Its being a while since my last blog post, so I thought Id write on a hot topic with homebrewers that is a long disputed and much asked question...to keg or bottle? Some like to bottle so they can keep track on how much they have drunk and like to just chuck a bottle or two in the fridge. Its cost effective to bottle, the equipment you need is very minimal. You will only need a capper, caps and of course the bottles which many I expect you could have from empties collected.
When I first majorly bottled I 'minesweeper-ed' a lot of empties from a friends BBQ party. However there always is a constant rinse and clean cycle, which when it comes to sanitising and filling come bottle day some find it quite tedious which you also may run out of space in the kitchen surrounded by bottles. Bottling however is a great way to share the fruits of your labor.
Kegging is very convenient, after a long day you get home and fancy a beer but only 1/2 having a keg is very handy for this. It also reduces alot of time come bottling day and cleaning. For carbonation and clarity kegging is the way to go.
There are many entry levels to kegging you can get a 5l mini keg or Tap a Draft (TAD) that are seemed as a good stepping stone into the world of kegged beer.
I have used a TAD when I first started out, I really liked using it, however after 4 kits (one which was a stove top extract kit) I quickly went into 12l BIAB batches as I didn't see the need of using these as I could easily just bottle 18 or so bottles and let them naturally carbonate over a few weeks. So I have lined this up to give to a friend who has very recently started home brewing, catching the bug very quickly however he has had problems with a leaky pressure barrel.
You never know I might try my luck placing it on my upcoming birthday list.
There is so many pros and cons for the two so I'll leave it here....How do you do yours? do you bottle, keg or a mix of the two? What do you prefer?
Are there any Home Brew Suppliers/companies willing for me to test/review keg products?
Until next time......Happy Brewing
