I think the best thing about bottling is doing it for gifting. My wife and I bottled an imperial stout with special labels for our wedding party and we still have friends who have the bottles. That said, we really enjoy our current set up of two cornies in the kegerator I built; one with beer and one with carbonated water.
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Just send them all to me and Jason. Weâll review and judge.
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How is this keg different from a soda syrup tank? They look similar. I have a couple lying around from a previous career.
For the lengthy cooling: I remember in St. Louis, some friends had an old tin cooler-ish item, that had beer keg connectors in and out and in between was a copper coiled tube. This was for decanting, but would work in reverse, no? Basically, you filled the box/surrounded the coils with ice and as the beer flowed through, it dropped the temperature very quickly.
âMightâ be more energy efficient as well, not having to have your refrigeration system cool down that much bulk liquid?
I have an oak keg. Will that work?
Iâll say it again: Hot day. Hot. Cold bottle. Really cold. âFsssccchtâ
âAaaaaaaahhhh.â
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Okay, this interests me. As someone who was given a brewing kit but doesnât really have the space for washing/storing lots of bottles and who doesnât really like the sound of sanitizing them, kegging could be a good solution for me. But help a noobie out; is this any more complicated than brewing bottles? how long can this keep in the keg? Once cracked, does it all have to be consumed in a short amount of time (like a growler)? As I said, I like the idea but itâs going to take me a couple of weeks to drink 16 beersâŚ
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My friend, you might want to invest in the American invention called âThe Frosty Mugâ. I keep about 12 in my freezer at all times.
(They also work with bottled beer.)
I use this handy CO2 charger and this tap, force carbonation is harder with them but it can be done. If you buy a more complex CO2 filling system, it gets quite easy.
Soooooo, anyone doing nitrogen?
Thatâs called a jockey box. Good for locations without fridge space - parties/caterers, etc.
It is âless complicatedâ in that it takes less effort. Beer keeps in the keg for a VERY long time if you use co2 to push beer out.
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Thatâs my process, too. Thought I run the bottles through the dishwasher before using them. Iâm not sure anything actually gets inside most of the bottles but it makes me feel better. I like bottling. Bottles are easier to pass along to friends, and I feel in touch with an earlier era of home brewing. Plus, I find that my friends who force carbonate frequently have trouble getting the carbonation just right.
Bottling just doesnât seem like $700 worth of onerous to me. Especially if you use the handy 1.5 L size swingtops.
Lake Beer
I have been using 18 Litre Pepsi Syrup Cannisters for home brewing for about 20 Years. I also have a smaller 9 Litre job for taking to parties. I had three 18 Litre kegs in the fridge in the basement. They were daisy chained together and hooked up to a CO2 cylinder on one end, and connected to a tap on the outside of the fridge.
One evening I went downstairs to get a beer and before reaching for the light switch I realized my socks were getting wet. I turned on the light anyway and found that I was standing in the middle of a lake of beer.
It turns out that my 3 year old son had come downstairs, pulled on the tap like he saw daddy do, and then ran away when beer started pouring out.
I guess he was scared.
I tried vacuuming up the beer with a wet vac, but it just foamed and stunk up the house. I spent hours mopping up the basement.
My wife convinced me to take the tap out of the fridge door.
That was a sad day.
Malus Malum
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I was into home brewing for awhile. The bottling was a major pain in the ass, and was undoubtedly a part of why I sold off my gear.
However, I suspect the more significant reason I got out of the brew-game was that I live in beer nirvana, i.e. Oregon. Ultimately, home-brewing was more expensive and resulted in a lesser beer than getting to choose from the countless local brewers making countless varieties.
So, I got a membership at a growler-filling pub and started raising egg chickens for a hobby.
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Youâre the medievalist, you tell us.
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Used Danby fridge: 100 bucks
Beer kegging kit (CO2 Tank, lines, regulator, tap, corny keg): 160 from Ontario Beer Kegs
Drill a couple holes, mount a tap, and thatâs it. I get two week turnarounds with no trub. I will never bottle again. If I want to gift beer, they gotta come to my place first.
Indeed. I have a chest freezer with two 5-gallon Corny kegs for most of my batches, but special brews get bottled and saved for gifting.
That is the beauty of co2 keggingâuts easier and more hassle free than bottling (unless gifting bottles is a goal). It takes a few more pieces of equipment which cost about $200. But it makes the hobby much more fun.
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Oregon is beer-vana. As a native I understand not doing it you self â ninkasi,falling sky, hell mcmenamins are a stones throw. But its a fun hobby, and home fermenter or the one on Willamette are fantastic.
