bottling vs. kegging

[michaelpeach76]

I've always bottled my beer...from doing extract batches to doing all grain. The question is: is there a difference between bottling a kegging? I've always thought bottling was good because as the beer is changing you could taste it at different stages, and if you wanted to you could put a bottle or 2 away somewhere and get back to it in a year. Does kegging taste better? Do you keg and then wait until you're ready to drink and then carbonate? When the beer tastes different at week 4 than it did at week 1 is that change inevitable whether the beer is carbonated or not...or does the carbonation help promote that change? I know carbonation is going to change the beer in the way of mouth feel, but I'm talking about the flavor itself.

 

[michaelpeach76]

Sorry, that kind of turned into 2 different questions.

 

[Yooper]

Aside from carbonation providing a bit of carbonic acid flavor to counteract some sweetness in the beer, carbonation doesn't really change the flavor of the beer much. The carbonation will taste the same whether the beer is from a bottle or keg.

Some beers age better than others, just as will bottling. Since beer ages faster at room temperature, often a beer that needs some more time is just kept at room temperature until it's aged a bit.

There really isn't much difference between a kegged beer and a bottled beer. A keg really is just a big bottle, made of stainless steel.

 

[Wirk]

Keg is easier, less time consuming but more expensive.

I like bottling more because I can go with my beer anywhere, with the keg you can't.

 

[Yooper]

Keg is easier, less time consuming but more expensive.

I like bottling more because I can go with my beer anywhere, with the keg you can't.

Sure you can! I fill growlers, or even 2L soda bottles, right from the tap. Or I can bottle a bunch if I feel like it. I have sediment free perfectly carbed and conditioned beer ready to go.

 

[Zabuza]

One thing I should mention is that there are several ways you can achieve the best of both worlds. I keg, so that means my beer typically cold conditions while I'm drinking it You could prime a keg and carbonate it naturally, then condition it warm.

What I do is rack to keg, cold crash & carbonate, enjoy the first three or four gallons at my own pace, then use a counter-pressure filler to bottle the remainder (if I feel like it). I can then throw these bottles in the fridge or leave them someplace warmer to condition for months or years. Plus, I can bring them wherever. Yoop's right though (as par usual); with a keg you could always just fill up a growler before you go to a party or on a trip...still, it's nice to have the option to bottle your beer from the keg and allow it to condition warm or cold.

 

[Desrever]

I've only been kegging for about 5 months I've filled growlers and 2L just like Yooper, I might be mistaken but I think I've read somewhere that beer ages better in bulk? Kegging allows you to set the carb level and have consistent pours. and it's faster then bottling.

 

[michaelpeach76]

I kind of agree with Wirk...I like having the option to take my beer with me. And like I said: I also like having the option to - if I want - put a bottle or 2 away for a few months and see what it tastes like then. It's funny everytime I bottle I think to myself: "That's it next time I'm kegging", but after I drink a couple I'm ready to bottle some more.

 

[Yooper]

I kind of agree with Wirk...I like having the option to take my beer with me. And like I said: I also like having the option to - if I want - put a bottle or 2 away for a few months and see what it tastes like then. It's funny everytime I bottle I think to myself: "That's it next time I'm kegging", but after I drink a couple I'm ready to bottle some more.

That's great, if you're satisfied with what you're doing.

I have two homes here (one in town, one on a lake), and go to Texas for the winter. I keg, but I haul beer around all the time. Sometimes I haul a 3 gallon keg, sometimes a few growlers, but rarely a bunch of bottles. I'd have to take a case of bottles each weekend! So I'm happy with kegging, and filling growlers or small kegs as I need them. It takes about 1 minute to fill a growler, maybe less. So I'm happy to do that instead of hauling hundreds of bottles around.

I'm going to a friend's place next weekend, and taking two small 3-gallon kegs. Otherwise, I'd have to bring 64 bottles!

I think it's important that everybody is comfortable with their methods, as there is no single right way to do anything.

 

[michaelpeach76]

that's a good idea: a 3 gallon keg and a few growlers or bottles. When you keg...do you carbonate right away and let it sit for a couple of weeks before drinking, or do you let it sit and carbonate when you're ready to drink?

 

[Krovitz]

I don't mean to hi jack and this might be a stupid question but I thought it is the yeast that conditions the bottle. If you cold crash and fill bottles from a keg, won't that flavor be locked in because of less yeast in the bottle? I guess I don't understand everything going on inside the bottle yet.

 

[Yooper]

that's a good idea: a 3 gallon keg and a few growlers or bottles. When you keg...do you carbonate right away and let it sit for a couple of weeks before drinking, or do you let it sit and carbonate when you're ready to drink?

I keg and carbonate pretty much right away. The beer is ready by then, when I keg. I have one beer (oatmeal stout) that needs a couple of weeks after kegging to really meld and be great, but the others are ready right away.

I don't mean to hi jack and this might be a stupid question but I thought it is the yeast that conditions the bottle. If you cold crash and fill bottles from a keg, won't that flavor be locked in because of less yeast in the bottle? I guess I don't understand everything going on inside the bottle yet.

Yeast carbonates the beer in the bottle, otherwise, its work is done by that point. There isn't any real conditioning going on inside a bottle.

Instead of carbonating with the yeast in the bottle, you can add some external co2 to a keg to force carbonate the beer. Of course, you can add priming sugar and carbonate a keg that way, just as a bottle, if someone wanted to.

 

[jeffmeh]

I also keg, and I fill growlers, 2l plastic bottles, bombers, 12 oz. bottles, various sizes of swing tops, etc. when I need to travel with them. If I want to put one away to age I take some care with a bottle filler, otherwise I just lower the pressure and fill from the tap. Works great.