whats with the bottle hype?

[dooman333]

New to brewin here... Just wanted to know why so many of you guys bottle your HB. Havnt tried it yet but im so pleased with my tap setup i dont think i wanna. Somthin im missing?

 

[Weizenwerks]

There are certain times and styles bottle conditioning is worth it. For the most part I wish homebrewers skipped bottling and went straight to kegging.

 

[sudsmcgee]

Well, I don't own any kegging equipment and bottles are nearly free.

 

[WYOBrews]

I don't have a kegging set up yet either. However, I love the fact that I can take my beer anywhere I want. I can take it tailgaiting, to any party, and I can give it to friends from out of town who only stop by for a short visit!

I also love to watch my beer cellar grow with every batch I bottle. It's pretty sweet to look at 200+ beers (inluding a sixer from every batch I've ever made) and say "What do I feel like now?".

That's a long answer. Maybe the short answer is after bottling, it's the convienience of having bottles as well as the longevity!

Peace!

 

[Beezer94]

If you want to donate $400-500 I will gladly limit bottling!

#1 reason - bottling is cheaper
#2 - that $400 is easily 10-20+ 5gal batches (20-40+ cases of beer!)...
#3 - can't enter a keg in a BJCP competition (but you can spend another $50-75 to bottle your kegged beer)

 

[nefarious_1_]

I'm not sure it's all because of hype, but rather what is most accessible and affordable to the brewer. Sometimes (a lot of times,) kegging is just not an option.

 

[Calder]

I can't justify the cost of a keg set-up. I would love someone to show me how it can save me money using kegs.

I think I have more variety using bottles.

I have nearly 25 cases of bottles. That's about 600 bottles. I'm always making discoveries; this evening I came across a 12-pack of IPA that was bottled last December - tastes great. Going to get another!

 

[onipar]

There are plenty of reasons to bottle (as the other posts illustrated), though in general I wouldn't advocate *only* bottling or *only* kegging. I don't see any reason to box yourself into only one. (I'm saying this, but of course I don't have a keg set up yet).

The reason I bottle is because it costs a heck of a lot of money to get into kegging. Though, even if I had the money, I'd still bottle too. I like being able to give out bottles of brew to friends, and to take a six pack over friends' houses. Sure, you could do the growler thing, but I've always been disappointed with carbonation if they sit too long.

What I find interesting also is the huge demand and push for cask conditioned ales in pubs. It's a big thing, and people love it. And it's funny to me, because it seems as if cask conditioning is sort of like bottling, only in one big container. I realize they're big differences, but the idea is that a yeast/sugar carbonated ale is in demand rather than the kegged stuff.

Just some ideas to toss around.

 

[WYOBrews]

I can't justify the cost of a keg set-up. I would love someone to show me how it can save me money using kegs.

I think I have more variety using bottles.

I have nearly 25 cases of bottles. That's about 600 bottles. I'm always making discoveries; this evening I came across a 12-pack of IPA that was bottled last December - tastes great. Going to get another!

I wish I had 600 bottles! Damn! Better tell SWMBO I'm way too far behind with the pipeline!

 

[Germelli1]

I wish I had 600 bottles! Damn! Better tell SWMBO I'm way too far behind with the pipeline!

Kegging costs roughly $400 to get into...plus C02 tank refills, plus replacing beer lines, plus troubleshooting problems when they arise.

Dextrose is in a bucket for you to scoop out in bulk at $.79 a pound at my homebrew shop. So to carbonate 1 batch of beer, I pay $.25

Plus kegging takes up a lot of space which I don't have being a 22 year old college student living in the attic of this house

 

[Cosper123]

400-500 bucks? Here's one for 159:

http://morebeer.com/view_product/12015/102298/Basic_Homebrew_Draft_System_-_Pin_Lock

Now that IS before tax but the shipping is free. Also have to consider there is a price involved with fillng up the Co2 container....comparable to the priming sugar and extra time cleaning a bunch of bottles, maybe? In any case a far cry from 400-500 bucks.

Everyone here has raised a bunch of good points. The important thing to realise is that there are pluses and minuses both ways...and there's a bunch of reasons that people with keg systems still bottle from time to time. I do it to ship beer to family members or easily share it with people. And like some touched upon here, while it may be much less of a hassle to keg it's not really an option for some people. Even if you find a kegging system significantly cheaper than the one I posted above it's a huge expense to justify for many.

 

[Germelli1]

Also for me, I only brew 5 gallon batches. It lets me have a 7 gallon mash tun (space) and keep more variety in my brews. I don't drink enough to justify 10 gallon batches but if I did, I would probably consider kegging

 

[Germelli1]

400-500 bucks? Here's one for 159:

http://morebeer.com/view_product/12015/102298/Basic_Homebrew_Draft_System_-_Pin_Lock

Now that IS before tax but the shipping is free. Also have to consider there is a price involved with fillng up the Co2 container....comparable to the priming sugar and extra time cleaning a bunch of bottles, maybe? In any case a far cry from 400-500 bucks.

