Beer in keg condition quicker?

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BeerisGOD

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..than bottle conditioning?
Just a random question.

Just ive never kegged and im noticing beer thats been in the bottle longer tastes a lot better.
But if i can get a more improved beer sooner in a keg thaen im willing to give kegging a go.

Cheers
 
For me, there's little or no difference to the taste of a brew that is in a PB or in a bottle.

However, I tend to:
  • Bottle brews that:
    • I wish to sit on the shelf for a few months. (Stouts, porters and high ABV brews.)
    • I will only be drinking in small quantities. (High ABV brews.)
  • Keg brews that:
    • Will be finished within a month or so of opening.
    • I intend to take away with me.
Without a shadow of doubt, using a keg is easier than bottling a brew; and using 650ml bottles is better than using 500ml bottles because you need less of them for each batch.

Hope this helps. :thumb:
 
Cheers dutto

The keg sounds a great idea for going camping with.
Were all off to skeggy in may so a couple of mini kegs might be more practical
Ill start looking online. If theres any you can recommend please do
 
Bugger! If they get my "post cataract op examination" out of the way by the end of March we will probably be away in France when you get here!

For a full sized PB I can recommend the King Keg Top Tap. It ain't cheap but it's ideal for taking away with you because it stays clear if you drive carefully. (Having said that, the persistent "click - click - click" as the floating take-off hits the side of the PB makes "Are we there yet?" a fond memory!)

The last time we went to France I took two of these 10 litre kegs.

http://www.leyland-home-brew.co.uk/10-litre-plastic-pressure-barrel-714-p.asp

At 10 litres I didn't miss the CO2 injection system (they were empty in 10 days each) and just cracked open the top when the pressure was about finished. (Because it reduces the chance of oxidisation, I recommend this method over letting air enter via the tap.)

We had a bit too much to carry last September so I was a bit short of beer after the first three weeks. This year (having severely reduced the amount I am allowing SWMBO to take with her) I will take the 2 x 10 litres and the King Keg.

That should last the length of the break ... :wave:

... but, at €2.10 per litre for a really nice Merlot, the desire to bring all the kegs back full of wine will be hard to ignore! :thumb:
 
im willing to give kegging a go.
Are you on about using pressure barrels or force carbing in something like a cornelius or pub keg?

You can drink earlier in a force carb situation because you won't be doing that extra fermentation step.
 
Are you on about using pressure barrels or force carbing in something like a cornelius or pub keg?

You can drink earlier in a force carb situation because you won't be doing that extra fermentation step.

Force carbing can be done in a plastic PB, but A) It's expensive. and B) It takes a lot of patience and time.

I did it once for a sweet cider brewed for No. 1 son, but it's not something that I would recommend if there's an alternative available.:wave:
 
Force carbing can be done in a plastic PB, but A) It's expensive. and B) It takes a lot of patience and time.

I did it once for a sweet cider brewed for No. 1 son, but it's not something that I would recommend if there's an alternative available.:wave:
I was thinking about trying to force card in a pressure barrel. I've fitted schrader valves and have a pub co2 cylinder but because I've got Petainers and steel barrels it would be just to see if I could do it for the fun of it. If the petainer weren't free I'd do it with the **** kit I'm trying to get some flavour into now. It'll clearly be cold enough to burst carb and shake it.

It's a John Bull Best Bitter that had a kilo of extra dark DME and 300g of brown sugar and I left it unjazzedup on purpose to see what it would be like, and it's just mundane. I took off a gallon and made a Christamas beer and that's tasting ok. For the other 4 gallons I just added a hop tea with 18g of admiral and 20g of cascade, deliberately holding back on the Admiral. It's still meh. Am really tempted to just Christmas up the whole damn lot before I keg it or add another 20g of Admiral because even too much Admiral would be better than the dull thing it is now. It's not gone off, has attenuated perfectly, but the can was 16 months out of date. Only cost £1.25, though.

Not derailing this thread - no need to talk about the JB kit. Yeah, I'm going to Christmas AND add more Admiral tea to it.
 
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