Mini Keg vs Bottles

[DJM3]

Hi Guys,

I'm thinking of purchasing a mini Keg starter kit by Brewferm. Has anyone used this or a similar system?

What are your preferences between a keg system and bottles?

 

[dmtaylor]

Each have their advantages and disadvantages. Depends what you prefer. If you plan to drink a small batch within a couple of weeks, kegging is great. If you want to keep the beer for a longer time, bottles are better. If you don't care either way, kegging is faster and easier. That being said, while I've done both, I bottle exclusively now because I don't drink heavily and I like the variety of having a half dozen different batches bottled all at once, and shelf-stable, instead of just having a couple kegs of only 2 styles at one time or whatever taking up space in the refrigerator.

There is also of course the expense. Bottling is super cheap. Kegging, you have to buy CO2 and the equipment that goes with that. Kegging is more expensive.

It just depends what you want. If I drank more heavily, and had the refrigerator space, and the money didn't matter, then I do think kegging would be the way to go.

 

[Lefou]

In my feeble experience, bottling is good for ales or other styles you intend on aging for longer periods. The yeast might take longer to get the carbonation finished, but it doesn't cost anything but sugar and time for them to do the job. If you desire to do lagers and turn your brews around more quickly, kegging might be an option to consider.
Right now, I bottle and I'm ok with that. When the opportunity presents itself, I might start kegging instead.

 

[McKnuckle]

It's kind of a false comparison in a way, because you always have the option to bottle some batches even if you use a kegging system. The reverse is, however, not the case. Hence, kegging is actually the best of both worlds.

 

[NSMikeD]

I looked into the mini kegs and seemed maintaining a reliable pressure was a bit of a hassle unless you invested in decent equipment. I decided instead to go with DIY mini fridge kegorater and 2.5 gallon Torpedo kegs. Converting the fridge was easy.

I can't imagine ever bottling again. Keg day is less than 15 minutes from start to finish -including clean up and putting everything away.

 

[Sadu]

I looked into the brewferm kegs and was scared off by some bad reviews. Instead went with a regular ball lock keg setup with 19L and 5L kegs. Its not really fair to compare because those Brewferm systems are way cheaper. But the ball lock systems are superior in every way except price. For me, the big one is that kegged beer tastes better for some styles. Pale ales and IPAs benefit from force carbing so you can drink them quicker. Brewferm are designed for keg conditioning and while you might be able to force carb with one the cost of doing so with 16g gas cartridges is prohibitive. You need 6-10g per liter to force carb so 2-3 cartridges just to force carb then another one to serve. Pale lagers also benefit from force carbing in the keg, if you value clarity in these styles as I do. Closed transfers are another big advantage of kegging, particularly for hippy beers and lagers that are getting aged. This has a direct impact on flavour.
Overall I love kegging but the brewferm system is missing some of the things that make kegging great.

 

[MyQuL]

One big advantage of mini/easy kegs is that packaging is sooo much quicker than bottling

If you fancy a bit of bed time reading have a look at our massive mini keg thread on HBF

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=57568

 

[DJM3]

Thanks for the comments guy, all very useful. Cheers.

 

[user 125772]

these look much more attractive to me . ManCan