Kegging Equipment vs. Stainless Conical

[jphs12]

Hey guys,

So I'm looking to purchase some brewing equipment, but I'm unsure what I should get next. I'm debating whether I should get kegging equipment and kegerator or if I should get a stainless conical. I've been brewing for a little while now, but have been doing the carboys and bottling. I'd like to step it up a bit and just wanted to see if anyone had any input on what would be the more worthy buy. And I would also be open to suggestions as to which kegerators/conicals are good buys. Thanks.

 

[moosetav]

I say it's time to stimulate the economy, max out the ol' credit card, and get it all. Of course, you will not be using my credit card......

 

[carnevoodoo]

Do you have a way of keeping the conical temperature controlled?

 

[arturo7]

Do you have a way of keeping the conical temperature controlled?

+1

You can't just stick a fermenter in a tub of ice water with a t-shirt.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

+1 Carne. Do you have temp control? That would be where I would spend my money first. Then, do you have the equipment to make big starters? After those two things, I would go with the conical.

I do not mind bottling and still bottle half of my batches even though I have kegs. If you have a good system it isn't much work.

 

[Jumbo82]

It depends on a few things. First, if you primarily brew 5 gallon batches, glass carboys are the way to go. Conicals that size don't make much sense to me, but I'm sure others will disagree. For 10 gallon batches, consider a 14.5 gallon Blichmann conical (Fermenator). I have one, as well as a 42 gallon Fermenator since I brew 1 bbl batches. At that size, it really makes too much sense not to get one. As for the kegging, it depends how often you'd be using it. For some people, who primarily drink at home and like to host parties/have friends over, kegging is definitely the way to go. The advantages are numerous, and I'm sure you're already aware of most if not all of them. But even though I have a kegging setup at home, I still bottle the majority of my beer. I like the convenience of being able to take a few different types of homebrew with me wherever I go, and its nice to be able to give them away to friends and family. So it boils down to how useful the kegging setup will suit your personal needs. If you brew 5 gallons at a time and mostly drink at home, kegging sounds like a good fit. If you brew large batches and like bottles, the conical is the way to go. Like I said, it all depends.

 

[Berkbeer]

You can make great beer without a conical - you cannot pull a pint out of the keezer without the kegging setup. I would go kegging for sure I love having taps to pull.

 

[schristian619]

Although I have never used a conical, I would suggest goign with the kegging set up first. For the reasons explained above, plus its a lot cheaper. That way, you can have your beer on tap while you save up for a conical ( I assume you can't afford to buy both now otherwise you would). Plus, as mentioned, for 5 gallon batches, carboys work fine. Hold off on a fermentator until you get into larger batch sizes. just my opinion.

 

[david_42]

Kegging. A conical is just another fermenter.

 

[malkore]

same here...I have no conical experience, but from the "I've only been brewing for a few months/1 year" perspective, I think you'd get more enjoyment from a kegging setup at this time. Not even a 'kegerator' but a 'build your own' type system. Even just a 7-10cu chest freezer, temp controller and picnic taps is a lotta fun.

plus you can do some interesting non-alcoholic beverages like making your own soda pop, selzter water, or carbing up fruit juice, fruit wines...damn near anything!

 

[jphs12]

Thanks guys. You've made me rethink my intentions and more aware of what's involved with each option. For now, my batches are 5gal and I'm probably going to stick with that for a little while longer. Most of my beer is drank at home, so having kegs will be great. I'll probably go with a 14.5gal conical when I start doing larger batches (spring time). Thanks again

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

Get a kegging setup, and use a sanke keg for a fermenter using one of these: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/sanke-fermenter-conversion-128262/

Caspio has a couple of these, and I got to see them in action. Pretty sweet, and I'm going to be getting rid of my carboys and replacing them with the same setup. He even did a low-pressure transfer and harvested the yeast before racking to kegs. Much easier to handle, and you can sanitize by boiling a couple gallons of water in it (without the top on of course).

Used kegs are $30 at my local scrapyard, I'll need two. Two of those sanke fermenter conversions will run $65 each. So that's just $190 for 31 gallons of completely stainless steel fermenting space. Compare to over $500 for just a 14 gallon fermenter.

 

[JKoravos]

Kegging equipment, without a doubt. The step up from bottling to kegging was one of the best things I ever bought for brewing. Unless you're doing 10 gallon batches, getting a conical doesn't make your beer better, nor your life easier. Kegging doesn't make your beer better, but it sure as heck makes your life easier.