I agree it might not be $400 completely, but consider you need that kit plus a chest freezer, plus some DIY expenditures, plus the cost of refrigerating the entire 5 gallons for months

 

[WarrantedFED]

I recently saved enough funding over several months to build a 3 tap kegerator. For me it is very convenient to drop 5 gallons from a secondary directly into a Cornelius keg.

It's more time-effective to keg versus having to transfer from the fermenter into another carboy with priming sugar, then taking the time let it settle, then the time to get it into bottles. SWMBO approves of this new process.

Coming home to a tall 48 oz frozen mug full of draught beer after a long day at work is nice too.

That being said, there is a benefit to bottling into 22 oz bottles those brews, as well as meads and ciders, that take longer to condition.

I'm currently studying bottling from the keg for shipping to friends.

 

[Golddiggie]

For my first 13 batches of beer, I bottled all of them. For the next three, I kegged 2.5 or 3 gallons and bottled the balance. For the last batch (#17) I kegged all of it. I'm looking at kegging entire batches moving forward and not bottling any of it before it's carbonated.

Once you look past the setup costs (I know, it's not cheap) there are so many plus items in favor of kegging.

For one thing, I have total control over the carbonation level. Unlike with bottling where you hope that you mixed the priming solution well enough to evenly carbonate the entire batch.

For another, you can bottle from keg for less than $75... I picked up the items posted in a couple of threads here, costing me about $37 for the items needed to do the job. I need to get one more (damned cheap) part and then I'll be ready (once the final part arrives). I won't even need to open the brew fridge to bottle. :rockin:

Then there's the way I can pull as much, or as little, brew as I want at a time. I'm no longer locked into bottle sizes dictating how much I can (or need to) drink. If I want a small glass of homebrew, I can pull that amount from the keg.

For portability, I'm actually constructing a portable kegorator now. I need a few more parts, but then it will be done. I'm going to take it, and two different brews, with me to a family gathering/party in October. I'm making a tower to go on top, with the lines running through it to faucets/taps. People will be able to pull glasses of home brew until the kegs kick.

I'm using only 2.5 and 3 gallon kegs for my batches (about 5 gallons to keg) right now. Once I get/make a keezer that could change.

Of course, there is one more bonus item that people probably don't consider. Zero chance of bottle bombs when you keg. :rockin: Plus, the batch takes up less floor space in keg compared with bottles.

I'm planning on making a big-assed barley wine soon (this year I hope). I'll be pushing the yeast to it's limits, and possibly beyond (depends on the yeast I pick). As such, I intend to carbonate the brew on gas. This means I can age it as I wish, without any thoughts (at all) to if there's any yeast (or enough) left in suspension to carbonate later. Or how long it will take to carbonate in bottles. I'll carbonate it in keg, and then bottle part when I decide to. Or I'll just keep it on tap for the duration, bottling as people want to take some home with them (or I want to give some away).

IF you shop smart, you can get your kegging setup for fairly little money. You just need to look at it as a much longer term investment than bottles. Eventually, you'll end up replacing all the bottles (or you'll need to get replacements for those never returned to you). With kegs, you really don't need to worry so much. At worse, you'll need to change parts from time to time (minimal costs).

 

[nefarious_1_]

.

 

[Golddiggie]

I agree it might not be $400 completely, but consider you need that kit plus a chest freezer, plus some DIY expenditures, plus the cost of refrigerating the entire 5 gallons for months

The fridge I picked up costs under $40 per YEAR to run... My regular (food) fridge isn't large enough to keep enough bottles chilled to keep me in home brew/drinking. Far easier with kegs... I believe new (in stores as new now) chest freezers actually cost even less to run per year (I have a 9.9 cu. ft. fridge for brew)... So about $3/month to run the fridge/freezer for your home brew... Too small an amount to really think about, unless you're that anal about costs.

 

[Brew_4iT]

I reuse miller and coors home draft mini kegs. Perfect for conditioning, traveling, and less time consuming. Doesn't take much to reuse either, just buy some 16 gram food grade cartridges, pop off the old one by using a wrench and taking off the tabs. Then all you need to do is prime it, condition for a week, cold condition it for a day or so and pop in a cartridge for good pressure, I've even used it without the cartridges but I find once I get near the bottom the co2 pressure will be mostly gone. Found a few mini kegs for free too.

Coors/Miller Home draft system: New $17.99 - $19.99 (Free depending on source)
16 gram co2 cartridges: Usually find them $1.99 a piece, a little less if you buy a bunch
.... and that's it

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I bottle because I don't have the money or room for a keg set up. So I don't have a choice. I even have a party pig that I wish I had the room to use but I don't have enough fridge space to hold it anymore. I like the idea of being able to pull a few ounces of a beer as a taste. Then again, I'd probably drink a lot more because I'd pull many small glasses and those calories would add up.

I like being able to put bottles in the fridge and have a lot of variety available at once. I usually fit 2-3 six packs in the fridge between homebrew and commercial which normally means I have 6-12 different types of beer available at any given moment. I like the variety.

