Ag Or Keg Setup

[Tim F]

I do the same, no issues here....Although, I would like a bench capper, getting VERY sick of manually capping 60 stubbies per batch......


I plan on getting into AG (albeit BIAB) after christmas, tossing up if I want to drill what will be my christmas present (either a 50 or 60L Al pot) or get a racking cane....

Unfortunately you'll probably have to drill it. I melted my racking cane very quickly before I figured that out!

 

[clean brewer]

Definitely AG first imo. Would you rather drink beer out of a keg or GREAT beer out of a bottle?
I put together my AG gear really cheaply - under $200. Esky, pot from a camping/hardware store, couple of fittings and you're set. You can boil on your home stove in a pinch if it's not too big a batch.

I've had that for most of the year and only now putting together a keg setup. The kegs will be much more expensive - I'm looking at up to $350 for a basic setup with 2 kegs and picnic taps, and then you need a spare fridge!

My AG setup was the same, fairly cheap, already had Esky(put braid in, threaded pipe, tap, couple washers), got a $20 50ltr SS keggle(threaded pipe, washers, copper, ball valve), FIL had a 2 ring burner(works awesome), already had 9kg gas bottle and reg, silicone hose, etc etc... Probably cost me $150 to get set, works well... I think it helps if you are handy with stuff aswell and can do things yourself, some tooltards will just buy what they need and spend a small fortune..

Just ordered my keg gear today, 4 kegs, hose, dissconnects, PBW, starsan, lube, bronco tap, step clamps etc and cost $435... I already have a regulator($115) and a Celli Tap($115), then went to BOC and spent $83 on Gas Cylinder and 3 months rental..

So, without the Celli and just using a Bronco Tap, its cost $630 for my set-up plus a little.. Oh, also gotta get another dedicated Keg fridge(another $100) :beer:

Its up to you what you want to do and what your finances say you can do, ive been fortunate and basically got both things done within 2 months.. The thing I think about with getting set-up is that I save a shit load of money not buying commercial crap and no longer can stand drinking a beer at the pub club, plus you can always sell your setup either way for what you paid for it anyhow, there is always someone out there that doesnt want to do the hard work getting a set-up..

Cheers

 

[tazman1967]

I went AG gear first...The beer is awesome, so many styles to brew..Dont mind putting it into a bottle. Kegs will arrive in the New Year.
I live in a shared house..keg fridge is not an option. Lucky to have my ferment fridge.

 

[MarkBastard]

Definitely AG first imo. Would you rather drink beer out of a keg or GREAT beer out of a bottle?

Personally if I'm in a pub I buy beer on tap as long as it's not compete horse shit (VB, Tooheys New, XXXX).

Even if there's better beer in bottles.

Just my preference.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Interesting points there, TB. What problems have you noticed with carbonation in bottle conditioned beers, and in what styles?

Less "problems" than just plain randomness.

I've just observed over a period of time, that more often than not, the carbonation levels in people bottle conditioned beers are a result, rather than a target. They add the requisite teaspoon of dex to the bottle and hope it turns out right. Sure its 1.5 teaspoons for a Weizen and only 0.75 for a Bitter. But once that cap goes on, you are shit out of luck if you aren't happy with the results.

You can approach it in a more scientific way and get more predictable results, its just that not a lot of people actually do.

Over, under or just plain not carbonated beer seems to be a pretty regular homebrewers complaint, and in my opinion it is one that can make the difference between good and bad beer.

With a keg, you just tweak the dial till its right - then drink

Just wanted to point out that its not all about whether you can be arsed cleaning a stack of bottles or not - its about beer quality as well.

TB

 

[hoohaaman]

Went kegs first,while I'll never regret going kegs,wish i'd AG first.

 

[Stuster]

You are right. Easier to get it right with kegs. But why make things easy.

I do bulk prime and work out what I'm aiming for each time with Beersmith. I keep pretty thorough records so I'm confident I'll usually get the carbonation I'm after, but as you say, once the bottling's done, there's nothing I can do about it and it doesn't always work out.

Still, I do have plans to get kegs and it's certainly a way to save a lot of time and effort. For me, space is the issue.

 

[hoohaaman]

After going the well trodden path k+k>extract>partials>AG.For me AG was easier then everything above K+k.

It got really messy in my kitchen doing extracts and partials,it got really easy doing AG.

Took it outside or inside if I liked,spent the money bought the correct gear made brew stands ect.Best money I spent.

Brewing AG is a breeze,can multi task during mash ect.Once boil is under way another free hour for multi tasking,just remember your hop additions,oh and whirfloc .

Free time

 

[RobB]

Over, under or just plain not carbonated beer seems to be a pretty regular homebrewers complaint, and in my opinion it is one that can make the difference between good and bad beer.

An excellent point. Until recently, all of my beers received a single carbonation drop regardless of style. My first stout was massively overcarbonated and tasted like bicarb soda mixed with charcoal. I opened every bottle and let them sit with foil caps for an hour. They are now 95% flat, but taste great. Batch priming will be my first step as kegs are some time away yet.

 

[imellor]

I went kegs first and at the time I was happy with the beers I was drinking. That meant no more bottles to clean and and every beer tasted the same from that batch.

I then built up an AG setup over a bit of time. Now I am really Happy.

If I had to do it again I would do it the same. I hate bottles.

Do you have a fermentation fridge?

Cheers
Ian