Does kegging really save any time?

[Stauffbier]

I break my kegs all the way down each time, and it still only takes me 15 minutes at the most to clean and re-assemble. Maybe another 5 minutes to sanitize, dump, and pressurize. Then on kegging day it takes about 15 minutes to rack, purge, and pressurize. So that's about 35 minutes total.

When bottling, if I'm washing bottles, sanitizing, and bottling on the same day it can range from 1 to 1.5 hours depending on how quick I work. I tend to put more effort in to washing bottles, since they are more prone to picking up bacteria or residual yeast. There's also a little more clean-up and putting away equipment involved with bottling.

So by kegging I'm saving anywhere from 25 to 55 minutes. That's not a tremendous time savings, but it's that much more time I can spend drinking and relaxing.

 

[novahokie09]

The biggest time savings is not cleaning; it's the reduction in carbonation time.

It takes 3 weeks to bottle condition compared to 1-2 days to force carb in a keg. You can carbonate slowly in a keg in a week.

You get additional benefits by cooling which reduces oxidation risk compared to bottling. Either way, bottled beers do not last as long as kegged beer.

 

[tre9er]

This is just like every other facet of brewing.. electric vs. gas, stainless vs. aluminum, gravity vs. pumps, 3v vs. BIAB, extract vs. AG... What do YOU want out of this hobby? it's your hobby. Do it the way YOU want to do it. Don't depend on the rest of us to tell you how to do it.

This is true. I enjoy the DIY aspect of things so much in this hobby. That's mostly why my setup has evolved: because I wanted to work on it. If you look at all the work I've done, it might seem daunting...but keeping in mind you do a little here, brew, then tweak something you want to change, brew, etc. until eventually you can hardly see from whence you came.

My kegging setup is kinda archaic, and I want to upgrade parts of it even more, but as brewmcq mentioned before: a dollar spent on this is a dollar you can't spend on that...so I am doing camlocks, pump, CFC, inline thermometer, etc. now and will do the kegging upgrades later.

 

[Beer-lord]

I've only been kegging a bit over a year but I brew a lot of beer. There's no way in the world (for me) that kegging is any where near to as much of a problem as bottling. The reason I now brew so much is because I've saved so much time. Storing the bottles, cleaning, sanitizing, bottling day, capping, storing again! Nope, ain't in the same universe.

I have 3 kegs in the kegerator and 2-3 waiting to get in. Those 6 kegs take up lots less space compared to 10-12 cases of 12 oz bottles.
Finally, I PBW my kegs when done and use a bottle washer to rinse then store with Star Sans. On kegging day I remove the locks and check the rings and sanitize as well as the dip tube. That takes me 5 minutes max. That's it. I'm done!

 

[Darwin18]

OP - I applaud your cleaning efforts but it's far too much work for me. When a keg kicks I usually rinse it out with hot water to get the gunk out. Then I'll mix up a couple gallons of hot PBW, pour into the keg, shake it up, and dump. I'll repeat with a couple gallons of hot starsan solution but I run that through the lines. I rarely fully dissemble my kegs unless I'm not planning to use them for a while or I feel like doing a deep cleaning.

 

[IffyG]

I break my kegs all the way down each time, and it still only takes me 15 minutes at the most to clean and re-assemble. Maybe another 5 minutes to sanitize, dump, and pressurize. Then on kegging day it takes about 15 minutes to rack, purge, and pressurize. So that's about 35 minutes total.

Same here. It is also worth noting that the actual work being done when I do this totals about 5 minutes. Most of it is waiting for the PBW to do it's thing and for the racking to finish. I end up clipping my auto siphon and do something else in the kitchen until I need to manipulate the siphon to get the most beer out my carboy.

IMO bottling is a completely active process, whereas with the proper planning and a few extras can be more or less passive.

 

[eluterio]

This is pretty similar to what I do...... There are many people who do not take keg apart each time and have success. Personally, I do take mine apart everytime. Often times I will clean a keg while I am mashing or boiling..... not much else to do at that time anyway. Then, all it needs is star san when I want to fill it.
I think 30 minutes is pretty decent for a thorough keg cleaning. You could probably spend less time..... but consider the consequences of a couple ruined batches due to an improperly cleaned keg???? An extra 10 -15 minutes (sooner or later) might save you hours and hours of wasted brew time plus the money of ingredients.
I don't think kegging is that much of a time saver over bottling..... especially if later (like me) you end up filling some bottles with counterpressure filler any way..... But, it is convenient, it is a space saver, it is a good way to store, condition and lager beers anyway. The key to either bottling or kegging is simple - clean your stuff immediately. Don't let it get "gunky" - always rinse/clean kegs and bottles as soon as they are empty so that when it comes time to use them, all that is left is to sanitize them with star san.

