Barley Crusher or Kegging Setup?

[mangine77]

I can afford one or the other right now. Please help me weigh some of the pros and cons of each. Thanks.

 

[eschatz]

I use my kegging setup daily. I'd go for that.

The crush at the LHBS wasn't that bad for me. Are you AG/Partial/or adjuncts with extract?

 

[BobOscarBob]

Not a brewmaster - don't even play one on TV...but:

BC - PRO:crush your own (save $0.10 a pound if you buy a batch or 2 at a time, meh, but saves a buttload if you go in on *bulk grain buys!), may easily increase efficiency, grain is crushed fresh (vs. ordering from online - see *bulk grain buys - this also leads to spontaneous brewdays when hops and yeast in bulk are added to the storeroom )... CON: Hmmm...

Kegging - PRO: Fill one, not 53. Won't necessarily break if you drop it. Coolness factor of serving from a tap. Can carb without adding additional ingredients. Stores well - doesn't necessarily break if knocked over, either. CON: Beer must evaporate thru stainless steel because it sure doesn't last as long as bottled beer. Running out of CO2 on Saturday eve. really sucks. If you forget to label the keg you have to taste it to know what's in it. Wait - that might need to be listed under PRO...

and +1 to eschatz 'go for the keg' advice - I kegged before I got my BC

 

[Rick500]

Assuming you're eventually going to have both, if I were you I'd get set up for kegging first. You can always buy your grain pre-crushed.

 

[Sigafoos]

I just got into kegging and still don't have a crusher, but I also don't mind going to my LHBS to do it, and also have a friend who'll let me use his if I need it. I never have spontaneous brewdays, though: I plan everything out and buy the ingredients I need a few days beforehand. Getting in on a bulk buy and having a ton of stuff sitting around seems kind of nice, but not as nice as not having to bottle (and then decant) my entire batch.

And +1 to the evaporation comment... where does it all go? Oh, right, I'll have 2.5 pints instead of a bottle. I still blame the damn gremlins.

 

[Makeyermark]

I would definitely go for the keg setup. That's my next move.

 

[GreenwoodRover]

+1 to the keg set-up. I had my keg setup before my leaf into all grain and about 1 year before I ponied up for the BC.

 

[BierMuncher]

Your local shop can crush your grains for you.

They're not likely to want to keg your beer for you though.

 

[JesseRC]

It's a right of manhood..to be able to pull your own... beer that is!

 

[Arkador]

+1 kegging. I have 3 full now, and havn't been able to get the first one to go empty. To me, they last longer than bottles, because i don't give friends a keg, and never get the empty back.

 

[chode720]

+1 for kegging. Your LHBS can crush or you can get it through the internet. Even if the crush isnt great, you only have to order an extra pound or so of grain.

I am saving for my kegging setup just b/c I HATE bottling. I brew every few weeks and its such a pain to bottle. I cant wait until I can keg and just leave it be

 

[Benthic]

I'll vote for the keg setup too. The first time I kegged my beer I was amazed at how much simpler it was and how much faster it was ready to drink. It made me wonder why I didn't start kegging right away. I haven't bottled since.

Brian

 

[Rick500]

This may be HBT's very first unanimous vote.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

save every possible dollar to do both! Seriously, here's how it works out in my experience:

Buy kegging kit first: Beer on tap goes faster than beer in the bottle. This makes you want to brew more which gets spendy really quick if you're buying kits from the store and/or extract. So, you'll want to find a way to make brewing cheaper...enter the barley crusher and buying grain in bulk!

Buy Barley Crusher first: Now you can buy in bulk which means that you'll brew more. That just means more bottles to find, clean, delabel, sanitize, fill and cap...then condition and get sediment in the bottoms. So, naturally you'll want to keg that beer and say goodbye to the hassle of bottling.

But if it were me, I would get the barley crusher first. Then buy some bulk 2-row from the cheapest supplier (check microbrews/pubs in the area). You'll save so much on grain that you can justify putting that money into a kegging setup. Sorry to break up the unanimous decision!

