for a reason not yet covered: it's strictly K.I.S.S. brewing. No brutus, RIMS, HERMS, keezer, kegs, none of that. I mill with a Corona mill, mash in a "big orange" cooler, boil in a cheap pot over a turkey fryer, chill with an inexpensive copper coil, ferment in a 7 gal. plastic bucket, and bottle in 12 oz. longnecks. And this system makes beer I like, and others have confirmed its quality. I therefore see no reason to change.

 

[masskrug]

It's too easy to just pull a handle and get another beer.

I can't imagine the repercussions of having a tap within arms reach of my computer. At least with a bottle I have to get my ass up, walk to the fridge and pry off the cap.

 

[Sir-Brews-Alot]

Remember that post I made about 20 varieties of beer? Having kegs for each of those varieties would get pretty expensive and takes a lot of room too. What do you do when you make half size batches, half fill kegs? As soon as I have 25 bottles empty I can bottle another half batch of a new variety and now I have 21 varieties.

Like I said, I bottle from my keg if I want bottle conditioned beer (Belgians etc.), and that works regardless of batch size. There is nothing saying you can't bottle just because you have a keg. Rather than use a bottling bucket and bottling wand, I rack my finished beer to the keg, purge oxygen, add just enough pressure to push the beer into the bottles with my beergun. I use a carbonation calculator to figure how many grams of sugar I need to carbonate whatever size batch I'm bottling and divide that by how many bottles I have, then add the appropriate amount of sugar (I actually prefer to use honey for this, it's so easy to weigh out) into each individual bottle. Works just fine. Plus I eliminate all the oxygen exposure you get bottling the old fashioned way, so really it is a superior method.

And yes...sometimes I brew 2.5g batches, and I have no problem kegging half batches, it really doesn't matter how much beer you have in the keg, it'll carbonate just the same as a full 5g batch. Although admittedly kegging, say a 1 gallon batch, would probably just be a waste of c02. I have 6 kegs and have never been hard pressed for additional keg space, but maybe I don't brew as often as others. But if I did happen to be out of kegs, there's nothing saying I couldn't still bottle a batch or ten.

 

[Doctor_M]

Remember that post I made about 20 varieties of beer? Having kegs for each of those varieties would get pretty expensive and takes a lot of room too. What do you do when you make half size batches, half fill kegs? As soon as I have 25 bottles empty I can bottle another half batch of a new variety and now I have 21 varieties.

Sure I'll fill my keg half full, if your worried about oxygen I can purge my keg with co2 before I start to fill it and then when I'm done filling I can purge any oxygen that did find its way in too.... I can also have that beer carbonated within 48 hours can you do that with bottling? And after its carbonated in that 48 hours guess what!? I can bottle that beer from my keg and repeat.

Space and cost are the only negatives I can see...

 

[jmcm_brew]

I've never had anyone wanting just a 1 ounce taste. That would really leave me betwixt an insult and questioning brewing competence.

I've done one ounce tastings to test carb and to let people that aren't big into beer try what I have on tap to see what they'd like rather than waste a whole bottle on them... I probably pour a small tasting flight for friends once or twice a week.. I still bottle big beers but once I started kegging there was no looking back.

 

[beersk]

I like the simplicity of bottling and the fact that bottles are basically free if you reuse the ones you buy and get bottles from other people. But they do break, you have to choose your bottle of choice wisely. New Belgium bottles are a no-no. I've got the scars to prove it.
Anyway, bottling is cool, but I notice after only a couple months in the bottle, the beer starts to show signs of oxidation. These are beers I've had from other people and even mine. Maybe we're all doing something wrong, but that's just my experience with it. Bigger beers are a different story.
But I keg and I like it. I've had issues with contaminated gas lines, but I've gotten over that. That's something you have to watch out for - don't let the beer backup into your co2 lines!!!!
Anyway, it's cool that those of you who prefer bottling stick with it. I've debated over the years whether to go back to bottling or not. But then I remember that I like to pour small samples or huge mugs full. Or take a growler of sediment free beer to a social gathering.

It's all preference. Kegging definitely isn't cheap.

 

[mtnagel]

This thread has got me starting thinking about kegging again. I think it would make sense to start small with a 2 tap mini fridge kegerator and then I could move to a keezer if I want to after.

The simplicity of buying an already built one is appealing due to it's plug and play nature. But the tinkerer in me wants to build my own, but in researching a couple hours today, my head is spinning.

I already have 2 corny kegs, but that's it. I see you can buy kits that come with mostly what you need except the fridge like this, but I'm assuming they don't put the most quality of parts in there, which makes me think I should piece it out myself and it seems wise to start with the tower and taps. I see people mention the Perlick faucets, so would this one be a good one to start with?