I also have about 500-600 bottles so it's pretty hard to justify not using the bottles, at least for now. Plus, my wife really loves capping so I'd hate to take that away from her.

 

[Beezy]

I don't want to mess around with that crap. I am getting a small fridge and a corny set up at the nearest convenience. Hopefully it will be convenient sometime in the next 12 months lol. Until then I bottle.

 

[osagedr]

Pretty happy with my setup. Everything gets carbed up in a keg; I bottle from there if it's something worth keeping for competition or if I need the keg space.

Buddy gave me a full nitrogen tank today. Guess I'll have to make a stout to see what it's like to push beer with N.

 

[Brew_4iT]

lol from my stand point I've never messed around with bottling... so much more work. Maybe a grolsh now and then but why do 50+ bottles if I can do 3-4 min kegs in a few minutes?

Never had any problems, besides one mini keg (which I realized was an easy fix). Good luck with your bottling!

 

[ozzy1038]

For me a 20# CO2 costs $21.00 to fill. Based upon the maximum of 87 5gal kegs per 20# cylinder it would run me $0.24 per keg. Even at the low end of 62 5gal kegs would be $0.33 per keg. Of course the initial cost and setup can be limiting. I think the time factor and ability to have draft beer make it worthwhile. I just got into kegging, but will still bottle. I don't mind bottling.

 

[wolfstar]

I kegged my first batch last week after bottling all previously. Yes, the initial outlay is price. But think of how mouch more you can brew with the time saved on bottling. Still, I will likely bottle some batches in the future if doing so would get me closer to the style goal...

 

[C-Rider]

400-500 bucks? Here's one for 159:

http://morebeer.com/view_product/12015/102298/Basic_Homebrew_Draft_System_-_Pin_Lock

Now that IS before tax but the shipping is free. Also have to consider there is a price involved with fillng up the Co2 container....comparable to the priming sugar and extra time cleaning a bunch of bottles, maybe? In any case a far cry from 400-500 bucks.

Everyone here has raised a bunch of good points. The important thing to realise is that there are pluses and minuses both ways...and there's a bunch of reasons that people with keg systems still bottle from time to time. I do it to ship beer to family members or easily share it with people. And like some touched upon here, while it may be much less of a hassle to keg it's not really an option for some people. Even if you find a kegging system significantly cheaper than the one I posted above it's a huge expense to justify for many.

That's only one keg. Then there is the freezer to put it in. The the other keg set-up so you have a choise of what to drink. I bottle and have 4 or 5 brews to choose from when I open my fridge. I can put 40 bottles in my drinking fridge.

 

[Brewenstein]

#1 reason I don't keg is money.

#2 reason is I don't have the space for a kegerator and multi tap set up.

#3 reason is I like too large a variety of beer and like to brew more often. I have over 20 cases of home brew in my basement, and about 12 different styles. I like being able to load my fridge and grab whatever I have a taste for at that moment.

 

[Beezy]

I ain't going to lie I want to keg but I don't mind bottling at all. It's all a part of the hobby. I am not one that just wants the lazy and quick route just so I can get drunk. I still have at least a few bottles left from each of my brews. I like that. Ill probably still bottle after I am kegging.

 

[austin_hubbell]

Just moved to kegs and it is great, the time to transfer vs bottling is awesome however I do still plan on doing a batch now and again in bottles to distribute to friends who can't make it over for the drafts all the time. I don't think this is a one way street if you can afford it go to kegs but by now means does that mean bottling has to be over forever, in some ways bottling is kinda fun and apart of the hobby.

 

[Brew_4iT]

I don't mind bottling a few each batch. I just don't get why people don't see the value in reusing mini kegs?

Is it just because the label suggests a BMC drinker? I don't get it, seems like a no brainer to me. Hell, you could pour out the beer and still make out in the end. I don't know how many batches I've done with these mini kegs, but all I've needed to do is reinsert the valves that pop the cartridges a few times with pliers. Always great beer in the end.

 

[1Mainebrew]

To start out with, I both keg and bottle.

The benefits of bottling are:
1) long term storage
2) Keeping brews around for variety packs
3) Having your wife or whoever help you with capping and feeling like they're helping out a lot
4) Cheaper
5) Labeling your beer if you're into that kind of thing

The benefits of kegging are:
1) Decreased risk of oxidation and infection due to a CO2 rich environment that you're transferring to (plus its full of starsan)
2) The corny can double as a secondary
3) Ease and consistency of carbonation with the turn of a dial
4) Ability to pull smaller or larger amounts of your next-up in the pipeline
5) Ability to bottle from the keg for like $5 (using a sanitized racking cane in the end of a picnic tap and a small bung that fits in the top of a bottle)- thereby eliminating the benefits of bottling #1 and #2.
6) Can be used as fermenters for fermenting under pressure, or as a really wonderful way of fermenting lagers especially (corny's just so happen to be the same price as carboys)
7) Easier to clean.
8) Stainless is impervious to light, thereby no skunking
9) No risk of bottle bombs.

I love kegging, and I love bottling- I just prefer bottling from the keg.