I think you are doing fine.

One thing I do different is I use big tubs of PBW and Star san for cleaning and sanitizing. I keep a big tub full of 10 gallons of starsan for 6-8 weeks at a time. Dunking and soaking is convenient for me. I can fill a keg with star san, dump it back in the tub, put the keg upside down in the starsan etc. The cost is next to nothing when you are reusing it for 6-8 weeks. A 16 ounce bottle of star san will still last me a year...... I know I could make it last 3 years - but, the convenience is worth it to me.

Also, just taking time to clean 2-3-4 kegs all at once (Be organized so you don't mix up parts) helps too. Just dedicate an hour+ and you have 4 clean kegs that only need star san come kegging time.

I tear them down when i first get mine and let soak for up to 24 hours in PBW. I get mine from a local pespi plan and I have to get rid of the soda smell. After my tap has blown and no more beer I rinse out with hot water and remove everthing and rinse it out as well. Im a huge believer in using cleaning solution all at once, so I put the keg aside until I clean out my eqiupment from a brew session or from a carboy. use the PBW to do a once over in the keg or kegs rinse put back to gether and let air dry.

Total process when i first get them in total time takes about 4 hours. Afterwards only about 30 mins if that until I do a deep clean every 5 batches or so.

As for bottling thats a entire differnet topic for me. I switched to kegging becasue I was 1) running out of room for bottles. 2) I am running out of bottles from giving it away. 3) I really like the fact I can poor out from Tap and not worry about cleaning the bottles afterwards.

And the reason why im quoting here is because DONT make the mistake in dumping all the parts into one basket! I did and now i have 1 keg that doesnt have stuff line up. SUCKS!!!

 

[Clonefan94]

I've only ever bottled once, so I can't say for sure, but what really takes me the time is moving cleaner, then moving sanitizer from keg to keg or from sanitizer bottle, to keg then back again. This is all a process I don't have to watch. I don't clean and sanitize my beer lines every time. It depends what styles go on next. Going from dark to light, or hoppy to mild, yeah, I'll clean them out, but for the most part, if the beer has been regularly flowing, I just swap a keg out for a new one and worry about cleaning the lines every couple of times. I've had my keg fridge for over 15 years. I have yet to have a beer go bad on me because I didn't sanitize my lines every time.

Anyways, yeah, I never clean a keg until I need it. I just make sure to never open it. I clean off the posts right away with some hot water, then I'm content to let it sit, full of CO2. When it's time to fill, usually break the keg down, clean all the parts with pbw and a brush, fill the keg with cleaner, run my home made keg cleaner on the drill a couple of times, rinse everything, then start autosiphoning sanitizer in while I put the small parts in a bucket with sanizizer. Once the keg is full of Sanitizer I re-assemble everything then let it sit upside down for a few minutes. When that is done, I usually siphon that sanitizer into another keg (I try to keg at least two at a time). That way my autosiphon has been completely sanitized and I can just put it in the beer and transfer to the keg. Seal, purge with CO2, check for leaks and it's good to go.

Becaus I only bottled once, I never really got a system going, but even if the same amount of time is involved, it really is a lot less work. Most of the time, I'm just waiting for the sanitizer or beer to siphon off. The cleaning of parts itself is relatively quick, less than 15 minutes/keg for sure. So fore me, my first bottling experience was bad enough that kegging seems like a complete breeze and I'll probably never go back unless I brew something I want to age for a long while. I kegged two beers this past Monday. Doing everything I just described above, for 2 kegs took less than an hour and a half. And as I said, most of that time was just sitting and waiting for stuff to move from one vessel to another. I just don't see how I could clean, sanitize, fill and cap 100 bottles in that same amount of time. I'm sure it can be done, but with my experience and tools, kegs just seem a lot easier to me.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

Lot of overkill on the OP's keg cleaning.

I rinse the keg, add a big scoop of oxy, fill with water, let it sit overnight.

Next day, I force water through both disconnects, then drain and rinse keg.

I clean the lid with soap and water, then rinse and place back on keg.

That's it. I tear down the disconnects and do a good cleaning about once a year.

