Kegging, why did I take so long??

[tarponteaser]

Evening all,

I've been enjoying an Amarillo Ale this weekend that I kegged last Sunday. No foam issues, great carbonation, and it was easy to set up. Knowing the fridge was about 40 F, I set the CO2 regulator to 12 and have decent carb level for the ale style after 6 days.

Granted I went the 'easy' way and ordered a 2 kg system with picnic taps so I dont have to mess with the compact fridge ...yet. But next year I'll get a dual tower set up and save the picnic taps for a bottle gun and portable 'camping' set up in a cooler.

Not having to clean bottles after drinking is great, not to mention having no bottles to sanitize and time spent bottling.

My next project is making a beer gun to bottle for friends and fishing trips.

Regards

 

[Whut]

Congrats. While there are plenty who do bottle, it's not for everyone. As for me, I keg as well.

 

[kmat123]

I felt the same way when I switched to kegging!

 

[GroosBrewz]

I made the switch to kegging as well, though I still bottle a few batches here and there.. The convenience is priceless..

 

[gallagherman]

I pulled the trigger yesterday and ordered a two-keg kit from kegconnection.com! So excited. I have a similar plan as you; use picnic faucets until a draft tower becomes more economical.

 

[SweetSounds]

Congratulations!

You'll never regret it!

FWIW - You can bottle straight from the picnic taps without a gun. You just need a hose that will go to the bottom of the bottle so it doesn't foam. It works great if you're going to drink the bottles in short order...

For longer term storage though, a CP filler is a great idea.

 

[Manfish]

I started kegging in May, I wont go back to bottling. I just added my 4th tap on Thursday. LOVE IT!

 

[92greenyj]

Another person here who is glad I switched to Kegs. SOOO much easier! takes up so much less space. Way less tedious work. No broken bottles, no saving bottles. I'm hoping to get a Beer Gun for Xmas from my Mother In Law so I can bottle a few for competition but other than that, Yeah i'll never go back to bottling. Too much of a hassle. I even take 4 kegs to the desert with me for big wheeling/camping weekends thanks to my home made 4 tap jockey box. Guess who has the most popular camp site every year?

 

[Skarekrough]

Made the jump this past week; picked up a chest freezer on Thursday night and spent Friday night doing minor setup work with the temp control.

Saturday I spent all of 45 minutes cleaning out the keg and transferring an Oatmeal Stout to it right from the carboy. Did a bit of force carb.

By Saturday night I had some of the brew and while it wasn't dead flat or perfectly carbed it was certainly well on the way.

I'm shocked. I knew it would be easier, but not THIS much easier!!!!!

 

[ibbones]

Another kegger here. Only been doing it for five batches but I sure do like it. I will still bottle some for gifts and such but it will mostly be kegged from now on.

 

[j1laskey]

I heart my kegerator.

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

LOL when I started I went straight to kegging! My LHBS was like, wow are you sure you want to jump in like this? But I did NOT want to mess with bottling my beer just to empty the bottles again right away!

I do plan on establishing a collection of bottled brews, both for gifts, and also so I can continue to rotate in new kegs as I empty them. Or maybe I just need more kegs hehe!!