Kegging?

[jacob5023]

I am new to home brewing and just made my first batch. I am actually going to bottle it tomorrow evening. I was talking to my friend who works at a local brewery and he said kegging your home brew is much faster and easier. Is this true or will bottling be just as good?

 

[BigFloyd]

I am new to home brewing and just made my first batch. I am actually going to bottle it tomorrow evening. I was talking to my friend who works at a local brewery and he said kegging your home brew is much faster and easier. Is this true or will bottling be just as good?

Kegging is less labor intensive because you're having to clean/sanitize one big vessel instead of 50 small ones. You can carbonate faster with CO2 under pressure. It's also a pretty significant investment. Sharing your kegged beer with co-workers and friends is obviously more difficult.

I'd not worry about jumping into kegging right away. Bottle some first. If you decide to keg later, the whole bottling experience will make you appreciate kegging all the more.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Its faster, but also much more expensive depending on what you already have.

CO2 Tank + Regulator is probably 125-150 bucks, a single keg is 50-60 or more unless your lucky on Craigslist....hoses, ball valve connectors etc for gas and serving even with a cheap party tap is another 25-40 bucks atleast...not even counting that you need a fridge to store the keg(s) in....which could be free off CL or cost hundreds...

 

[RM-MN]

Brew 4 batches in a single week and then figure out the cost to keg all of it including the kegerator, kegs, taps, CO2, regulators. Then forget the whole mess and bottle. Sure its more time consuming. If you want beer without the time commitment, there's a package store right down the road that you can just go to and buy beer. It will take quite a while to cost as much as the difference between bottling and kegging.

 

[Flipadelphia]

Brew 4 batches in a single week and then figure out the cost to keg all of it including the kegerator, kegs, taps, CO2, regulators. Then forget the whole mess and bottle. Sure its more time consuming. If you want beer without the time commitment, there's a package store right down the road that you can just go to and buy beer. It will take quite a while to cost as much as the difference between bottling and kegging.

I'd personally quit the hobby if I had to bottle 4 batches of beer at once. Talk about a nightmare.

OP it's all about how much money you want to invest in this hobby. Kegging adds a significant expense, but is much more rewarding and quicker IMO.