 

[Monster Mash]

I've cleaned 18 kegs in about an hour with my keg washer. It takes me about an hour to sanitize and fill 5 kegs from a 25 gallon batch so in two hours I've filled the equivalent of 12 cases of beer.

 

[Larso]

I would invest some thought in streamlining your bottling operation.

I'm with Tytanium. I recently installed a second little bottlers on my bucket and bottled 44 bottles in just over 20 mins(got the idea on here from double barrel bottling by Papers I think), thats not including all the prep. I reckon I can sanitise >40 bottles in about 5 mins using my vinator(possibly quicker). I rinse bottles after use and have accumulated hundreds so I don't need to wash them. Making up the priming solution takes a minute or 2 unless you include standing and watching it boil.

 

[ICWiener]

Eh...I've been bottling for 8 years. I've got it down to about 1.5 hours for a batch. I'll keg eventually, and I'm very much looking forward to it. But for now, I'll keep on keepin' on.

weigh out the priming sugar 10 minutes

Well that right there's your problem. 10 minutes!? Good god, man.

 

[Clonefan94]

Lot of overkill on the OP's keg cleaning.

I rinse the keg, add a big scoop of oxy, fill with water, let it sit overnight.

Next day, I force water through both disconnects, then drain and rinse keg.

I clean the lid with soap and water, then rinse and place back on keg.

That's it. I tear down the disconnects and do a good cleaning about once a year.

I like this method, but I almost always sanitize as well because my pipeline allows for the kegs to just sit for a couple of weeks before they ever get into a fridge. So I take that extra step to sanitized them, just to be safe. If I had a spot in my fridge available for the keg to go right away, I doubt I would sanitize that often. I just feel a little safer having them sit at room temp having gone through a sanitizing step.

 

[Diaperload]

clean 50+ bottles, then sanitize the bottles 20 minutes. Clean the bottling bucket and sanitize all the parts 10 minutes, weigh out the priming sugar 10 minutes, boil the priming solution 15 minutes, set up for bottling 10 minutes, fill all the bottles 30 minutes, cap all the bottles 10 minutes, clean everything an put it away, 30 minutes.

20+10+10+15+10+30+10+30 = about 2.5 hours If I really work at it I might shave off 1/2 hour.

Clean bottles? I just rinse bottles out as I drink them. No need for the extra cleaning. Cleaning the bottling bucket takes me less than a minute. Takes under 1 minute to weigh the sugar. 2 minutes to boil water. I don't boil the priming sugar for more than 30 seconds.

Takes me about 45 minutes to bottle a batch.

 

[tre9er]

Clean bottles? I just rinse bottles out as I drink them. No need for the extra cleaning. Cleaning the bottling bucket takes me less than a minute. Takes under 1 minute to weigh the sugar. 2 minutes to boil water. I don't boil the priming sugar for more than 30 seconds.

Takes me about 45 minutes to bottle a batch.

2 minutes to boil? Induction or super huge LP/NG burner?

 

[Stauffbier]

2 minutes to boil? Induction or super huge LP/NG burner?

2 mins for me too.......

Microwave technology!

 

[tre9er]

2 mins for me too.......

Microwave technology!

OK, that makes a bit more sense. Pyrex cup in the micro would be done quick.

 

[Stauffbier]

OK, that makes a bit more sense. Pyrex cup in the micro would be done quick.

I actually use a mason jar, so I can put a lid on it. But, yeah....

 

[DrunkleJon]

Clean bottles? I just rinse bottles out as I drink them. No need for the extra cleaning. Cleaning the bottling bucket takes me less than a minute. Takes under 1 minute to weigh the sugar. 2 minutes to boil water. I don't boil the priming sugar for more than 30 seconds.

Takes me about 45 minutes to bottle a batch.

The bottles are cleaned when used, yes, but you do not sanitize them before filling them?

 

[rico567]

I regard kegging and bottling as akin to mutually irreconcilable religions. More specifically, one or the other is likely to fit a person's life and their drinking habits, and that process is what that person will do. And no matter how repugnant the process at times, a way will be found to rationalize it.

Bottling, all the way.......

 

[glugglug]

Yes, it saves time

And it's awesome!

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I clean 10 kegs in about an hour. I don't disassemble unless the keg had some funk or it was a sour, etc.

• Open, rinse with water, dump.
• Put 1 gallon of hot water, a half-measure of oxy-clean, close, attach CO2, pressurize, shake 15 seconnds, flush out using a party tap, Dump.
• Add 1 gallon of sanitizing solution, close, attach CO2, pressurize, shake 15 seconds, flush out using party tap, dump.
• Add 1 gallon of water, close, attach CO2, pressurize, shake 15 seconds, flush out using party tap.
  
