Please help settle our CO2 argument!

[jjwineaux]

New to brewing here...our Maiden Beer is in Primary ferment for about 6 days now and my hyperspending hubby INSISTS we need to buy cornies and CO2 tanks within the next few days or our little beer world will end. WTF? I have read the forums and the brew books and am trying to overload myself with info, but I have not come across a lot of info regarding the need for CO2. Could someone explain what I am missing?

I had planned on using bottles of all sizes (24 oz, some swing tops, a few Growlers) and make use of what we have for this first time around. He seems concerned that w/o the use of CO2 we are opening ourselves up for contamination and oxidation risks. Please help.

I apologize in advance if this topic is covered previously...I looked, I promise I did! Just a little drunk...

 

[tamoore]

Kegging is easier than bottling, and you will run less risk of problems by going that route, other than reduced funds in the bank account.

 

[david_42]

Billions of gallons of homebrew have been bottled and consumed without problems.
The bottling process results in the headspace being filled with CO2.
Contamination is no more or less likely with bottles or kegs and if you have a contaminated bottle, the rest of the batch might be okay. When a keg goes, it's all gone.

I always kegged, but it isn't necessary or better.

 

[Teromous]

Your husband is going to kill me, but it sounds like he wants to move straight to kegging

There's no need to buy CO2 tanks or anything if you're going to bottle carbonate using priming sugar. The yeast will generate enough CO2 on their own. Just make sure you're using the correct amount of sugar as indicated by your recipe. Some people like to fill bottles with CO2 before pouring in beer, but it's not necessary.

 

[carnevoodoo]

Use bottles. Prime appropriately, sanitize correctly, and you'll have no problem. I keg most of my beer because I'm just lazy, but there are beers I prefer to bottle and have never had a remote fear of infection or anything. It is like any part of the process, you just have to be clean about it.

If you guys want to really get into it, think about kegging, but you don't need to right off the bat.

 

[Yooper]

I bottled at least 100-150 batches of beer before I got "permission" to start kegging. Now, I keg everything and almost never bottle. But, there isn't anything wrong at all with bottling beer and some would argue that it even makes a better product, due to bottle conditioning.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

YOU HAVE TO GO STRAIGHT TO KEGGING! Kidding

Bottle a few batches, get a feel for what a PIA it can be, then make the switch. Thats what I did and I never looked back. Some people have only ever bottled their hundreds and hundreds of gallons (ie YooperBrew, above)

In fact, bottling will probably help you conserve your beer. You actually realize how quickly you're drinking it when you can count bottles... instead of waking up and wondering "How many pints did I have last night??" Regardless of your choice, enjoy your brew!

 

[FlyinkibbleZ]

i think everyone has said it already...but i drove accross town to bottle one batch for my dad since he was out of town and decided then and there that i would never mess with that. i can't reference to whether i consider it better or worse to keg vs bottle flavor wise, but i choose to keg from day one just cause i have other things i wanted to mess with than cleaning bottles and pouring beer into each one

 

[Revvy]

If you develop your process bottling is no more difficult or time consuming than any other process.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/

 

[flyingwmelon]

I've got my first batch in bottles. I don't know that I will ever Keg due to price/cooling/space. But one thing I did notice is that you said you would bottle into growlers. Be careful of this if bottle conditioning as from what I was told the pressure can break either the bottle or pop the cap off. Others may correct me but that is what I was told.

 

[thenatibrewer]

and make use of what we have for this first time around. He seems concerned that w/o the use of CO2 we are opening ourselves up for contamination and oxidation risks. Please help.

no need for CO2 if you are bottling, just use sugar. remember as stated before clean and sanitize ALL your equipment!!!!!! the difference between good beer and bad beer sometimes is just cleanliness. IMO you can never be to clean.
i personally now keg but there is a big benefit to bottling, the ease of transportation!!! so now i keg, force carbonate and then transfer some of the great nectar to bottles for easy transport....good luck

 

[iron_city_ap]

If my wife was into beer, let alone home brewing...... I would try to get as many gadgets out of it as possible, as quick as possible before I woke from that heavenly dream..... I think that's all you are missing . Congrats and hope the experience goes well for you both.

 

[jjwineaux]

If my wife was into beer, let alone home brewing...... I would try to get as many gadgets out of it as possible, as quick as possible before I woke from that heavenly dream..... I think that's all you are missing . Congrats and hope the experience goes well for you both.

LOL! He is MY assistant brewer (shh, dont tell him I said that) Trust me...I love me my gadgets (luckily he doesnt know how expensive some of my wine keys are...) and plan to collect them as we go. I was mostly concerned with the cost of kegs, cornies, tanks etc...

You guys rock, thanks for the feedback! Thanks for the links to other threads too!

 

[jmbingham3]

you should listen to your husband we are always right just kidding
i just brewed my first batch this weekend and having the same argument or disscusion call it what you want with my wife
looking into the party pig for half the batch and bottling the rest

 

[buzzkill]

it took me 3 years to talk my wife into letting me get a kegging setup. but I bought a few corny kegs to use as secondarys,so when I did get the green light I already had 3 cornys ready to go. they are the best secondary tank you can have. and I ferment in them too.

 

[mojotele]

As others have said, you absolutely do not need a CO2 tank or kegs.

However, the one benefit I discovered was in carbonation. I was starting to have real problems getting evenly carbonated beers in my bottles. Some were flat while others would gush. That isn't an issue with kegging since you only have one vessel.

Now, I realize that's just my problem since many, many people do not have the same issue. There was clearly something flawed in my process that resulted in the priming sugar not being evenly distributed in my bottling bucket. I didn't switch to kegging because of that problem, but I don't have to worry about it anymore!

 

[FromZwolle]

Don't start kegging yet! If you're still on your maiden brew, then the noob fever still has you. One keg will seem sweet, then the four packs of kegs start looking like a good deal, extra regulators, manifolds, shiny chrome taps, a kegerator, etc. Cost spirals out of control with a few clicks of the mouse. It's way better to bottle for a while, then see if you want to buy more equiptment. When you get a longterm sense for how much you bottle/drink on a regular basis, then decide if you want to jump into kegging.