keg or bottles?

[bottler]

Just starting up again guys. Ive bought a basic beerbuddy kit and a fish tank heater to get going. I forgot the hastle of sterilizing all the bottles, but will do it if its the way to go. Is a plastic keg more user friendly? Havnt tried homebrewing since the 70's here in belfast, and it was strong but tasted crap, but after a few... who cared

 

[31bb3]

kits have improved uver the years as for kegs v bottles its personal choice however if you want a keg better spend the extra on a decent keg than a cheapo type

 

[PD]

sterilise and sterilise. Otherwise your beers/wines will still be crap

repeat

sterilise and sterilise. Otherwise your beers/wines will still be crap

get the message.....

welcome.

 

[Dieseljockey]

kits have improved uver the years as for kegs v bottles its personal choice however if you want a keg better spend the extra on a decent keg than a cheapo type

+1... :thumb: I started off years back with a plastic keg :hmm: then went to cornies, but I want to go back to bottle more next year so that I can put a few away.

 

[Stihler]

There are advantages to both kegging and bottling.

Cleaning and sanitzing bottles is a pain.

However, transporting a keg to share your beer with friends can be problematic. It is not just the keg than needs to be transported. You need to either take a CO2 tank with you or use those small CO2 cartridges which I've never had much luck with.

It is nice to pour yourself a nice pint from your very own keg after a long day.

However, kegs are large and take up a lot of space in the refrigerator. Getting a spare refrigerator is the solution for a lot of homebrewers including myself.

I keg my beer but I often will bottle a few six-packs as well.

Kegs vs. bottles is a matter of person preference.

I agree with Eddie. Should you decide to go the kegging route do not go the cheap route. Corny kegs are the way to go.

I realize I am just muddying the waters rather than actually giving your a real answer. :mrgreen:


Cheers,

Scott

 

[Moley]

Other deciding factors could be what you are brewing and how quickly you expect to be drinking them.

If you're sticking with one particular brew and have a few pints a night, then a decent plastic keg plus some method of gas injection could be the way to go.

I rarely brew the same thing twice and even if I do have a session on the beer I will have one of each from a few different batches, so bottles suit me better.

 

[boozy_shoes]

For me it depends on the strength and whether my keg is available. I wouldn't ever put anything other than a session beer in the keg and tend to keep it for the times when i get in from work and just want beer, any beer. I am quite unprecious about what is in the keg, it's just there to do its job for the minimum effort. I've got a 4% no frills stout in there at the moment.

I bottle everything strong, speciality and flavoured as i find these develop in the bottle more so I can see how they age. Also, if some of them were on tap I'd die.

 

[bottler]

Thanks guys, i think i'll go bottles. Ive just ordered 40 brown plastic bottles that have to be crown capped .They cost £16.90 including postage from amazon. Hope ive made the right choice. Must buy a capper now.

 

[RokDok]

Consider popping in to your local Wetherspoons one Sunday morning and asking if you can go through their recycling bins. I've made a few visits in return for a donation into one of their charity boxes. They have some good bottles usually dominated by Koppaberg, but also with plenty of Magners.

Takes a bit of time to soak the labels off and wash them out but after that it's easy to maintain a clean supply of bottles.

I'm new to brewing and haven't gone the keg route.

Cheers

RD

 

[PD]

I'm too old to go " session drinking " any more. a few pints a night or as and when, suits me, therefore I bottle. Its cheap and easy and the built up stash looks nice !
Kegging is quite expensive to start with especially Cornies and its problematic ( as said ) in transporting it about. Also lots of folks report problems with leaking kegs if not careful.
But you have a choice, do what suits you. Perhaps start off with bottles and later on move over to kegs...

 

[Baz Chaz]

Just been away for a break last week, took myself 3 of the cardboard carriers you get from supermarkets with 6 bottles of my ales in each :thumb: can't really do that with a keg etc :!:

 

[Archtronics]

I'm a lazy brewer I keg all my ales and corny the lagers, I use one of those brown airlock things to take to friends etc.

In the end its personnel preference. :thumb:

 

[Baldbrewer]

Do love that smoking gun and pfschhh you get when you open one of your own bottled brews.

Mind you I'm looking forward to my 1st hand pulled TTL from polypin just to add to the mix :grin:

 

[DirtyCaner]

RokDok,

I think someone told me you have to be careful with the Koparberg bottles, apparently its recycled glass and prone to breaking. Cant remember who, might have been cyclops...

DirtyC