And anyone know the best fridge currently available to convert?

The regulator seems important, so do I need to get one that you can set 2 different pressures for each keg or is it okay to just get one that can only do 1 pressure with a splitter?

Any other advice?

 

[passedpawn]

The regulator seems important, so do I need to get one that you can set 2 different pressures for each keg or is it okay to just get one that can only do 1 pressure with a splitter?

You only need a dual regulator if you want to keep soda at the same time. Otherwise, it's not really necessary. (I know english beers typically have lower carbonation, but I've never cared much about that)

 

[mtnagel]

Makes sense. Thanks!

 

[BrewerinBR]

I just recently brewed batch 94 on my 3rd anniversary of being a home-brewer. I have bottled every batch. I have explored kegging and the cost and building a keezer. For me it is not space or money, it is fear. Plain, simple fear. Fresh cold brew at the pull of a tap. I would never stop drinking it. I would sober up enough to brew a batch and ferment it. Then rack to the keg and force carbonate it and then commence drinking again. A never ending cycle of drunken depravity. No work, no house, no yard or garden, just brewing and drinking .... um what am waiting for???

 

[Wynne-R]

People keep saying the only kegging downside is space and cost. Those are a couple big ones, but what about the extra work? How long does it take to clean a keg and the lines? What about mysterious CO2 leaks? Foaming?

I clean my bottles as I go. When it’s time to bottle, it takes me about an hour to bottle and cap two cases, from the time the priming sugar is dissolved to carboy soaking.

I think people that hate bottling must be doing it wrong. I know I was very happy when I threw my wing capper as far as I could. Also don’t bottle out of that stupid gurgling dripping bottle bucket spigot. Bottling over the dishwasher means no more sticky floors.

It seems to me I have a choice between staying with simple and reliable versus expensive and fussy.

 

[gometz]

Have a kegerator and 3 kegs. Have not used them since i got serious about being again last year. The kegerator is now a second brew fridge though. It seemed like i could never get the kegs 100% right, but my main motivator is that i don't have people over as often as I did in college and split time between now and my fiancee's places.
However, i do plan on kegging 10 gallons for my father's birthday in May, and I will either have to bring my fridge, or build me a portable chiller to serve out of (yay another project!)

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[Billy-Klubb]

I can't imagine the repercussions of having a tap within arms reach of my computer. At least with a bottle I have to get my ass up, walk to the fridge and pry off the cap.

I'd like to run lines up from the basement so I can have on tap in the dining room, bit that's a lot of work & I'm too lazy to figure out pressure required and to actually do it. that and the first pint of the night would be just room temp... I better just keep it all in the basement. hahaha!!



as for the rest of you nerds arguing over which is far superior to the other, they both are for their own reasons. both have downsides too. you bunch of nerds.

 

[brick]

I'd like to run lines up from the basement so I can have on tap in the dining room

I did that once in col...uhhh, I mean I tried that once. It didn't work well because of the extra pressure it took to drive beer up 12ft against gravity. I'm open to the possibiliity that we didn't know what we were doing and our system just needed to be dialed in, but it poured very foamy beer no matter what we did.

On topic, bottling doesn't seem that bad to me. I like that I usually have 7-9 varieties available at any given time, which would be relatively complicated if I kegged. Now that I know to soak my bottles in oxyfree instead of scrubbing them endlessly with a brush it isn't that painful to package a batch. 2 hours including cleanup.

 

[ChuBru]

"Who prefers bottling over kegging"???

uhhh thats like asking....what do you like better getting kicked in the balls 1900 times or letting tera patrick take care of your junk?

KEGGING WINS FLAWLESS VICTORY FATALITY

 

[baddad]

Personally I keg everything , when I need an empty , I use the beer gun to bottle the rest of the keg

 

[Yooper]

you're all a bunch of nerds.

Yep- this place is so full of geeks and nerds that I feel at home.

Remember that post I made about 20 varieties of beer? Having kegs for each of those varieties would get pretty expensive and takes a lot of room too. What do you do when you make half size batches, half fill kegs? As soon as I have 25 bottles empty I can bottle another half batch of a new variety and now I have 21 varieties.

Yeah, but I have lots of 2.5 gallon kegs, and 5 gallon kegs, and I HATE bottling.

I can take beer to a friend's in a growler, or a soda bottle, or bottle from the keg. No sediment, no one variety, and no sediment in any bottles. I will never bottle if I don't have to.

