OK convince me, bottles or kegs?

[The Cardinal]

Seems to be a lot of support in the other threads for kegs (barrels?) over and above bottles. I only ever to kits, and I aim for minimum hassle, minimum cost. So far I've only ever used bottles coz I thought they'd be easier to store and transport. But.....they are are a lot of trouble when it comes to cleaning...! Question is, if i get a nice cheap plastic keg to put my kits in once they've brewed, how long will it last in one? And I've heard something about having to put a CO2 cannister on it to keep it pressurized, is this true? And can it be moved around, or must it stay in situ in the garage (and I get wet every time it rains and I fancy a top up?!). Also how much am I looking at paying to get myself up and running with a keg/barrel? I am - as you probably guessed - clueless about the practicalities or barrels. Can someone simplify for me?

[mysterio]

Well, I think beer can be greatly altered/improved by the way it is served. For example, flat lager tastes absolutely awful because there is no bite from the carbonic acid to offset the neutral flavours of the lager. Similarly, an ale taste much better with low carbonation as it allows the fruity flavours to come through. Ale served through a beer engine is even better, but that's something you can think about once (if) you start kegging.

The plastic barrel is a good cheap way to start. The first time I used a barrel (a £20 'economy barrel') I thought my beer tasted 10X better. It's easy to use, just rack your beer into the barrel after fermentation, add a small amount of sugar and wait a few weeks for it to mature. After that, the natural pressure will allow you to draw about half of the beer out (the safety valve will keep the beer at standard ale carbonation). Then, you may need to buy a S30 'Hambleton Bard' CO2 bulb from your LHBS, which from memory are around a tenner, and a fiver to refill. A few squirts at the start of a drinking session will allow you to draw off a few pints. The big advantage is only having to sanitise a keg rather than 40 odd bottles, plus I swear ale tastes better from it. I would resist the temptation to invest in the more expensive 'King Kegs', I have personally had trouble with seals on them, which seems to be common with the newer ones.

If you're brewing lager, or highly carbonated Belgian beers for example, then Cornelius kegs are the way to go. There are plenty of threads to search on Cornie kegs along with Daab's pages so I won't get into it here, except from saying I have about 8 cornie kegs now and I swear by them

[maxashton]

I always had trouble with the seals on my king kegs. I was advised by my local brew shop, which went out of business due to removing three quarters of its home brew stock in favor *health food*, to put vaseline on the seals. The seals were silicone, so the vaseline didn't damage them, and it kept pressure well.

I do find the little release rubbers need to be replaced very regularly though.
I have bought replacements to rebuild my king keg, including spares for this reason...

[Stu-pid]

If you get a barrell with a bottom tap, then when you pour it, do you just pour out loads of the yeast cake? I'm scared that if I buy a bottom barrell keg, the beer I pour will be really cloudy.

[subsub]

If you get a barrell with a bottom tap, then when you pour it, do you just pour out loads of the yeast cake? I'm scared that if I buy a bottom barrell keg, the beer I pour will be really cloudy.

No you don't, the tap sits well above any sediment.

[tubby_shaw]

Here's my definitive answer, my XLIX brew http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopi ... light=xlix
was split between a corny and bottles.
The beer was racked to secondary after 6 days in primary and dry hopped.
It was fined 6 days later and 19 Litres was racked into a corny and 6 litres was bottled.
The beer in the corny is gorgeous, I am having to beat off the wife to stop her drinking it
The beer in the bottles is vile it has an awfull chemical/phenolic aftertaste
The bulk maturing has certainly helped this beer in this instance

[The Cardinal]

Some interesting advice - thanks.

But how long will it last in a keg, especially if the keg's half empty cos I've drunk too much?

[bitter_dave]

Some interesting advice - thanks.

But how long will it last in a keg, especially if the keg's half empty cos I've drunk too much?

Depends on the gravity of the beer. If it's strong it can last for more than a year. Even so, 'normal' gravity beers will last months - I drank a barrel of 1040 beer (bitter and twisted) over a four or five month period and it was nice down to the last pint. I didn't add any extra gas for the beer because I drank it slowly and the c02 built up between drinks.

[Hoppkins]

6 weeks plus at least. I've always kegged. I have a cap for the keg which has a gas valve on top which takes sparklet type bulbs.

Only need 4-5 for the whole life of the keg i find.

I'm going to bottle soon since im starting mini mash but for kits i would only do keg.

[ColinKeb]

Some interesting advice - thanks.

But how long will it last in a keg, especially if the keg's half empty cos I've drunk too much?

has anyone ever had a barrel long enough to go off? ive never even managed to have one mature properly

[maxashton]

How do you mean?
Drank the bugger too quick?

[prolix]

i have 2 top tap king kegs which have pressure problems so had to buy new seals, I also have a hamelton bard super keg which doesn't have pressure problems and is excellent. I like to get in the barrel to clean them and small topped budget barrels do not allow this.

I do have 96 swing tops as well but the idea of cleaning them for each brew makes me shudder so I use those for meads, turbo ciders and to bottle a few from each brew (which you can drink when it is raining). I used to bottle years ago crowning every bottle, priming every bottle, filling every bottle, cleaning every bottle. Barrels are easier and quicker and once paid for cheaper

Just a word on the yeast thing the very first gush, and be careful it can be a gush, from bottom tap carries the yeast that settled in the tap but what a great source of B12

[ColinKeb]

How do you mean?
Drank the bugger too quick?

yep, my barrels sit in my dining room and when they are full my capacity to ignore them is nil. the worst case i had was getting through a full 40 pint barrel in 10 days , it was nice though

i certainly agree that some beers taste better from a barrel but its much easier to pour off a pint whenever you fancy which is pretty lethal on a sunday when the kids are wrecking the house. i think if i used bottles it would probably last longer as my other half could count the empties as they gathered in the kitchen. not sure if thats a good thing or not

[PieOPah]

I have a budget barrel and a top tap King Keg. I love them both. I think that the KK dispenses beer better (I have a sparkler tap). Along with this I have quite a lot of bottles.

Now I will be up there with everybody else saying what a PITA it is to clean and sanitize your bottles. On top of that you have to fill them all individually. If you are doing it properly you will likely do it from a bottling bucket (priming your beer first so even distribution). One option is to buy some carbonation tablets from Hop and Grape which is something I should do but never get round to.

Another thing that I should do is buy a bottle tree and rinser. Basically this should make cleaning/sanitizing a doddle since it squirts the sanitizer into the bottle so a quick push on and you are done.

Might buy one the next time I order some kit.

[maxashton]

Just saw the pic on your brew blog, Pie.

That young lady appears to be inebriated!