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'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?
