bottle, can , or keg it?

[Jonathan Swann]

I still fairly new to the world of home brew, I was at the my local home brew store and saw they had cans. I started to wonder if it would be cheaper to can or should i stay with bottles. I would do a keg system, but that would require me to save up more money and I really do not know how long beer can fresh in there.
What containers are you using and why?

 

[kh54s10]

I am bottling right now because my kegging is in storage. I do both kegging and bottling. Some beers keep for a very long time. I don't want to tie up a keg for a couple of years.

Canning has the highest up front cost. Canning machines are very expensive.

Bottling is cheapest. You can save crimp on bottles from commercial beers = FREE. Bottling bucket, bottling wand, a short piece of vinyl tubing, caps and a capper are all you need

 

[Iseneye]

Kegging for numerous reasons.

 

[ehk089]

Kegging, it’s fast and easy...much cheaper than cost of can Seamers I’ve seen

 

[grampamark]

Keg. I'm an old guy. Old people don't know how much time they have left and I’ll be damned if I’m going to spend any more of my remaining time packaging beer than is necessary. Bottling is slow and messy and the time it takes to clean and sanitize bottles alone, let alone the time it takes to fill and cap them, turned me off to the process early in my brewing career.

I have a 3 tap kegerator, 8 kegs, and a cold room in my basement that never gets over 60°, even in the summer. I can tie a keg, or 2, up for months, if necessary.

 

[JHulen]

I still fairly new to the world of home brew, I was at the my local home brew store and saw they had cans. I started to wonder if it would be cheaper to can or should i stay with bottles. I would do a keg system, but that would require me to save up more money and I really do not know how long beer can fresh in there.
What containers are you using and why?

Personally, I don’t know any homebrewer that cans their beer. Very expensive. If you can afford to spend a few hundred dollars kegging is definitely worth it. Not only is it easier and faster, but the beer has less exposure to oxygen, and is kept cold the entire time. All good things for making better beer. Also sometimes you just want a taste, or to let someone have a taste when they don’t want a whole bottle.

 

[Jag75]

I started bottling but went to kegging. I bottle certain beers if I dont want them in a keg because it's an every so often beer . Sometimes I'll even bottle from a keg .

 

[JimRausch]

7+ years after starting and approaching my 150th batch, and I'm still bottling.
Partially, I'm a cheap bugger.
But I also like variety, and at any one time, I might have 20ish different beers to choose from.
Bottling is a bit of a chore, but a mindless chore, and I have a system that makes it pretty easy. Waiting on accumulating empty bottles is my biggest issue.

 

[McKnuckle]

Bottle until you can afford to keg.

 

[shoengine]

I do both, but mainly use my kegs as Brite tanks before bottling. I probably took the most expensive route to bottling (click the link below to find out how), but it is very important to me to be able to share my beer.

 

[Alex4mula]

Keg. If you want/need bottles you can fill them from keg a lot easier.

 

[ncbrewer]

I bottle because kegging equipment takes up a lot of room. My wife is very supportive of my brewing, and I don't want to take over the house.

 

[kh54s10]

I bottle because kegging equipment takes up a lot of room. My wife is very supportive of my brewing, and I don't want to take over the house.

You need a bigger house or a new wife.....

 

[Oz Dogg]

I still fairly new to the world of home brew, I was at the my local home brew store and saw they had cans. I started to wonder if it would be cheaper to can or should i stay with bottles. I would do a keg system, but that would require me to save up more money and I really do not know how long beer can fresh in there.
What containers are you using and why?

Kegging is not that expensive and it will save you a lot of time. If you don't want to buy new equipment, you can always buy used. Cheers!

 

[Novacor]

I bottle because kegging equipment takes up a lot of room. My wife is very supportive of my brewing, and I don't want to take over the house.

I used to think the same thing, but honestly the footprint of my kegerator is about the same as the cases of empty bottles that I used to always have to keep on hand.

