To keg or not to keg??

[unionrdr]

Well, at this stage of the game, for me, Co2 purchases for a 10lb tank or so to run a 3 keg kegerator would cost prohibitive. So bottling it is. Priming sugar is cheaper & a 10 cu ft fridge is a couple hundred at two places where I can use my plastic. It'd fit about 18 or so 12oz beers on each of the shelves if spaced right. Then I can have 3-4 different beers in there, including a freezer for hops & space on the door for yeast & LME. So spend a similar amount on a fridge & prime, or get a keg system & keep buying Co2...

 

[numba1brew]

I think it really depends on how much you're willing to invest into brewing. I like to think of keg's as the gateway between a part time hobby and something you're really serious about. If you're going to try and sell your batches, or you have some free money to spend I would say go for the keg, otherwise skip it!

 

[ericbw]

I think it really depends on how much you're willing to invest into brewing. I like to think of keg's as the gateway between a part time hobby and something you're really serious about. If you're going to try and sell your batches, or you have some free money to spend I would say go for the keg, otherwise skip it!

You can't sell your batches of home brew.

 

[beergolf]

I like to think of keg's as the gateway between a part time hobby and something you're really serious about.

I totally disagree with this. If kegs work for you then great. But you cannot sell homebrew, so it is a hobby. If you want to go pro then do it, but as a homebrewer, kegs do not make you a more serious brewer.

It all depends on what you brew. I brew a lot of Belgians, Saisons and Sours. A lot of these like age on them and it would be almost impossible to keg them all. I have probably probably over 30 brews ( in varying amounts) aging in my basement. Can I keg all of them? No. So bottling and aging them is the best option. Do the Belgian and sour brewers keg their brews? No 99.9% of them are bottled. So these breweries that have been around for generations are not serious? Does that make me a not serious brewer, because I bottle most of my brews? I am about as serious as you can get about producing the best brews I can.

Do I keg? Yes of course. I have 2 taps. I usually have an IPA on tap on one tap. The other tap is a Nitro tap that usually has a stout or an Irish red on it. So maybe I am semi serious.I also have about 10-12 different brews in the fridge. So great variety. I can pick bewteewn many brews when I go to the fridge. Most cannot have a 15 tap sysem in their house.

Kegging has nothing to do with being serious about brewing.

 

[unionrdr]

To all this, I have to say the passion, or seriousness, is in the brewing & fermenting. Packaging is more practical to the brew. I just decided to stick to bottling because of my age. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to enjoy this hobby. Till I die, I hope.

 

[beergolf]

I agree with unionrdr on this one. It is just about packaging. Kegging or bottling has nothing to do with your passion.

I have tasted crappy brews that were kegged, and tasted some of the best brews I have ever had that were bottled. The package does not make the beer.

 

[numba1brew]

You can't sell your batches of home brew.

I didn't actually mean sell, more like giveaway to friends

 

[Billy-Klubb]

I voted "Other". if you're not drinking beer straight from the bucket or carboy, you're home brewering all wrong.

 

[beergolf]

I didn't actually mean sell, more like giveaway to friends

Then bottles are easier....:smack:

 

[schematix]

I bought 2 kegs with all my brew equipment for my first batch. I knew bottling 10G was going to suck.

Now i'm up to 7 kegs and sometimes wish i had more...

 

[ericbw]

You will waste less beer with kegs. The friends that taste a bottle and don't like it. The people who tip it bottom up and wonder why it tastes funky. The times when you only want half.

But for giving away, bottling from the keg is frustrating and messy.

 

[unionrdr]

That's where taster glasses come in handy.

 

[kombat]

That's where taster glasses come in handy.

Right. But I think he means that with bottling, you can't just open a bottle, pour half into a taster glass, then recap it and put the bottle back in the fridge. Once it's been opened, it must be drank in its entirety, or wasted. With kegging, you can pour off a half-glass or a taster glass, and no beer goes to waste.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, that's true. Not a problem when there's a couple people drinking, at any rate.

 

[murphyslaw]

.

