Going back to bottles (Kind Of)

[hbhudy]

I haven't bottled beer in years, but I am going to start bottling several batches as honest want to brew more and just can't go through my kegs fast enough.. I realize this seems odd, but to me this a good solution to a not so bad problem.. With about 8 kegs on had it is easy to keg, but it takes me way t long to go through that much beer on my own -- even with nearly all being session beers..

Who else out here has gone back to bottling batches even with kegs available??

 

[ong]

Won't that just mean a lot of beer piling up in bottles? I typically just bottle beers I want to age for a year or more.

 

[diS]

I returned to bottling after few years of kegging.
Maybe it is odd, but despite the hassle with cleaning/filling, for me it's nice to have bottles in fridge or for friends giveaway, also my keezer is in basement so it's a bit pita to always go from 1st floor downstairs for a pint (after a few pints going upstairs is even tougher [emoji3])

 

[bolus14]

I have never kegged, 4 years into brewing, mostly because of the "ease of transportation" that bottling gives. I know you can bottle from the keg, but sometimes I make plans last minute and it's easier to just grab a cooler and a 6 pack from the fridge than to bottle when things come up.

I also have 3 refrigerators, one in the kitchen never sees beer, one by our living/TV room that I keep 6-12 bottles in and one in the garage that serves as my beer fridge. Lower ABV's beers get moved to the back room fridge from the garage in the winter to avoid them freezing, but higher ABV(usually 7.5-8% and above) have handled the temps without issue. So, ease of access plays a role for me too.

I have a spare side by side fridge with the intent of converting to a kegerator, but everytime I start looking into the cost of the kegs and parts needed to convert it, I decide to brew more beer instead of buying the kegging equipment.

 

[hbhudy]

Won't that just mean a lot of beer piling up in bottles? I typically just bottle beers I want to age for a year or more.

I am with bottles backing up as I will probably brew a few higher ABV beers that could stand some aging

 

[Myron17]

That's funny but true!

 

[MaryB]

Beer can age just as well in a keg under a blanket of CO2... I currently have a Chocolate Milk Stout aging for Christmas drinking for example. I add priming sugar and stash them in my cool pantry.

 

[Callacave]

Just brew 2.5 gal batches and keg, or if you don't like the idea of wasting a brew day for 2.5 gals, just brew up 5 gals, and split it in half. Hop them both differently.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Or, drink half the keg, bottle the rest and refill the keg.

 

[radwizard]

This is the reason I got a bottle gun. I do sometimes naturally carb in the bottle still. Just depend what I want to do. Beer gunning is the most predictable way to bottle some styles of beer. for me.

 

[jlinz]

Nothing wrong with bottling, man. It honestly isn't that much work. It's a good chance to relax, get into the process, and have a few brews.

 

[jalc6927]

I started to bottle 6-9 22 oz bottles before putting the rest in the keg. I use carbonation drops. I like having bottles around

I haven't tried a counter flow device, only hear bad things about them

As long as the beer is good the delivery mechanism doesn't matter

 

[TGFB]

Started bottling beer after experiencing the beer in germany in '96. brewed for some time and then stopped just ran out of time. within the past 4-5 years I started up again. first with bottling, then kegging.

Had a nitrogen tap, and three others, with 6 kegs on the ready, one huge nitrogen tank and three more CO2. Made a portable keg truck (because I figured I could bring it with us). Well I stopped. It was just too much. The gas, the fridge, the taps, the kegs. Lots of space. and too much beer. (blasphemous...)

Back to bottling. I have it down to a science. It goes quick, and I am drinking beers while doing it. I have fun and its time to experiment. i.e. going to add some chocolate to the porter I am bottling tonight. (make a six pack with chocolate primer for science!)

there it is. going to have a delicious amber as soon as I step away from this thing!