Beer Forum

So I've been bottling since I started brewing in '97. As I sit here watching yet another case of bottles soak in oxy-clean, I'm wondering if maybe its not time to switch to kegging. I also wonder however, if all the work of keeping beer lines clean and scrubbing out kegs isn't just as tedious. Where better to find people with an opinion on this. Let's hear your thoughts.

You only have to clean one container when you keg.

Yeah there's other related cleaning, but it's not as much of a hassle as it sounds.

Spelt wrote: I also wonder however, if all the work of keeping beer lines clean and scrubbing out kegs isn't just as tedious.

Cleaning beer lines: Unscrew tap handle and disconnect tap. Fill squeeze bottle with Beer Line Cleaner solution. Run through into bucket. Rinse.

Cleaning kegs: Fill with 2-3 gal. hot PBW solution. Swirl vigorously and sponge down. Disconnect poppets and clean. Rinse and reconnect.

When ready to fill kegs: Add 1-2gal. StarSan solution. Swirl vigorously. Disconnect poppets and drop in. After 3 min., empty StarSan solution into bucket for reuse with other items.

It's still cleaning, and not usually my preferred aspect of brewing, but I could have 5 kegs cleaned and sanitized and ready to fill in about an hour. Then, filling them would only take as long as it takes to rack 5 gal. from each carboy to each keg. If you can't clean, sanitize and bottle 20 cases of 12oz bottles that fast, then I think you have your answer.

Most definitely kegging is the way to go. Once I started kegging I haven't gone back to bottling except with my beergun of course. Heh, heh, heh....

I've kegged about 6 batches since I started and would never look back to bottling.

I haven't bottled a beer in well over a year, well, probably well over 2 years since I swore off brewing until I could keg because I despised bottling so much and didn't brew for a year while I collected kegging parts. I was trying to do it on the super cheap so it took me a while, but it could have easily been faster had I just plopped down the cash up front.

One of these days I'll bottle up some beers and enter them in a competition, but for now, I LOVE having 4 beers on tap!

Sounds like maybe my ever-present brewing shopping list is going to have to get a little bit longer.