• Dump when ready to fill.

Never had an infection.

MC

 

[eluterio]

I regard kegging and bottling as akin to mutually irreconcilable religions. More specifically, one or the other is likely to fit a person's life and their drinking habits, and that process is what that person will do. And no matter how repugnant the process at times, a way will be found to rationalize it.

Bottling, all the way.......

Well said

 

[Schemy]

I keg, exclusively. I racked a beer into a keg last night and the process probably took a total of 15 minutes. I will force carb over a 32 hr period and bam, good to go. If I desire bottles, I will bottle off the keg. The time savings to me justifies the higher cost of doing business.


Keg for life!

 

[Schemy]

I clean 10 kegs in about an hour. I don't disassemble unless the keg had some funk or it was a sour, etc.

• Open, rinse with water, dump.
• Put 1 gallon of hot water, a half-masure of oxy-clean, close, attach CO2, pressurize, shake 15 seconnds, flush out using a party tap, Dump.
• Add 1 gallon of sanitizing solution, close, attach CO2, pressurize, shake 15 seconds, flush out using party tap, dump.
• Add 1 gallon of water, close, attach CO2, pressurize, shake 15 seconds, flush out using party tap.
  
• Dump when ready to fill.

Never had an infection.

MC

I like this method. I think I will adopt it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[DrunkleJon]

I will do both. If I am brewing with someone I will fill bottles, if its for me, and one is free, I will keg. I guess now I will just do 10 gal batches when teaching and do both on packaging day.

I need more kegs.
I actually thoroughly enjoy both methods.

 

[PistolsAtDawn]

OP - I applaud your cleaning efforts but it's far too much work for me. When a keg kicks I usually rinse it out with hot water to get the gunk out. Then I'll mix up a couple gallons of hot PBW, pour into the keg, shake it up, and dump. I'll repeat with a couple gallons of hot starsan solution but I run that through the lines. I rarely fully dissemble my kegs unless I'm not planning to use them for a while or I feel like doing a deep cleaning.

Lot of overkill on the OP's keg cleaning.

I rinse the keg, add a big scoop of oxy, fill with water, let it sit overnight.

Next day, I force water through both disconnects, then drain and rinse keg.

I clean the lid with soap and water, then rinse and place back on keg.

That's it. I tear down the disconnects and do a good cleaning about once a year.

Man, I'm glad to see I'm not alone. Some of you people were making me paranoid about my seemingly-lax cleaning procedures.

Open, rinse with hot water, add a half scoop of oxyclean, let sit for a minute, flip upside down and sit for another minute, push through dip tube and taps with CO2, follow up with push of clean water, seal up and done.

Doesn't take that long, and I am not going to completely disassemble my kegs after every batch. A decent rinse with clean water and sanitizer would likely be enough for most of my batches, assuming I'm going to use the keg in the near future.

I regard kegging and bottling as akin to mutually irreconcilable religions. More specifically, one or the other is likely to fit a person's life and their drinking habits, and that process is what that person will do. And no matter how repugnant the process at times, a way will be found to rationalize it.

Bottling, all the way.......

See, I actually like to bottle. It feels old-world to me for some reason. It's nice to have bottle-conditioned beers sometimes too.

But I also like to keg for the savings in time, space and the ability to bottle a few if I so desire.

That said, I'm sure I'm an exception to the normal rule and that you are correct.

 

[Spartan1979]

I take the keg apart every time. I just fill it with PBW solution and take all the parts and throw them in the keg. When it's done soaking, I'll rinse everything three times then reassemble. A little bit of starsan goes in before I use it.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I like this method. I think I will adopt it. Thanks for sharing.

Just keep an eye for any accumulated crud at the bottom. Sometimes I need a second go around with the water/oxyclean, but really not often.

MC

 

[Chrisl77]

I clean my kegs in 10 minutes or less. I put a little hot water in it and shake it around to get the heavy stuff out, then I remove the liquid post and take the dip tube out and put it inside the keg followed by filling it with hot water and a half scoop of oxy clean. I let it sit for a day mostly because I a lazy in the next day or 2 or week I quickly run a dip tube brush through the dip tube, dump out the oxy clean and fill it about 1/4 full with water to shake around and rinse it. So maybe 5 minutes on the first day and 5 minutes on the second day.