It also only took one bottle exploding in the hall closet for my wife to become fully supportive of my new kegging equipment.

 

[JHulen]

You need a bigger house or a new wife.....

I have a 10 cubic foot chest freezer with 4 kegs in our 1 bedroom apartment. For fermenting I have a brew jacket immersion pro that sits next to the TV. I live by my father’s advice, “son, it’s easier to get forgiveness than to get permission”. Seriously though it’s not a problem, my wife thinks it’s really cool.

 

[Dennis Sampson]

I like to keg my beer. When I go places I just fill a growler and enjoy it elsewhere.

 

[k-os]

I've been bottling so far (6 extract batches made). I've got 4 kegs ready for when I get my keezer built. Have everything I need for it other than CO2 and a drip tray. Once classes finish up this semester I'll start working on it and making a space for it in the basement.

 

[Tbagger]

Kegging for sure. As with almost everyone, I started out bottling before switching to kegging. I quickly came to realize that bottling is a major pain in the ass. Canning is the most expensive and I imagine that it's just as much, if not more, of a hassle as bottling. I have a beer gun that allows me to bottle from my kegs if I want to bottle condition something or if I need to bring a small amount to a party. As for aging in a keg, I have had no problems with spoiling and have 22 kegs, so I always have some spares for a brew that needs time.

 

[Beerfly28]

For anyone that doesn’t have a keezer or Kegerator how do you keep your kegs cold?

 

[kh54s10]

For anyone that doesn’t have a keezer or Kegerator how do you keep your legs cold?

I keep my "legs" cold with air conditioning. Kegs on the other-hand need some sort of refrigeration. I started out with kegs in a refrigerator with the co2 bottle and regulator inside and picnic taps. I later added faucets through the door. An alternative is the keezer, a chest freezer with a temperature controller. Collar or not depends on depth and taps.

 

[Jonathan Swann]

I started bottling but went to kegging. I bottle certain beers if I dont want them in a keg because it's an every so often beer . Sometimes I'll even bottle from a keg .

So it is possible to bottle from the keg, I would be afraid of losing the co2.

 

[burntchef]

I am fairly new. 1.5 years into my brew adventure. I kegged right from he beginning based on volume. Ask yourself " how much beer do I drink in a month ". I am good for 6 gallons a month if work does not piss me off. If work pisses me, volume goes up. I did not want a second full time job bottling and cleaning and sanitizing, rinse and repeat. I brew 10 gallons at a clip once a month. That is 2 corny kegs a batch. I scored a kegerator on craigslist with a 30# co2 tank that was full for 250.00 from a guy that was moving.
Good luck
Eric

 

[Jag75]

So it is possible to bottle from the keg, I would be afraid of losing the co2.

Yup. If I bottle from my keg I usually drink it within that day or 2. I have popped a bottle 2 months later and the co2 level was fine. Brewing companies basically do the same thing. They carb while in bright tanks and bottle . At least the ones I've been to.

 

[Jelmi]

I too started out with bottling, but I’ve recently swicthed to kegging (and a kegerator... yeah!) Saves me time and there is more room in the house since I don’t need to keep empty bottles all over the place anymore.

 

[Yooper]

So it is possible to bottle from the keg, I would be afraid of losing the co2.

You can use a Blichmann beergun, a counterpressure bottle filler, or even a DIY beer gun, and you won't lose any carbonation. I've entered beers in competition numerous times with this method: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/we-no-need-no-stinking-beer-gun.24678/ I even bottled a Belgian triple that way, and stored it for a couple of years without any lose of c02 or noticeable oxidation.

I got a beergun for Christmas about 10 years ago, but I rarely use it. It's still easier most times to just set up the free DIY set up.

 

[MMM2]

Bottling for numerous reasons.

 

[oakbarn]

We have 54 Kegs. Most are 5 gallon but about eight 2.5. Much less cleaning and filling is a breeze. There are several guys in our group.