If you guys stop over, you can pour a beer or five, and have one ounce or 50 ounces- it doesn't matter. There won't be bottles to rinse or clean, or any issues at all with how much you want.

The great thing about kegging is that the beers will last a very long time in a dark, oxygen -free, temperature controlled environment.

This is no down-side at all to kegging. You can look for one, but will not find one.

The obstruction might be costs- kegging systems can be much more costly than simply bottling.

 

[theck]

Just started brewing again after being off ten years... Went straight to kegging. I always disliked bottling and wanted to keg back then but that was in my college days and money was spent on other things. I'm by no means rich but see the benefit and ease in kegging compared. I don't have a ton of bottles around now, empty and full, and it doesn't take hours to fill a keg which is the best when you have kids. I'm the only one drinking it really besides friends when they stop over and if I need to take it elsewhere I use a growler, or fill a friend's. To be honest I'm mostly brewing for me so not concerned about giving bottles to people. If I bring some to the brew shop I put it into a mason jar. Even though I just got back into brewing and only 8 batches in after a hiatus I will never go back to bottles.

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[mtnagel]

The great thing about kegging is that the beers will last a very long time in a dark, oxygen -free, temperature controlled environment.

Are you really saying kegging has an advantage of longevity over bottling??

Would you leave a beer in a keg for 10 years and then drink it? I'd leave a bottle that long. I think it was a Brew Dog bottle that had a 10 year "best by" date on it.

 

[ChuBru]

Are you really saying kegging has an advantage of longevity over bottling??

Would you leave a beer in a keg for 10 years and then drink it? I'd leave a bottle that long. I think it was a Brew Dog bottle that had a 10 year "best by" date on it.

Whats the difference?..a keg is a big bottle

 

[mtnagel]

Whats the difference?..a keg is a big bottle

Well I guess I don't know. I've just always heard that beer in a keg doesn't last forever. But I guess that was in reference to store bought kegs where you wouldn't have a way to add new CO2. So if you keep pressure on it, the beer in a keg stays fresh?

 

[Epimetheus]

Granted, kegging is better in every way (Wait, lemme put on my big, foam, We're #1 finger. Waves it around. That's better.) But right now I will stick with bottles because I don't want to get and maintain even more equipment. Yeah, I know it is many individual bottles. That is OK.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

Well I guess I don't know. I've just always heard that beer in a keg doesn't last forever. But I guess that was in reference to store bought kegs where you wouldn't have a way to add new CO2. So if you keep pressure on it, the beer in a keg stays fresh?

it will be like bulk aging.

 

[Bulls Beers]

I only keg, except for a batch or two of Apfelwein a year. Bottling is a pain in the as s. I haven't bottled beer in many years.

 

[eastoak]

i started out bottling and thought i didn't want to deal with the complexity and hassle of kegs, regulators, gas and so on...until the first time i filled a keg in 5 min (or whatever minutes). i looked around the garage like, huh, i'm done? i sold all of my bottles for dirt cheap and gave away whatever didn't sell. instead of fixed taps i use those cobra/picnic taps or whatever they are called, easier to clean (i think, who knows?). if i want to give some beer away or take some with me i freeze a growler and fill right from the tap. sometimes it foams a bit but i just keep it floored until it's full. someone mentioned oxidation in bottled beer and i seem to be very sensitive to that flavor and imagined it in every bottled sip, not fun. all of my beer is 6% or less so i'm not going to age anything (i still bottle sour beer) it's all consumed cold and fresh.

 

[QuercusMax]

I just got a 5-tap system. I've bottled for 8 years. Kegging is awesome. It's New Year's Eve and my guests are pouring their own pints. My Dortminder, Black IPA, and Cherry Cyser are huge hits, and I poured 4-glass flights for 8 of my guests as they arrived.

For personal consumption bottles are just fine. Parties, not so much.

 

[Yooper]

Are you really saying kegging has an advantage of longevity over bottling??

Would you leave a beer in a keg for 10 years and then drink it? I'd leave a bottle that long. I think it was a Brew Dog bottle that had a 10 year "best by" date on it.

Sure. Since kegs are non-oxygen permeable like glass bottles, but you can top off with co2 to purge oxygen, maybe the beer in there would stay fresher, longer.

Also, glass bottles can let a bit of light through, but kegs don't.

I don't see any downside to kegging at all.

 

[mtnagel]

Got it. Makes sense.

This thread literally convinced me to start kegging! At least starting small. Already had 2 cornies that I got a deal on when I first started brewing 2 years ago (like $20 each) when I assumed I would keg, but didn't. And I just bought a dorm fridge on Craigslist for $70. Now for the rest of the stuff! I figure I'll keg 2 batches that we are likely to drink faster and bottle the ones that I expect to hang around longer. Then we'll take it from there.

