Thinking about kegging

Yes, if you use a fining agent.
Yes, if you purchase a beergun or similar product.
Yes, if you do it properly.

 

I've been kegging for a few years now. When I was making clean beers without Brett, I would gelatin to fine my beers in the keg. Had some beers (ESB, IPA, Pale) come out as clear as a light lager. Finings and simply storing your beer cold (aka lagering) for a month + will drop most everything out of suspension and give you clear beer.

If you are bottling just a few bottles for competition or to take somewhere you don't need a beergun or anything, just a little vinyl tubing and sanitizer to bottle from the taps.

Kegging beats the shit out of bottling imo.

 

If you start brewing and bottle hundreds of bottles and say to yourself, "should I start kegging?" It's time. Do not hesitate. Your beer, when left in the keg for a month or two, will clear by itself with no need for finings. Of course the longer it sits the better. you can bottle out of the keg using a counterpressure filler, you can also pour beer out of the keg into a growler for pals, letting them know they got to drink it quick cause its not going to be carbonated long. I've done that. your beer will keep for many months in the keg. I would even say if its sealed up, will keep over a year, but who could let it sit that long!!??

 

RE: Clarity. It won't eliminate protein haze and it increases the settling distance of suspended particulates, relative to a 12 oz. bottle. It should take longer for the beer to clear. On the other hand, once in place, you don't move to move your keg, so you don't re-suspend particulates during the act of pouring.

I've tried to bottle from the keg by attaching tubing to the dispenser. It didn't work for me and I gave up, but I've heard of others who manage it. Of course, the Beer Gun or counter-pressure filler is the way to go, and everyone seems to prefer the Beer Gun. No personal experience. Yet.

I do think it helps keep the beer longer. You can flush the keg with CO2 to remove oxygen and you have it on positive pressure which should minimize or eliminate seepage of oxygen through seals over the long term.

Cleaning and sanitizing a keg takes less time than doing the same for 52 bottles, and filling a keg is much easier than filling and capping those bottles. You will want to clean your lines periodically. It's not zero work, but it is somewhat easier. The truth is, I never resented the time bottling takes. It just felt like part of the hobby to me. I'd pop on headphones and just do it.

 

remember that if you do decide to get some kegs you can still bottle as many beers as you like. a lot of people use kegs routinely but do occasionally bottle, especially beer that will be aged.
it's not one or the other.

kegging is a major advance in your brewing. I haven't heard of anyone who regrets the decision.
Cheers.

 

+1... the one regret is that I'm almost too lazy to even want to bottle the special ones. Bottle, cage and cork a quad - sure that will look great!... Meh, just keg it - who doesn't want to have a high grav beer on tap?

 

Don't think, keg!
As epk said, post kegging, and even with a beer gun...it's like wah, I got to clean and sanitize some bottles and deal with that mess? Maybe I'll just pull another pint.
In reality I keg and sample and bottle when the carb is good and things have settled (flavor/junk). A lot easier that way and you could in theory adjust/correct minor defects. If it's all bottled....

I like most of mine, but there are a few experiments gone wrong. Dumping a partial keg beats the hell out of uncapping those bottles you put so much effort into filling and pouring them down the drain.

 

To put it from my own perspective and experience: When I started brewing I bottled. I made lots of beer, spent LOTS of time bottling and making it presentable. Never though did I have much left for me because it was much to easy to hand out as people were leaving or would ask for a six pack. Once I started kegging I saved tons of time and a negotiable amount of cash from bottles, caps, and priming sugar (although I normally used table sugar), versus the CO2 I now use to keg. And now I can hardly drink the beer I have on tap, I still love to share, that's just part of the love of homebrewing. But I now just fill a growler or two for hand-outs or if its a bbq or party the 5 gallon cornies are actually easily portable. Once you start kegging you might bottle once a year. Jump in, you're gonna love it.

 

Before I started kegging, I never resented bottling. Now that I keg, I don't believe that I save a lot of time vs bottling. All that said, since I started kegging (about a year ago), I have not bottled any beer.

 

Lots of good reasons to start kegging, many have already been listed. I do a lot of oaking, fruiting, and dry hopping right in my kegs. Its awesome because I can easily check the progress and limit my chances of oxidation. I brew a lot of really big stouts and I've got a dozen close to 2 years old that are doing awesome.

You can buy small screens to put on the end of the dip tubes so you won't pick up as much fruit chunks and stuff, or just use a piece of stainless braided hose.

Another advantage is fine tuning your carbonation. Under carbed, turn up the pressure for a few days. Over carved, bleed off some pressure, its awesome.

Yet another reason, fast force carbing. I can brew a hef on one weekend and drink it the next weekend. Freshest beer possible!

 

I moved to kegging cause I was too lazy to bottle.

Now, I'm borderline too lazy to clean tap lines, and kegs... It's not a fix all, but it's faster as a whole than bottling.

 

I'd argue that my beers don't last as long in a keg. When it's right in front of me all day and I have a great beer it's hard to keep my hands off of it.

There is the option of half pints, but who does that?

 

I do. I do 3 half-pints and call it one