But for giving away, bottling from the keg is frustrating and messy.

Look into getting a beer gun. After trying the biermuncher method a couple times with poor results, i bought a beer gun and bottling became super fast, easy, and clean.

 

[Remmy]

A tank lasts about 4 and some times 5 beers for me. !

That's crazy. I, too, have a 5-lb. CO2 tank and it lasts me through roughly 15 5.5-gallon kegs.

 

[wilserbrewer]

BUT you have to keep buying c02 which is about $18-20 for my 5 lb tank. A tank lasts about 4 and some times 5 beers for me. I have a very small budget to brew with so when that budget is low it's back to bottles I go. I'd rather spend that $20 on grain/hops/yeast and keep the beer flowing over spending it on the satisfaction of pulling my own pint.

If the cost of CO2 is an issue, buy a 5 lb bag of cane sugar and prime your kegs and let them carb. The CO2 used to just dispense the beer is far less than that required to force carb. I have a 20 lb tank that only costs around $20 to fill, so there is not much savings to be had, but with a 5 lb tank and fills at $20, table sugar will be cheaper.

I think my local grocer has a 4 or 5 pound bag of sugar on sale for only $1.49....that's a lot of CO2 I'd imagine

 

[kombat]

That's crazy. I, too, have a 5-lb. CO2 tank and it lasts me through roughly 15 5.5-gallon kegs.

Carb + serve or just serve?

 

[Remmy]

Carb + serve or just serve?

Carb and serve. I carb at 30 psi (shake for 90 seconds) and set to 10 psi for serving.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Everyone is always repeating the downside of setting up a kegging system is the upfront cost. I have a slightly different viewpoint. I have acquired a bunch of kegging equipment on the used market, CO2 tanks, sanke kegs and couplers, cheap / free fridges and freezers. Most if not all of my kegging equipment is worth about exactly what I paid for it 5 years ago, so my actual cost of kegging will be nil someday, perhaps only when my heirs sell it off

Now bottle caps, those things are getting pricey

 

[slym2none]

Right. But I think he means that with bottling, you can't just open a bottle, pour half into a taster glass, then recap it and put the bottle back in the fridge. Once it's been opened, it must be drank in its entirety, or wasted. With kegging, you can pour off a half-glass or a taster glass, and no beer goes to waste.

If I didn't need to drink 12 oz. of beer, I didn't need 3 oz, 4 oz, 6 oz, or 8 oz.

 

[DU99]

as a few have stated go the whole hog ,get keg's,but a few post's i have read money is one the main factor's they don't go into kegs.i bottled for about 18 months, got bit's and pieces for kegging as i went along now i only bottle is for competition or going to a party (growler)

 

[Wldthang87]

Google "why not both meme" for my voting answer.....
I started out kegging, and I think that's what's kept me in the hobby, if I had to bottle my first batch it probably would of lead to inconsistencies and bad bottles. Kegging is easier and thanks to the Internet relatively straight forward. Friends have quit home brewing because of bottling issues. I've gotten all their bottling stuff for free. So I keg and bottle.

However the problem of waiting to share homebrew with friends, and club members makes you bottle anyways.

If you have the money, or can figure out a cheap way to do it. Go for it!

 

[bobeer]

Carb and serve. I carb at 30 psi (shake for 90 seconds) and set to 10 psi for serving.

I must be doing something wrong then. If I can get 30 batches out of one 5lb tank that would be KILLER!
So you force carb at 30 psi for 90 seconds then put it down to 10 psi after that 90 seconds?

 

[Remmy]

I must be doing something wrong then. If I can get 30 batches out of one 5lb tank that would be KILLER!
So you force carb at 30 psi for 90 seconds then put it down to 10 psi after that 90 seconds?

Correct.

 

[bucfan1234]

I bottled a few early batches of cider, and that cured me. Went to keg for my first batch of beer, which was a one gallon all grain coffee stout that got me hooked on home brewing.

I already had a kegerator, co2 bottle and regulator so the cost of kegging homebrew was limited to a used corny and the post connectors. (Initially got into homebrew because the cost of commercially kegged brews had gotten out of hand imo)

Kegging and force carbing is easier than bottling, so much so that I have never even thought of bottling again.

