What's wrong with bottling?

[MetallHed]

More power to you if you enjoy bottling. I know I don't like my friends that much that they need my beer bottled.

I dont like my friends that much to have them over at my house all the time for tappers..

"Here's a bottle. Now go away."

Or better yet... USPS!

 

[mlyday]

I think it depends on how much you are brewing, I do a 5Gal batch every month to month and a half, bottling in not a problem, but If Iwas brewing once a week, I might be really sick of it. I will be moving to kegs, just because of the ease, and coolness factor, but I will still bottle some for the giveaway/portability factor.

 

[carl_g]

I bottled my first batch and then bought a kegging system. IMO it is way easier to keg and you have a lot more control over your carbonation levels. I still bottle directly from my keg if I want to give beer away.

 

[akthor]

You don't have to have a keezer or kegerator to keg. Kegs and the CO2 bottle take up less space than storing all those bottles IMHO.

i dont have room to keg, money to get into kegging and bottles are cheap if you know how to get them(it sounds bad but ill raid ppls recycling bins lmfao)

 

[IrregularPulse]

The biggest thing (IMO) is with kegging you're cleaning, sanitizing and filling 1 vessel. With bottling, you're doing all that with 50. Plus, All I do is use a single piece of vinyl tubing to transfer from primary to keg. No bottling bucket or priming sugar solution to cook up, no bottling wand, no capping, ect.

It is more equipment as far as needing a dedicated fridge and a co2 bottle. It's definitely cheaper to bottle, but kegging was money very well spent for me.

 

[lmerg]

I'm now four batches into bottling. The process isn't as arduous as I'd thought, although we often have three people working the "bottling line." I think the most depressing aspect is cracking open the bottle a week later and adding to the "to be washed" pile.

 

[NuclearRich]

I've done somewhere close to ten batches and I do find bottling to be a little bit of a chore. But nothing good comes easily. When it is time to bottle, I already have the bottles pre rinsed and in storage. I simply bunker down and commit some time to it, just as I do when I find the time to brew. It is all work, its just whether or not you enjoy it.

 

[I_B_Mongo]

I don't think that bottling is a big deal, but admit that I usually keg my beers as well. I've been luck in my kegging adventures, as I was given my first keg/CO2 bottle/regulator from a co-worker who was no longer in the hobby...then was given a couple kegs from my cousin's husband who works at a brew pub...found a 20# CO2 tank laying out in an empty lot...was given another 20# tank from my dad's friend who owns an HVAC company (along with a Nitro tank and regulator), was given a pallet! of 16 kegs! from a coke distributor, so I don't have much money invested in kegging. I still bottle at least a 6 pack of each batch, and bottle all of my big beers (barleywines, RIS, etc in bombers) and whatever else is better in bottles (hefes, belgians, etc).

With all of that said, when it comes to bottling, just rinse your bottles after pouring, and sanitize all your bottles in a big rubbermade container on bottling day. Also, be sure to check out revy's thread on bottling. Lots of great ideas/shortcuts/time savers!

 

[Naked_Eskimo]

The constant recycling of bottles is annoying. However, with kegging you're limited with keg space and keg turnover how much you can brew.

 

[lmerg]

With the caveat that I've only bottled four 5-gallon batches, I have to say that I get a childlike thrill every time I walk into our bottle-filled ferm room.

 

[Homercidal]

I love having cold beer on tap, but I also like to bottle those special beers that will sit for a while. For me the PITA aspect of bottling was not the reason for going to kegs. It was more to just have a tap right behind me that I can pour a fresh beer from.

The kegging has turned out to be a bit of a PITA as well. From slow leaks to balancing the carb and foam. Once you get it down it's fine, but except for the washing bottles part, bottling is not that hard. And once you have the bottles cleaned, just rinse them with water right after you pour and you are set to sanitize the next time. No washing needed.

 

[Hermit]

I don't drink that much. I'd like to keg for portion control (12 ounces is more than I usually want to drink at one time) but I'd have to have 6 kegs (minimum) on tap at any one time to match what I have in variety from bottles and those kegs would empty VERY slowly around here.

 

[smokinghole]

I'd be doing both if I had the $$ to keg. Plus SWMBO says "a kegerator will take up too much space" so my hands are tied unless I can show her that a kegerator would replace the empty bottles and full bottles in the closet.

I have found that having a bottling tree with the sulfiter/rinser top helps make bottling so easy I'm done with a batch in no time. If it weren't for those two pieces of equipment I would agree that bottling is a serious pain in the ass.

 

[prosper]

Bottling never really bothered me too terribly much, but I prefer kegging because I can get clearer beer without sediment, and more consistent carbonation levels.

 

[Egghead]

Bottling isn't hard at all. I find it enjoyable, just like the brewing end of the hobby. But I think it's a bit disingenuous to say that it takes no time. Last time I bottled a 5 gallon batch, it took just around 2 hours. That included racking from carboy to bottling bucket, sanitizing the bottles, adding the sugar, filling the bottles, degassing, topping up, capping, and putting them in a dark place to carb up.

 

[Manfish]

plus, it's kinda badass to have beer on tap at home.

+1 to that! And not just beer on tap *MY* beer on tap!

to me its all about the beer and I muchmore prefer the taste of the beer when its kegged vs from a bottle. When I pull off the tap, I dont have to worry about getting yeast in my glass. I get a great clear beer every time (until the last couple beers).

I have so many freakin bottles in my garage I dont know what to do with them... anyone here local to the Olympia, WA area that needs bottles cheap? Just come get them

 

[petep1980]

The time of it.

 

[sudbuster]

Bottling is great, but i do it out of cornies to provide beer of consistent carbonation and without gunk in the bottom. Kegging is not any less work or time if the beer is going into a bottle.

 

[shelly_belly]

I hate sediment but love bottles (seems more tangible). Therefore, I keg, then bottle. It's even more work, but hey, I'm drinking draft while bottling, so I'm having a good time. It's a labor of love...and I love every minute of it.