Priming via Keg, Sharing via Bottle

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rpetrello

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Hey Everyone,

I've been (happily) bottling my brew for years now, but have identified some issues that I think would be improved with a keg setup, and wanted your thoughts on my options, and if what I'm considering is practiced by anybody else (or just a flippant waste of money):

* Despite a combination of priming calculators, time, temperature, I routinely find a batch which is over or under-carbonated for my tastes. I just popped open a delicious year-old Strong Dark Belgian Ale to find that, while it had aged perfectly, the carbonation was *far too high* for style.

* I generally do a long primary fermentation, and age beers when necessary, so I'm pretty patient. There's something about the bottle priming phase that brings out the eagerness in me, though - I hate waiting for a delicious beer to become carbonated.

* While potentially irrational, the potential for bottle bombs scares the hell out of me. I currently store my bottled brew in a metal filing cabinet (i.e., bomb shelter) for this reason (and for organizational purposes, of course).

So a keg system makes sense to me. That said, some of the more common arguments for a keg system don't really appeal to me:

* I actually dislike the idea of a constant tap of flowing beer at home - while I enjoy my brew at home, it's fair to say that at least half of it is regularly distributed to friends/family via bottles. There's also something special about popping open a single bottle and having a glass at the end of a day - if I had a tap at home, I'd fear I'd end up drinking too much of it.

* I don't actually mind the -process- of bottling - in fact, I actually find it cathartic and enjoyable. Only the limitations and issues listed above fuel my desire to change.

I'm considering purchasing a single keg for forced carbonation priming - the largest benefit being the ability to precisely dial in my carbonation levels, and achieve proper carbonation in less time. From there, I'm toying with the idea of a bottle filler (like Biermuncher's Bottle Filler, or a commercial beer gun). So it's very possible that my usual process post-fermentation would involve a keg, but not a tap.

This all seems a pretty hefty investment for such a non-traditional use of a keg, though (~$200 for keg + regulator + tank, potentially another $50+ for a commercial beer gun). Are there any other alternatives, thoughts, or opinions I should consider? Should I just learn to live with the unpredictability of bottle priming?
 
I have a store bout counter pressure bottle filler and have not been happy with the results. It seems like the vibrancy of the beer, and or, carbonation is just not the same after it is bottled. I love beer on tap at the house, and considering that you can just pull a half, the flexibility to drink less is there.

As far as the carbonation, have you attempted to carbonate with carb tabs, dme, or unfermented wort (adding fermentable sugars in the form of speise (a.k.a gyle, which is unfermented wort)?
 
I've tried cane and corn sugar, carb tabs, and DME with varying results. I usually get it right, but sometimes it's wrong - what's frustrating is spending months on a great beer only to have it ruined by too much/little carbonation.
 
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