 

[ericbw]

I bottled a few early batches of cider, and that cured me. Went to keg for my first batch of beer, which was a one gallon all grain coffee stout that got me hooked on home brewing.

I already had a kegerator, co2 bottle and regulator so the cost of kegging homebrew was limited to a used corny and the post connectors. (Initially got into homebrew because the cost of commercially kegged brews had gotten out of hand imo)

Kegging and force carbing is easier than bottling, so much so that I have never even thought of bottling again.

What size keg did you use for a one gallon batch?

We got a small keg set up because of cider. It's the easiest way to get sweet, carbonated hard cider. Then beer followed. And a fridge. And... And... And...

 

[bucfan1234]

I used a regular 5 gallon corny keg for the one gallon batch.

 

[stormrider27]

I started brewing over 20 years ago. I adequate **** beer and I bottled it. I was in college and was doing it to beat trying to buy underage. If you are not sure where your future is in home brew buy 3 cases of pop tops and a bucket and go that route. If you normally drink 2 cases of beer or so a week find a kegorator on Craigslist for cheap and go that route. I started brewing after a 10 year hiatus and went the keg route because I have the kegorator. In hindsight it seems like a no brainer now. 25 years ago I wouldn't have done it though and I don't regret it.

Storm

 

[LostBoyScout]

I know that kegging is madly popular around here, but I'm on the fence personally. I'm not currently doing so due to space and budget reasons but even once those aren't an issue there's a few things to consider:

- Yes it's a lot easier to clean a keg than a bunch of bottles, but you need to clean the lines and fill/exchange the CO2 tank occasionally which tip the balance a bit.

- A lot of things I want to brew do well to condition in bottle for a while. I like being able to drink my stronger ales and farmhouse ales over many months / years.

Ideally I'd have a kegorator with 2 or 3 taps and have things like English milds, table saisons, IPAs etc on tap and then still bottle a variety of stronger and more unique brews. I guess what I'm trying to say is if I had to pick one or the other, bottling would win 100%. But both is the best.

 

[Toejam792]

None of my friends drink pop top bottles, so when I started brewing beer last year I had to get my own bottles. I spent $60 on Sam Adams that I wouldn't of bought if it wasn't for the bottles, and that was for one batch. Of course I had to brew again while that was priming so there's another $60. I could of gotten a economy ball lock kit from adventures in home brew for $100 to cover the 1st batch. They sell loose handle kegs for $28. So for $15, with shipping, more I could of kegged my first two batches.

 

[BeerFst]

None of my friends drink pop top bottles, so when I started brewing beer last year I had to get my own bottles. I spent $60 on Sam Adams that I wouldn't of bought if it wasn't for the bottles, and that was for one batch. Of course I had to brew again while that was priming so there's another $60. I could of gotten a economy ball lock kit from adventures in home brew for $100 to cover the 1st batch. They sell loose handle kegs for $28. So for $15, with shipping, more I could of kegged my first two batches.

Why not just buy bottles online/LHBS, it cost me a little over 14 bucks for 12 22oz bottles at my LHBS when i bought them.

I started kegging from day one cause Im impatient and decided to make a kegerator out of a mini fridge i found on craigslist. I use biermunchers bottling method off the keg and it has suited me just fine

 

[slym2none]

I will never keg.

Repeat...

I will never keg.

 

[ericbw]

None of my friends drink pop top bottles, so when I started brewing beer last year I had to get my own bottles. I spent $60 on Sam Adams that I wouldn't of bought if it wasn't for the bottles, and that was for one batch. Of course I had to brew again while that was priming so there's another $60. I could of gotten a economy ball lock kit from adventures in home brew for $100 to cover the 1st batch. They sell loose handle kegs for $28. So for $15, with shipping, more I could of kegged my first two batches.

Buying empty bottles is definitely cheaper. Especially if you didn't want the Sam Adams.

But I agree that kegging can be cheaper, except you need a fridge to do it.

