Switching to kegs

[Minbari]

Definitely some up front costs but seems like everyone is in agreement that it's worth it. I guess I need to start looking into kegging equipment.

Biggest advantage is time. 2-3 hours to bottle 5gal vs 10 minutes to keg it

 

[Zambi]

I still bottle occassionally.
I've also gone through my lazy period by bottling in 1 litre pet bottles
Swing tops are also an option.

I would suggest doing some more brews first, to know if you like it, before investing in kegging

 

[Craigerrr]

I would suggest doing some more brews first, to know if you like it, before investing in kegging

This is a key piece of advice, make sure that you are all in on the hobby before investing in more gear. Kegging won't make your beer better.

 

[Herm brews]

Great advice from @Craigerrr
I still bottle after more than 5 years active in this hobby. Just recently, I got kegging gear, and have used it once. Bottling is a process that I will continue to use, even with kegs ready. Find what brings you joy in this hobby. Make sure this is a hobby that you really want to pursue for years to come. After some time, you will figure out if the effort to make your own beer is worth it, or not. Don’t force yourself into more brewing than you can handle.

 

[philjohnwilliams]

I bottled for 20+ years before I switched to kegging last year. Currently have a 4 tap keggerator with a couple extra kegs. As much as I am loving the kegs, I never really understood the hate people have for bottling. I would do a lot of the prep work before bottling day, so when the time came I could package a 5 gallon batch and clean up in about 45 minutes.

 

[Minbari]

I bottled for 20+ years before I switched to kegging last year. Currently have a 4 tap keggerator with a couple extra kegs. As much as I am loving the kegs, I never really understood the hate people have for bottling. I would do a lot of the prep work before bottling day, so when the time came I could package a 5 gallon batch and clean up in about 45 minutes.
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The prep time still counts, just cause it's on a different day. Between bottle cleaning, bottling and clean up. 5gallon was about 50 bottles,. 2 hours. Then you had to wait 4+weeks to drink it.

Did it 7 years before switching to kegs. Now it takes 10 minutes to transfer and 10 minutes to clean. Beer is ready in 2 days

 

[Gary Clark]

I still bottle after 13 years of brewing because:
1. Draft would be too easy to drink
2. I share my beer with friends, so I bottle 12 and 22 ouncers
3 It's not that much work, I bottle on the dishwasher door so there is little mess

 

[UnixGrunt]

The prep time still counts, just cause it's on a different day. Between bottle cleaning, bottling and clean up. 5gallon was about 50 bottles,. 2 hours. Then you had to wait 4+weeks to drink it.

Did it 7 years before switching to kegs. Now it takes 10 minutes to transfer and 10 minutes to clean. Beer is ready in 2 days

I just want to point out that the bottles don't have to be 12oz. Since the beginning - over 12 years now - I've used 1 liter brown bottles with swing-top (EZ-cap) lids. My bottling day process is very efficient and not tedious at all. At this point I have bought a small cannonball keg so I can have the best of both worlds.

 

[Sandy Feet]

If you have a welding store in town, you can exchange once you buy the tank for cheaper and know that it is completely full. The exchange on 5 lbs CO2 was about $14 for me.

 

[Sandy Feet]

I just want to point out that the bottles don't have to be 12oz. Since the beginning - over 12 years now - I've used 1 liter brown bottles with swing-top (EZ-cap) lids. My bottling day process is very efficient and not tedious at all. At this point I have bought a small cannonball keg so I can have the best of both worlds.

Sometimes it is nice to do a half pour with the tap though
I used to bottle in 22oz bombers. but it was still a PITA compared to kegging.

 

[Brews Brother]

I'm on my 3rd brew and bottled my first two with plans to bottle my current. I heard doing a keg is much easier than bottling and was wondering what is needed to make the switch to a keg?

Lots of good suggestions here. I've been kegging for about 30 years now. I started small and now have 8 kegs and 3 5# CO2 tanks. My best advice is to be patient and search places like FB Marketplace and your local Craigslist for deals. There's always someone getting out of the hobby. I once scored 3 kegs, a double regulator, a CO2 bottle, and a host of gear for $160.

 

[Br3wDud3]

I bottled for 10 years before making the switch last month. The only reason I switched is wrist tendonitis. Kegging is definitely easier but, bottling wasn't so bad either. One down side of kegging is the initial cost. And, as with most things in homebrewing, there is a wide variety of equipment to choose from and the only real limitation is your bank account.

Because it's fresh in my mind and I still have my notes, I'll list out what I bought and why.

New 5 lb CO2 cylinder: $80 (LHBS)
CO2 refill: $15
I only considered new kegs because both local places I checked refill the tank you bring in and do not do exchanges. If you buy used you need to make sure it has been tested recently or pay to have it done.

3-dial Taprite regulator: $112 (Kegerator.com)
I went with Taprite brand base on recommendations for multiple brewers on this forum. I went with a 3-dial (2 for serving kegs; 1 for CO2 tank) so I can serve beers at different pressures or use one for serving and the other for force carbonating. Going with the 3-dial vs the 2-dial was definitely an optional upgrade.

(4) Used kegs: $228 (MoreBeer.com)
I had originally only planned on buying 2 but, went for 4 because More Beer had a set of 4 for $280 and I had a 20% off coupon. That brought the price per keg down to $56 each. They aren't pretty but, I'm the only one who will be seeing them. They sent two replacement poppets to replaces ones that leaked. Plus one keg had some syrup stuck on the inside wall that I had to scrub off.

(2) Picnic Tap 2.1: $27 each (WilliamsBrewing.com)
Think of these as picnic taps without the hose. I picked these for ease of serving and to avoid potential problems some homebrewers have with getting the line length correct to avoid foaming. This also allowed me to skip buying/building a kegerator/keezer.

(2) Floating dip tubes: $25 each (WilliamsBrewing.com)
Definitely a "want" item and not needed. Normal dip tubes that came with kegs would have been fine.

(1) 3 port gas manifold: $30 (LHBS)
This allows me to server multiple kegs off one regulator.

(6) gas & liquid disconnects: $6 each (LHBS)
12' gas line hosing: $??

I could definitely gone kegging for less but, I hope this helps you with ballpark costs.

I would definitely recommend the floating dip tube if you are planning on doing any dry hopping. In today's hazy IPAs, you could easily use 8 oz of dry hops, which is just asking to clog your keg's dip tube. If you are looking for information regarding the kegging process, such as force carbonation, I've found that this chart from boomchugalug.com is handy: https://boomchugalug.com/pages/kegging-instructions-for-the-beginner-home-brewing