richthrift
Well-Known Member
I read somewhere that kegging is easier than bottling. How so?
Kegging vs. Bottling
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FattySparks
Active Member
You basically just put the beer into the keg after fermentation and as quickly as a day later, you have carbonated beer.
No capping, no priming, and most importantly, no bottle washing.
No capping, no priming, and most importantly, no bottle washing.
Daybis
Well-Known Member
Kegging was the best investment I made after I got into this hobby.
Scut_Monkey
Well-Known Member
There are many advantages and a few draw backs to kegging. The main advantages to me are that I don't have to have a billion empty bottles sitting around. It's also a lot easier to clean a keg compared to fifty bottles. Other advantages to me are that I can dial in the carb level and it only takes about 20 minutes to fill a keg compared to about an hour to bottle. These are the main reasons for me.
Drawbacks for me include cost and inconvenience when you want to take a few beers somewhere.
Drawbacks for me include cost and inconvenience when you want to take a few beers somewhere.
FattySparks
Active Member
This can be offset by bottling before putting into keg. For recipes that call for 3/4C of priming sugar, you can use 3Tbsp in 1/4C water to make priming syrup and then pull 144 oz (a 12 pack, which is about 1/4 of the beer produced in a 5 gal brew.) of beer into priming syrup and bottle.
ClarnoBrewer
Well-Known Member
If you have $200 or so to lay out initially, it's a great investment. And I'm surprised no one has mentioned the best advantage:
Beer on tap in your house!!!
Beer on tap in your house!!!
coypoo
Well-Known Member
Scut_Monkey said:
can't you just fill a growler I something? Or does that not work?
richthrift
Well-Known Member
Awesome. Imbuying a kegging kit on wednesday then
I'm planning on kegging-proper, but for now I have a little tap-a-draft system that's kind of the best of both worlds. I bottle 1.5 to 3 gallons from each batch in the TAD "kegs" and bottle the rest in 12 & 22 oz bottles. The TAD system is great for the cash, and is a super-portable keg for get-togethers, etc. I still love bottling though. I know that wears off, and there are aspects I don't like but there is also some great satisfaction in it as well, IMO.
it should work. I don't even use the fancy blichmann beer gun or the not-so-fancy biermuncher method. I fill bottles and growlers, no problem. I also have a rolling kegerator to take to parties.
If you wanna bring your kegged beer anywhere, just pour it into a growler. I have a couple lying around from when I used to frequent local brewers and get the growler fills. They work perfect..but I don't imagine the beer will stay carbonated all that long, but I've never left beer in a growler longer than a day cuz I drink it all
AgentHubcap
Well-Known Member
How is it only a $200 investment? After the kit, keg, CO2 and fridge/freezer, I was looking at over $500...
ClarnoBrewer
Well-Known Member
Yeah, if you go that route, it will cost you more. I bought the components separately, on-sale or used, and found a free fridge on CL, which is easy to do. It's easy to knock off a bunch of dough by being resourceful and somewhat patient. If you want it all now, you'll pay more.
FattySparks
Active Member
Just like many other things, you can spend as much or as little as you want. I was able to build my kegerator for just over 200 (which I didn't actually spend, because a lot of the parts were given to me as gifts for christmas), you just have to be patient and be able to find good deals on the expensive things (like kegs and freezers).
+1 to using craigslist. i bought a kegerator and probably spent more than i should have. definately craigslist the minifridge to convert(youll find all the instructions/best types to use on here).
you might find the other stuff there too (co2 tanks), and then youll have to decide how much more you want to spend after that. Im running my 2 kegs through picnic taps right now instead of a faucet tower, and while not necessarily good looking, it works great and was really cheap to set up.
you might find the other stuff there too (co2 tanks), and then youll have to decide how much more you want to spend after that. Im running my 2 kegs through picnic taps right now instead of a faucet tower, and while not necessarily good looking, it works great and was really cheap to set up.
A used fridge from Craigslist is $50. The kegging gear I bought (tank, regulator, two kegs, all connections, and picnic faucets) was about $170.
I later upgraded to faucets out the door, but I didn't really need to do that.
Scut_Monkey
Well-Known Member
it should work. I don't even use the fancy blichmann beer gun or the not-so-fancy biermuncher method. I fill bottles and growlers, no problem. I also have a rolling kegerator to take to parties.
I fill growlers all the time when I'm taking beer places. Filling growlers isn't hard at all and they work great except when you want to take 3 or 4 different types of beer for a small gathering and only half is drank at the end. Its then hard to deal with growlers as they will let the beer go flat rather quickly. Obviously filling bottles from the keg is the solution to this so you end up bottling anyways. So this isn't a draw back to kegging its just one way I feel that having bottles is more convenient. However, kegging in general is far easier and well worth the cost if you brew regularly.
JonnySax
Well-Known Member
I went straight to kegging! when I brewed in college we bottled and it was such a pain! I have plenty of growlers lying around if I need to make my beer mobile.
ClarnoBrewer
Well-Known Member
Check these out:http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/for/2814080952.html
It's a great price. I have enough, or I'd buy them myself.
It's a great price. I have enough, or I'd buy them myself.
scottland
Well-Known Member
-You only have to clean 1 keg vs 55 bottles
-You only have to sanitize 1 keg vs 55 bottles
-All 5 gallons of your beer conditions at fridge temps for a few weeks. Your beers will be clearer and better tasting (assuming you weren't patient enough to leave bottles in the fridge a few weeks
- You can burst carb your beer, and be drinking it the day after you keg it.
- You can still bottle beers from the tap if need be.
The only cons to kegging are price and space. A kegerator takes up some space. Not a problem for some, but those of us in apartments or condos, it can be a tight fit. And they cost more money.
If you do switch to kegging, keep your bottles. They come in handy. I bottle off my high ABV beers to stash away, and it's nice to be able to fill up some bottles to give to friends.
AgentHubcap
Well-Known Member
starrfish
Well-Known Member
beers go quicker from a keg
beergolf
Well-Known Member
I guess I am one of the rare guys that does not mind bottling. I usually do it while my boil is going on so it does not really take any extra time.
I like variety so I always have many different brews on hand. I have about 15 different brews in bottles in varying quantities. I usually keep about 6 different brews in the fridge.
With kegs it would be hard to have that kind of variety.
I like variety so I always have many different brews on hand. I have about 15 different brews in bottles in varying quantities. I usually keep about 6 different brews in the fridge.
With kegs it would be hard to have that kind of variety.
I still like to bottle an occasional big beer, just to let them sit and forget about them for a year or more. Having said that, if I had to bottle every beer I made I would have given up the hobby a long time ago!
richthrift
Well-Known Member
Thank you all for the info. I'm definitely giving both a try. I figure it'd be easy to give friends and family bottles, but when I get my ghetto bar built in the basement of my soon to be house I'm definitely gonna start kegging. I definitely don't have space for a kegerator at the moment but as soon as I do I'm getting one.