 

[ericbw]

None of my friends drink pop top bottles, so when I started brewing beer last year I had to get my own bottles. I spent $60 on Sam Adams that I wouldn't of bought if it wasn't for the bottles, and that was for one batch. Of course I had to brew again while that was priming so there's another $60. I could of gotten a economy ball lock kit from adventures in home brew for $100 to cover the 1st batch. They sell loose handle kegs for $28. So for $15, with shipping, more I could of kegged my first two batches.

Buying empty bottles is definitely cheaper. Especially if you didn't want the Sam Adams.

But I agree that kegging can be cheaper, except you need a fridge to do it.

 

[bucfan1234]

I know that kegging is madly popular around here, but I'm on the fence personally. I'm not currently doing so due to space and budget reasons but even once those aren't an issue there's a few things to consider:

- Yes it's a lot easier to clean a keg than a bunch of bottles, but you need to clean the lines and fill/exchange the CO2 tank occasionally which tip the balance a bit.

- A lot of things I want to brew do well to condition in bottle for a while. I like being able to drink my stronger ales and farmhouse ales over many months / years.

Ideally I'd have a kegorator with 2 or 3 taps and have things like English milds, table saisons, IPAs etc on tap and then still bottle a variety of stronger and more unique brews. I guess what I'm trying to say is if I had to pick one or the other, bottling would win 100%. But both is the best.

Cleaning the lines has not been an issue for me. When I sanitize a keg, I simply hook it up the the tap and run a gallon or two of star san through the system. To me, that is much easier than cleaning 53 bottles.

I understand bottling specialty beers that need long periods for aging.

That said, I don't really see a reason why an ale couldn't be cask conditioned in a keg, and I think some do this with real ales, etc. It also seems that a beer could be stored in a properly sanitized and pressurized keg for a relatively long period of time without an issue.

 

[jbb3]

... BUT you have to keep buying c02 which is about $18-20 for my 5 lb tank. A tank lasts about 4 and some times 5 beers for me...

I assume you mean 4 or 5 batches/kegs?? You must have a leak. I have a 3 tap keezer and a 5lb tank will last me 7-8 batches/kegs. Which for my consumption rate means about every 6 months I need a refill.

 

[Wild1z]

@Ariza-Poet do a combination of bottles and growlers to start.

After a couple of years of bottles, I decided to go kegs, one at time. I now have 4 kegs, 6 glass growlers and 3 Stainless steel growlers. I'm never bottling again but I think everyone needs to experience it. Consider it a hazing.

 

[jbb3]

reading some posts and doing some research it appears kegging is superior to bottling.
However, as a first time brewer is it a safer bet to just bottle?

Or does the convenience of a keg justify the cost despite being a first timer?

*Disclaimer*
I have no equipment yet. A friend and I will probably be buying a few extract kits in the next couple weeks and whatever equipment needed for some basic 5gallon batches.

but we do have a full size fridge that we'll get a temp control for for fermentation.

So OP. After 2 months, where are you with brewing/bottling/kegging??

 

[bucfan1234]

I assume you mean 4 or 5 batches/kegs?? You must have a leak. I have a 3 tap keezer and a 5lb tank will last me 7-8 batches/kegs. Which for my consumption rate means about every 6 months I need a refill.

I only filled my tank once in the last year (not counting my error in leaving it on my beer engine rig with the lid of the keg not sealed, emptying my bottle. lol) I also get my bottle filled at the local HBS and he only charges about $6 or $8 for as much gas as he get into it from a larger bottle he has on site (so its not really full).

That's about ten kegs, force carbing and dispensing. When I took it in last week, I still had 1-1/2 lbs in the bottle which was enough to do a couple or three more.

One thing I do regularly, if I am going to leave the keg for week or more without pulling a beer, I disconnect the gas line and close the valve on my bottle. The keg remains pressurized and that ensures that I don't waste gas if there happens to be a small leak (which I don't think I have). I figure its better safe than sorry. Especially after wasting the remainder of a bottle of gas due to my error on the beer engine.