Ag Or Keg?

[thelastspud]

Hey everyone hows it going?
Ive been making beer for a year or so now using kits sometimes with speciality grains mini mashes
and i was wondering whats the better next step.
Should i get a AG setup and keep bottling my beer?
Or buy a kegging system and keep making kit beer. I do plan to do both eventually but i can only afford to do one change this year.
What do you think add the most enjoyment to home brewing?

 

[gregb]

Kegs.

 

[xomz]

I'm actually in the same situation.

I've been doing partials for around 8 months now & am probably going to go with a keg setup in the next couple of weeks, as I've suddenly gotten the sh!ts with bottling every fortnight

 

[Thommo]

Not trying to be a smart arse, but do both. They are both really worth it.

If I was to pick one, I'd say AG 1st, kegging 2nd. But TBH this is one of those questions where some people will swear blind that kegging is the next best step, and others who say AG is the next best step.

If you're really over bottling then do the kegs, if you don't mind it too much, AG for sure.

Thommo.

 

[parrja]

I'd say kegs. AG + bottling would be very time consuming. You can also gradually slide across from extract to partial to AG as you get more equipment and experience.

I do 2/3 partials which can be done on my stove in a 15 litre pot. Once the kids are a bit older I'll go to full AG.

There's no going back to bottles after having a keg system!

 

[muckey]

firstly - it depends!

I went kegs before AG mainly because if I wasn't kegging I probably wouldn't still be brewing.

If you are happy with the beer you are brewing then go for the keg setup. Keep an eye out on this forum for members selling or giving away gear and also look for a cheap fridge as well. That way you may achieve a keg setup and AG sooner than you think as you dont have to make either setup overly expensive to start with, just get the basics then you can add to it over time.

have a look at the search function as well (the google option works best) as the question has been asked before

 

[crundle]

Hi Greg,

In my opinion, it should be to go AG first.

I went kegging first, but didn't know what I was missing while brewing kits. No offence to the kit people intended, but going AG has opened a new door to the whole beer brewing experience. The difference is huge in my opinion. Now I still turn out a kit or two of Coopers Cervaza in summer to keep up with demand from the family, but for really flavoursome beers, you cannot go past extract or AG. You get a level of control that you cannot get with kits.

You can go traditional 3 vessel system or BIAB, and there are benefits of each system. You will need to make your purchase with an eye on the future though so you will not outgrow your system, but be able to use what you have purchased now in a potential future system. Do your research first, and let us know what your intended brewing is to be - ie single batches of fairly normal beers, or double batches of triple decoction mega alcohol beers - there are many of us here who will help try to steer you in the right direction.

Kegging is cool, but given the choice of drinking kegged kits or bottled AG brews, the choice for me is very clear indeed!

cheers,

Crundle

 

[cliffo]

I'd go with the kegs first.

I know that if I hadn't moved from bottling to kegging when I did I woudn't still be home brewing and certainly would never have progressed to AG.

Kegs all the way!

cliffo

 

[buttersd70]

It's actually a harder question that it seems....
I personally went AG first, followed very soon after by kegs.
I honestly believe that AG brewing added a whole dimension to my beer...however, a friend was still doing kits (edit: at that point in time), and went kegs first. Theres definately something about being able to pour a crystal clear pint off of a keg.....
My suggestion....kegs, and keep advancing in your brewing techniques. If atm you are using kits and spec grains (which aren't mini mashes, btw...it's not a mash unless you are using base grain and converting starch to sugar ), you have the possibility of advancing in technique without having to outlay cash. ie, you can break free of the kit tittie, and do extract brews with unhopped extract and steeped spec grains, just with the stuff you would find in your average kitchen....so you still have room to move and improve, without having to fork out $$....

So I would advise kegs for the time being, and look at other brewing options that don't require outlay...then when you do move into AG, you will have a wealth of experience from extract brewing and/or partials, as well as kegs. Win win.


2c only.

 

[muckey]

so butters you reckon he should try for an expensive AG setup like you've got

 

[manticle]

If you're looking at improving the quality of your beer at any point then I would say AG. Bottling is less of a pain than everyone makes it out to be and you're putting equipment before ingredients and process. It's a bit like asking 'should I buy a shiny new pan or concentrate on making a kickarse omelette with free range organic eggs using pans I've already got?'

