Kegging vs. Bottling

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Caddarn

Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by Caddarn » Thu Dec 15, 2016 8:09 pm

I find bottling to be the most off putting part of brewing so I'm toying with the idea of getting a cornie in the new year. I'm wondering how the two processes compare (labour wise) when you take cleaning & maintaining into account... What are your experiences of the pro's and con's of both?

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Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by Haydnexport » Thu Dec 15, 2016 8:28 pm

put it this way , i'll never go back to bottling ! so much time and effort compared to kegging.

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Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by orlando » Fri Dec 16, 2016 8:26 am

Caddarn wrote: What are your experiences of the pro's and con's of both?
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Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by Secla » Fri Dec 16, 2016 8:37 am

Your cleaning one big bottle rather than 40 or more, force carb rather than priming.
Loads of time saved :)

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Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by Wonkydonkey » Fri Dec 16, 2016 8:44 am

You will end up getting a fridge for keeping the keg cold-or should I say, keep it a stable temp the allows you to pour the best beer.
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Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by MTW » Fri Dec 16, 2016 9:17 am

I have cornies, but only one fridge. They only go in there when I'm not using it to ferment, and when I can be bothered to hook them up. Without a second, dedicated fridge, they only get occasional use.

Even with a second fridge, if I was forced to get rid of one or the other, I'd lose the kegs rather than the bottles. I just like the simplicity of beer in a bottle in the end, even if the initial cleaning/filling takes a bit longer. Nothing puritanical; beer from a keg can be as good as anything, just the appeal of a bottle.
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Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by shepp » Fri Dec 16, 2016 10:26 am

Looks to me like when you go in the kegging direction then you need to be prepared to drink one beer till it's gone or buy more kegs. Then you need a fridge for the kegs and space to put it, CO2 and various fittings.
I think all that kit to maintain is just as much hastle and more cost, more space, beer does not taste any better.
If you are organised, set up a system with no rinse sanitizer, bottle tree and in a comfortable position, beer at hand and radio on, then it's not that bad a job.

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Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by Nitro Jim » Fri Dec 16, 2016 12:00 pm

I prefer to bottle...
you can build up a stock of different beers but more importantly I am not that keen of force carbonated ale!
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Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by gobuchul » Fri Dec 16, 2016 12:22 pm

Kegs only for me.

Well worth the initial expense.

Regarding cleaning I simply leave the empty kegs sealed until the next brew day, then a scoop of oxy in each one and fill with the warm water from my wort chiller, leave to soak for a while then rinse by filling with more chiller water. Works very well for me. I do have quite a few kegs though.

If you have the space then a small chest freezer is really useful.

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Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by rpt » Fri Dec 16, 2016 3:51 pm

I keg and bottle. I keg most beers as these are session beers and it is so much easier than bottling. Some beers only make sense in bottles (for me anyway) since they are strong and I expect them to last for a long time, even years e.g. RIS, strong ale, Belgian ales. As well as being less effort, kegs also allow proper pub style beer by using a hand pump with the pressure set low. But then you can take a bottle with you to a friend's. (Although there are ways of filling a bottle from a keg but that's another story.)

Caddarn

Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by Caddarn » Fri Dec 16, 2016 6:23 pm

If you are organised, set up a system with no rinse sanitizer, bottle tree and in a comfortable position, beer at hand and radio on, then it's not that bad a job.
This is pretty much what I do now but still find it a chore! :D

I'm an extract brewer and I normally get around 19l per batch which would fit a cornie nicely though I do wonder where the hell I'd put them... hmmm...

shepp

Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by shepp » Fri Dec 16, 2016 6:55 pm

Caddarn wrote:
If you are organised, set up a system with no rinse sanitizer, bottle tree and in a comfortable position, beer at hand and radio on, then it's not that bad a job.
This is pretty much what I do now but still find it a chore! :D

I'm an extract brewer and I normally get around 19l per batch which would fit a cornie nicely though I do wonder where the hell I'd put them... hmmm...
A bigger concern for me would be where to put the fridge :D

How about giving polypins a try?
Once you get the knack apparently they work very well, I have two 10 litre ones here I will be filling tomorrow.

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Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by rpt » Sat Dec 17, 2016 10:33 am

I gave up on polypins because the beer oxidised after a few weeks.

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Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by spanspoon » Mon Dec 19, 2016 10:19 pm

gone back to bottling after using cornies for the above said reasons.
for me cornies take time to get right and i felt i lost some flavour.
organised bottling isn't a chore and once your brew is bottled they're convenient.

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Re: Kegging vs. Bottling

Post by aamcle » Mon Dec 19, 2016 10:35 pm

I bottle most of my brews, I have a Corny it's been a pig with leaking gas and contaminations but I think I got it right on the last batch so that is nice.

Unless you have a lot of kegs you will have limited choice of drinks available whereas bottling offers more choice, the only big plus for kegs is the ability to force carbonate and get beer without sediment.


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