Next after these two things...10 gallon batches!

 

[beerthirty]

+1 on kegging. I have both and the kegging setup gets far more use than the grain mill. But with the keg setup come the mandatory keezer with temp control, more kegs so you can have a selection which means more faucets and shanks, extra bottles of gas, maybe a stout faucet and beer gas bottle. Extra reg for different serving pressures and a carbonating setup. I would still go kegging first.

 

[Catt22]

Buy the mill first and get to work brewing some beer. While you are waiting for it to finish fermenting for a couple of weeks you can scrounge up enough to get the kegging gear. Go into scrounge mode and see what you can scare up on Craigslist, Ebay etc. Ask around and you may find someone with a CO2 tank and regulator that they no longer use. You can rent a tank from the gas suppliers for next to nothing. You are only about $100 away from a tank and regulator.

 

[BeerPressure]

How can you buy a kegging setup (fridge, keg, all the other bull****) for the same price as a barley crusher?

 

[Malticulous]

If you really like brewing, the BC. If you really like drinking, the kegs. I went with the crusher and bulk grain when I was in the same predicament.

 

[Catt22]

How can you buy a kegging setup (fridge, keg, all the other bull****) for the same price as a barley crusher?

It takes a certain knack. Some of the stuff you can usually get for free like a used refrigerator or freezer. Someone gave me a 20 lb CO2 cylinder for free recently. Picked up a couple of corny kegs at a garage sale for $5 each. About the only thing I bought outright was a cheapo Cornelius regulator. It helps if you're lucky.

 

[hbomb]

Keg for the win! And I'm sure someone at my lhbs would keg my beer if asked...in fact I'll keg yours if you just mail it to me...

 

[JonGoku]

Why not both?
Buy your kegging set up and make your own mill (pasta grain mill)

 

[Wikipeteia]

SQUAWK! Kegging +1! Kegging +1! SQUAWK!

/parrot

 

[mangine77]

How can you buy a kegging setup (fridge, keg, all the other bull****) for the same price as a barley crusher?

Because I already have the fridge. I just need to buy the kegs, CO2 tank and other connections.

It sounds like the decision is made. I need to go for the keg setup.

 

[OMJ]

+1 on kegging setup

I just bought a corona mill off ebay for $23 shipped do something like that and you can afford both

 

[jwright]

Another + 1 for kegging.
And I'll add you should pick up at least one more keg than you now think you want. A soon as you pull that first draft off of YOUR keg you will be hooked. No bottles, no fancy pouring, no searching for the bottle opener, the ability to pour a 'half glass, just a quick squeeze of the handle and out comes the golden goodness.
The real problem will be how to house all of the beers you will now "need" to have on tap at all times.
jason

 

[Dog House Brew]

Having the fridge makes it a no brainer. If you didn't have the fridge I would have said get a mill. I just don't have the room for a fridge, but I've found enough room to stack 10 cases!

 

[bull8042]

Your local shop can crush your grains for you.

They're not likely to want to keg your beer for you though.

My sentiments exactly.

 

[mmb]

I like "(C) Both" option. Really, the 7lb BC is around $130. That's a couple weeks of ramen noodles and dollar store tuna.

That being said, if I had to give up kegs or my Barley Crusher, I'd be bottling again.

Luckily, that's a decision I don't have to make.

 

[HenryHill]

Kegging-no question about it!

Set up the infrastructure first, THEN set about getting better efficiency and cheaper bulk grain.

 

[Arkador]

Because I already have the fridge. I just need to buy the kegs, CO2 tank and other connections.

It sounds like the decision is made. I need to go for the keg setup.

I had the fridge, and am an extract/minimash brewer.

as soon as i had 2 full kegs and no more room in the fridge, I upgraded to a keezer ($70 after sellign the fridge on craigslist and buying the chest freezer and Temp Controler)