 

[theck]

Got it. Makes sense.

This thread literally convinced me to start kegging! At least starting small. Already had 2 cornies that I got a deal on when I first started brewing 2 years ago (like $20 each) when I assumed I would keg, but didn't. And I just bought a dorm fridge on Craigslist for $70. Now for the rest of the stuff! I figure I'll keg 2 batches that we are likely to drink faster and bottle the ones that I expect to hang around longer. Then we'll take it from there.

Get more kegs now while reasonable... Seems like prices are going up.

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[JimRausch]

I haven't read through the whole post, so am just responding to the original question.
I just hit my 2-year anniversary and have done over 30 batches. I actually LIKE to bottle. I currently have about 14 batches in bottles that I can pick and choose from, depending on my mood. Couldn't have that many varieties on tap.Plus it makes it easy to gift friends with a 6 pack sampler.
However, since I've never even explored kegging, I can say nothing bad about it. Perhaps if I tried it, I'd like it. But for now at least, I LOVE bottling.

 

[thisisbeer]

I still don't understand why people say you can't have that many varieties on tap. I usually have four varieties on tap and a few more bottle conditioned. If I keg that gives me the opportunity to do both. Sometimes I even do a six gallon batch to put some in a keg and bottle some to give to a friend.

 

[sapper-nc]

I started brewing/bottling around 1991 and a little over 1 year ago started kegging. I have not bottled 1 beer since I started kegging. I thought I would, but filling growlers and pints has been all i needed. I brew alot more now that I keg too but it did cost some money and time to get things rolling. .. i will admit im a pack-rat and you would be surprised how much equipment i got for free just by asking my Facebook friends if they had any I could have.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

there is only one downside to kegging that I can think of: when the keg kicks. with bottles, you know exactly how much you have left. but I'm always caught off guard when the keg blows.

 

[newbies13]

If you forget about time to drink, and money, there is no reason to bottle as a primary way to carb your beer. If nothing else it's a huge investment in time and energy to wash and sanitize all those bottles and then fill and cap them.

I've always kegged, my first beer ever made went straight into a keg. But I do bottle some of the beer to give as gifts once it's carbed up. Also I sometimes make more beer than I have kegs, and need to bottle to make room.

But really, there is no sane reason to bottle over keg imo.

 

[newbies13]

People keep saying the only kegging downside is space and cost. Those are a couple big ones, but what about the extra work? How long does it take to clean a keg and the lines? What about mysterious CO2 leaks? Foaming?

I clean my bottles as I go. When it’s time to bottle, it takes me about an hour to bottle and cap two cases, from the time the priming sugar is dissolved to carboy soaking.

I think people that hate bottling must be doing it wrong. I know I was very happy when I threw my wing capper as far as I could. Also don’t bottle out of that stupid gurgling dripping bottle bucket spigot. Bottling over the dishwasher means no more sticky floors.

It seems to me I have a choice between staying with simple and reliable versus expensive and fussy.

Startup cost is certainly a factor, once you have the stuff it's pretty cheap. I would guess around .50/gal.

Cleaning the keg and the lines is not an issue though. Once it's empty just fill it up with soapy water, let it run through the lines, rinse and repeat with sanitizer. The whole process takes 5 minutes or less.

CO2 leaks are only a problem when you first set the system up, in my experience anyway. I certainly had to hunt down a couple, but once I solved it, it's been a non issue. And foam is usually solved by getting a longer beer line, which costs all of $3.

 

[MarsingRedneck]

Interesting responses. Keep em coming. I was initially curious if there are some who have the space, money, etc but just prefer to bottle for whatever reason. Myself, there's just something about a brown bottle of beer that is appealing.

PLUS, my wife will let me put a 6 pack of bottles in the fridg. I couldn't get away with putting a keg in our fridge so it would involve an additional cost not to mention the continuous purchase of CO2 Just saying....

 

[Rhumbline]

I'm certainly not a big time brewer, maybe a dozen extract recipes done last year. Maybe that's why kegging has no appeal for me.

I read the posts with seemingly dozens of issues regarding kegging. Pressure, leaks, hose length, nitrogen/co2, cleaning, etc. and that's just more of a commitment than I'm looking for. And I'm not interested in having a room in my house devoted to beer.

I make sure that there are a few beers in the fridge, but I've never been tempted to drink just one ounce of beer.

I'm not knocking kegging, it's just not worth considering for me.