Add to that that if you think your way around problems you can set yourself up for All Grain brewing for limited outlay (I did) and you may find you have some change to build on for the kegging outlay at a later point.

Take this with a grain of salt - every one's opinion on this will differ (and already has).

This is not to say that all grain is the holy grail - you need to be making good beer with good processes for any change in method/ingredients to make much of a difference and a well made kit beer will often win over a poorly made grain beer. I'm assuming you know that.

 

[DJR]

Cheap AG setup (can be done quite easily with BIAB or a simple burner, big pot or two and something to mash in) and then kegs i reckon

 

[Bribie G]

OK now here's one from left field. Actually I'm surprised Butters didn't invoke me on this.

Bottling is a total PITA. I was out of brewing for about 15 years and mostly because of the grind of washing 30 bottles, sterilising bottles, priming bottles, filling bottles, capping bottles. A world of pain. So when I got back into it last year I went to 2L PET bottles.

Only 12 per brew, cheap to obtain, easy to store and handle. It made my bottling sessions so much easier. I regarded my PETs as being mini kegs in their own right, one PET will give you a three pint session, or six pints for two PETs or nine pints........... :huh:

Then I went AG, and after several months went Keg, and they have all gone to the tip, although I still bottle some brews in 750s that I don't particularly want on tap such as stouts and long-keeping Pilseners etc. It's not such a pain if it's only an occasional bottling session.

Worth consideration as a 'transitional arrangement'

Ok here's that piccie to keep Butters happy

 

[Cocko]

I would rather bottle AG then keg Kit beer...

As DJR said, BIAB is a cheap and easy way to get into AG... who knows, crunch the numbers you might be able to afford both.

2c.

 

[manticle]

I must be in the minority. Bottling is no more a PITA for me than hand grinding 6+kg of grain, washing and sanitising every vessel, spoon and airlock, cutting wood for my burner, boiling extra wort because my pots are too small for the full volume, waiting for everything to cool in my ice bath, scooping out 6kg + water absorption worth of spent grain, checking my hydrometer to make sure ferment is working, low tech temp control (read ice bath again) for lagers and all the other things that go with making my beer.

The reason I don't mind it so much is because part of what attracts me to homebrewing (besides the end product) is the hands on approach to process and the direct relationship between me and the end product. It's like digging in the garden to plant veges. I don't have a bobcat and it might be hard work with a spade but there's something satisfying involved.

 

[churchy]

If you plan on doing one now, how long will it be before you do the other? I went AG first and less than 12months I have a keg set up.I'm glad I went AG first I still had to drink all my kit beers first before buying kegs, now that I have got rid of my bottles I have heaps of storage space.



Andrew

 

[buttersd70]

so butters you reckon he should try for an expensive AG setup like you've got

Yeah, how much was it in total? about 40 bucks, plus the mill?

I'm the ultimate tightarse.....I don't exagerate when I say $40 for my inital setup (which, coincidently, I'm still using).

So there really is no reason not to do both. Shiny shiny bling is nice to look at, but my system, as ugly as it is, produces some damn fine beer (imho).

Ok here's that piccie to keep Butters happy

Ilove that piccie. :lol:

 

[muckey]

Yeah, how much was it in total? about 40 bucks, plus the mill?

I'm the ultimate tightarse.....I don't exagerate when I say $40 for my inital setup (which, coincidently, I'm still using).

So there really is no reason not to do both. Shiny shiny bling is nice to look at, but my system, as ugly as it is, produces some damn fine beer (imho).


Ilove that piccie. :lol:

I think that's the point. You dont have to start AG or kegging with all the bling as long as your system works. Once you get started on either, you can add bits as you can afford.

It's all well and good asking for others opinions but really you need to make up your own mind in the end

 

[Maxt]

I would suggest finding a brew club and trying some AG beer. The interweb may be useful, but it's also full of contradictory advice and some pointless arguments . If you are not near a club, I'm sure someone on this forum will be near you, and wouldn't mind you watching an AG session. One demo with a good brewer is worth months trawling online here.
That way, you can tell whether AG is for you. Like many on here, after tasting quality made AG, there's no turning back to kits again.

As for kegging, as Bribie said, there are other alternatives such as pet or even tap-a-draft systems that will ease the bottling blues.

 

[Bribie G]

Yes life was so much simpler then




:lol: :lol: