how hard is kegging?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

robs1642

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2007
Messages
17
Reaction score
0
...how hard is kegging?bottling seems like it will get really old really fast.

how expensive/labor intensive/ time consuming/ beneficial is kegging compared to bottling?
 
As a runner, I'll put it in these terms:
Kegging = 100 meter dash
Bottling = marathon

Maybe not that much of a difference, but kegging is ridicoulously easier. You just santize the corny, rack it over, purge out the O2 and you're done. Once you move to kegging, you won't want to bottle ever again. My family was a little bummed when I moved to kegging, less bottles to give away.
 
Why would it get old fast? Bottling got old fast to me, but I still do it. I probably wont keg for a long time. Its not high on my list of priorities now.

I think the major inconvenience is the initial cost. After that it should be a breeze compared to bottling. Think of racking to a keg instead of filling and capping two cases worth of bottles. Also if you force carb you can be drinking a lot faster.

So...
expensive - Bottling wins
labor intensive - kegging by a long shot
beneficial - up in the air

- magno
 
I read your post a minute after it came up (10:26 ET).

It reminded me I had a batch to keg.

I kegged it and cleaned the fermenter and put everything away.

It's now 10:36.

Bottle that!
 
apologies....i meant bottling seems like it will get old real fast....

i just started...
 
I've been bottling for 2 years. I live in an apartment, and just dont have the money to buy kegs, kegerator, CO2 and all of the other accessories.

Bottling does get kind of old, but I've streamlined it a LOT. The most time consuming part of bottling is sanitizing. I do a 3 sink process (soap water, rinsing water and sanitizing water in one of my fermenting buckets). I also got a dishwasher rack to dry my bottles on.

If you have a partner to help, you can whip through bottling in 20-45 min. Definately not as fast or easy as kegging, but easy enough.
 
Im still new to kegging as well,wish they had a post onhere that just said do this and that etc,dont know why they have no permanent post of that,,,,or maybe they do,,,lol but its is way easier ,but i used to bottle me and my buddy,so it wasnt so bad get a little lit and bottle up beer and share it.you dont get to do that with kegs but i did see someone say that you sould still bottle with a keg????how does that work id really like to know.that would be great having the best of both.
 
epic501j said:
Im still new to kegging as well,wish they had a post onhere that just said do this and that etc,dont know why they have no permanent post of that,,,,or maybe they do,,,lol but its is way easier ,but i used to bottle me and my buddy,so it wasnt so bad get a little lit and bottle up beer and share it.you dont get to do that with kegs but i did see someone say that you sould still bottle with a keg????how does that work id really like to know.that would be great having the best of both.


??? I have no idea what you just said.

I tired of bottling after just 2 batches. It's a little better now that I have Party Pigs; each batch gets one and the rest are 16-26 oz bottles. However, as soon as my property is sold and I get a bigger place, I am switching to kegging. Sometimes I just dread bottling. Besides, very few bottles leave my house.
 
veggiess said:
??? I have no idea what you just said.

I tired of bottling after just 2 batches. It's a little better now that I have Party Pigs; each batch gets one and the rest are 16-26 oz bottles. However, as soon as my property is sold and I get a bigger place, I am switching to kegging. Sometimes I just dread bottling. Besides, very few bottles leave my house.
Why does everyone say that they are going to switch to kegging when they get a bigger place? Im switching to keggin because i have 300 bottles in my closet that will be replaced by a chest freezer (with 300 bottles on top) Damn!!! Foiled again.
 
I hear that's it's (kegging) easier, but takes more room. I imagine because you only have to fill one big container. But I'm going to need somewhere to to store AND cool it. I think I see the down side. You need a kegfridge or throw a party. You can store the bottles and drink them a little (or a lot) at a time, which could be better if you don't plan on drinking your beer in about a week. Right?

Drinking: Amber Bock knock off (good)
In the bottle: Light Honey Ale
 
I found that bottling was kinda fun. I then got to where I would like to do it less, but can't quite go to kegging either. I found that if you get a bottling bucket with a spigot, and switch to 19 one liter EZ cap bottles (or 36 for rotation purposes), There is no capper, caps to sanitize, only 19 bottles to sanitize, and no siphoning. I almost always drink about 2-3 glasses, so 1 liter is perfect, or you can re-cap it for a day or two if need be. I think that they are about $ 30 for 12. One of the best things I've done!
Good brewin' to you! :mug:
 
Kegging lets you save space too. I'd be hard pressed to fit 30 cases of bottles in this space, but in kegs I can fit 67 gallons and keep it chilled for carbing and serving.

KeezerAlmostFull.jpg
 
EdWort said:
Kegging lets you save space too. I'd be hard pressed to fit 30 cases of bottles in this space, but in kegs I can fit 67 gallons and keep it chilled for carbing and serving.

I agree with Edwort, Bottling actually takes up more space.\

Listen, once you try kegging, be prepared to shell out some $$, because you're never going to want to wash/rinse/sanitize a bottle again!

I do miss having bottles to give out though, but the bastards never gave em' back anyway, so I just had to buy/drink more.
 
When I read this title, the first thing that came to mind is "That should have read How hard is Bottling" Kegging is a breeze. If you are really diligent you can score a whole kegging setup for about 150.00 or under. So cost is really the only huge drawback. If you don't have an extra fridge/chest freezer, then keep in mind that you will still need to get the kegs cooled off to enjoy them (unless you like room temp beer) That being said, kegging is probably the 2nd largest increase in the enjoyment of the hobby to me. AG being the 1st. If I am going on a road trip, I just fill a few bottles off the tap and go. They keep for a few weeks, so they can even be used for competitions and gifts. Never looked back after the switch.
 
The beverage factory is where I got my conversion kit from. Their equipment is pretty nice, I've used them a few times with upgrades. Since that kit includes the CO2 tank, that's about the going price. It might be a little cheaper than buying directly from their website, I calculate about $170 with shipping from there.
 
Back
Top