I’m joining the dark side

[El Nino]

For a couple years I’ve been adamant about bottling, and I’m not sure if this is a natural progression of things, but one day I just said F it, bottling day is the one thing I hate.

So, I just bought a couple kegs from my LHBS and another fridge

 

[bracconiere]

right on, right on! don't forget the 20lb co2 tank though! and regulator.....QD's.....but definitely better then bottling!

 

[FloppyKnockers]

You're going to need more kegs...



And beer line, gas line, regulator, manifolds, faucets, money, tap handles, power tools, therapy, quick disconnects, 20# tank, 5# tank for back-up, spare gaskets, marriage counseling, a couple more kegs, poppets, tap shanks, and some hose clamps. That's about it though. Welcome to kegging

 

[Brew_Dude41]

Congrats and enjoy the time you will save.

 

[bracconiere]

You're going to need more kegs...



And beer line, gas line, regulator, manifolds, faucets, money, tap handles, power tools, therapy, quick disconnects, 20# tank, 5# tank for back-up, spare gaskets, marriage counseling, a couple more kegs, poppets, tap shanks, and some hose clamps. That's about it though. Welcome to kegging

yeah...maybe, but it's still better then bottling!

 

[El Nino]

You're going to need more kegs...



And beer line, gas line, regulator, manifolds, faucets, money, tap handles, power tools, therapy, quick disconnects, 20# tank, 5# tank for back-up, spare gaskets, marriage counseling, a couple more kegs, poppets, tap shanks, and some hose clamps. That's about it though. Welcome to kegging

luckily I’m not married yet and the place I bought wasn’t one I bought with someone else, so it’s my house... for now

if anything, my girlfriend always commented on the bottle trees and empty bottles by the sink. At least a kegerator and growlers look cooler lol.

I have to keep the operation small though, currently living in a 2 bedroom apartment so I just bought a double tap kegerator, mainly cause it’s less real estate than a Chest freezer

 

[Yesfan]

Go with Duofit for your gas/beer line connectors and EVA Barrier for your gas/beer lines. Here's a link where some of us discussing it. LINK

 

[Transamguy77]

You’ll never go back, I make 10 gallon batches and I said I’ll keg half and bottle half, I have never bottled another batch. Kegs take up way less space and after all the upfront costs it is easier and less time consuming than bottling, at least IMHO.

I have bought and acquired enough kegs now that even if I want to age something I can just put that keg away for as long as I need.

 

[mongoose33]

You're gonna need a bigger boat......



.....er....refrigerator....or freezer for a keezer....or kegerator....

 

[Jag75]

I knew youd come around lol !

 

[El Nino]

You're going to need more kegs...

You're already right. I'm thinking of buying 1-2 more just to have a ready-to-go keg when one of em gets kicked.

I was thinking of brewing a batch before one gets emptied and priming it so it'll be ready to rock once it's hooked up and chilled. Is that a good way to go? I honestly don't mind a little sediment, being used to drinking bottled beer all this time.

 

[robertlhawley]

My only regret after moving to kegging (20 years ago) was that I didn’t do it sooner!

Also it’s pretty easy to bottle some from the keg if you want to share or send for a competition...

 

[FloppyKnockers]

You're already right. I'm thinking of buying 1-2 more just to have a ready-to-go keg when one of em gets kicked.

I was thinking of brewing a batch before one gets emptied and priming it so it'll be ready to rock once it's hooked up and chilled. Is that a good way to go? I honestly don't mind a little sediment, being used to drinking bottled beer all this time.

It's a great way to go. There's a couple different school's of thought on this. You could naturally prime a keg - pour sugar in and let it sit for a couple weeks just like you do bottles. You could also hook it up to gas at serving pressure at serving temperature and after a week or so it'll be carbonated. There are different gas carbonation practices, but that's a different thread.

Personally I have seven kegs and three taps. Generally, there are three being served and four either full and waiting to be served or waiting to be filled.

 

[LittleRiver]

You're going to love it. There's still cleaning and work involved, just a lot less of it.

Bottling off the tap is easy. Keep everything cold, and you'll have far less foaming issues. You don't need an expensive or complicated rig for it. I have an adapter that screws onto my faucets, with about a 14" hose (long enough to reach the bottom of my biggest growler). I keep the hose in the freezer, along with a few sanitized bottles (tops covered with little pieces of aluminum foil). I chill the faucet by pulling the first couple of ounces into a glass. I dispose of that down my throat, then bottle. Bottling a few beers this way is ridiculously easy compared to priming and bottling a full 5gal batch.

 

[adrichi]

Good move. Think expansion. After enjoying the ease of kegging, you will want to have multiple.
And definitely a spare CO2 tank.

 

[El Nino]

Good move. Think expansion. After enjoying the ease of kegging, you will want to have multiple.
And definitely a spare CO2 tank.

Already on that spare CO2 tank. Something is addicting about being able to pull on a tap and get beer at will lol.

 

[madscientist451]

The next step, get more kegs, ferment your hoppy beers in kegs and do closed transfers...

 

[El Nino]

Just an update, man I'm loving it lol. Got my 2nd keg in there a couple days ago (Belgian Wit) and probably going to make an apple cider for the gf who doesn't like beer but loves cider.

Instead of a 2 hour bottling / cleaning process, it took 30 mins, and that included installing new air lines / connectors and a 3-way gas manifold to accommodate the 2nd and 3rd kegs, & checking the system for leaks.

I have to admit, I was intimidated at first, working with the kegs and CO2 for the first time, but once you get the hang of it, I don't see how anyone can possibly go back.

Also an added bonus, with the whole needing to buy more groceries and stay inside, I don't have my fridge halfway filled up with 70+ bottles of beer. I guarantee my gf and I would have argued about the lack of fridge space if I was still bottling