Kegging "special beers"

Hope this was just ADD or a server issue and nothing serious...

 

About once a year, I make something with brett and/or lacto and I bottle these. For me, it has been more about keeping my keg equipment bug free than about bottle conditioning. I may get a keg to devote to sours, in which case all bets are off.

I also figure to bottle high gravity beers that I don't plan to drink regularly so as not to tie up a keg. For example, right now I have a couple meads, one already in bottles and one to bottle. If I make small batches, I'll bottle those too.

 

I keg everything. I've got a dozen kegs, so I don't worry about occasionally taking two or three out of the rotation long term. I've never done a sour, so bugs haven't been an issue yet. (well, intentional bugs haven't been an issue yet)

 

My bigger beers and my sours are all bottled. I like it that way for a couple of reasons. For sharing with others, it controls consumption on the premises, as I don't even have to disclose how many I have (or have left) when I bring up something special from the basement, and I have enough extra bottles that I don't need to see the container I give away ever again.

 

I hardly ever bottle (except from keg for competitions, gifts, growler fills). I used to bottle condition hefes/dunkelweizens, but stopped because it's a PITA. I share mikehartigan's "have a lot of kegs" strategy. They work fine for long term aging.

 

I tend to bottle more experimental stuff, or beers I think may benefit from bottle conditioning like hefes or Belgians. As I've said before, I don't mind bottling now and again.

 

I have kegged everything for the past 2 years, however I will be bottling my sours as I would prefer to see how they age and I like to have them more sparingly than say an IPA as they take a year or more to prepare. I have a sour I am about to bottle in a couple months, not completely looking forward to that process again but I think it will be worth it.

I am considering force carbing and bottling my big beers too but the jury is out on that one, so far I have no problem keeping them in a keg and tossing them in and out of the fridge when I want them.

 

^ This

 

I bottle everything over o.g. 1.08. I live in the sticks and I do not want to have a high gravity on tap just for my own consumption.

 

I leave it on for a few weeks, then replace it with something else for a few months while the big beer gets a bit more age on it.

 

I make 5 1/2 gal of beer and I take a bottling wand to get at least a 6 pack from the top of the fermenter. The auto siphon comes out after this and the rest goes in a keg. I'd rather have 4 1/2 gal in a keg than 5 1/2, if you know what I mean?

 

I'm a little OCD regarding CO2 leaks so, yes, it's carbed just fine when I put it back on.

 

If I make it, I keg it.

If it's something I want to age, I'll do in the keg. If I need a keg for some reason, I buy one. If I can't buy it, I bottle it off the keg and age them.

Regardless, priming sugar never comes near my hands, and I'm not messing with priming calculators and all that. Keg it, carb it, drink some, bottle it if I need a free keg for something else.

 

Keg everything and bottle from the keg if needed.