Vital Facts On Bottling And Kegging

By Brenda Clark


The art of brewing has been in existence since the 5th millennium BC and has over time become more sophisticated. A fact that is attributable to both technological developments, safety issues and the refined tastes of most beer consumers. Given the numerous health benefits that beer awards its moderate users, most individuals choose to craft their own beers at home therefore have to acquire knowledge on bottling and kegging.

Such home brewing activities would see the brewer undertake steps as milling, mashing, lautering, boiling, fermentation, conditioning and the final packaging. It is in the conditioning stage that different opinions arise with regards to what equipment should be used. Conditioning works to properly flavor the beer by allowing the yeast from the fermentation stage to absorb unwanted elements such as Sulphur.

The ideas of using of bottles for conditioning is said to be the predecessor of keg conditioning, as bottles were the antecedent tools used for to condition the drink. Bottles however come with the need to be constantly cleaned, this given the fact that yeast settles at the bottom of these bottle after doing away with all the unneeded elements.

Keg barrels on the other hand are most preferable given that their beer holding capacity surpasses bottles by far. Kegs normally require the use of a kegeroter, which ensures the barrels contents are within optimum temperature ranges. Better still, the hectic cleaning of bottles is eliminated by the use of keg barrels.

Seasoned brewers have in most cases however noted little or no differences between the two systems with regards to these beers richness and flavor. For those wishing to enjoy less brewing complexities, the use of bottles would serve just that. This given the fact that keg setups require more space compared to bottle set ups and demand detailed equipment as carbon dioxide regulators, keg tubbing, connectors, carbon dioxide tanks and clamps. Most of which are not required for a bottle set up.

It often is noted that good carbonation creates the perfect beer. Keg set ups deliver just that by ensuring the beers carbon dioxide levels are regulated through a direct feed from the carbon dioxide tank. Bottle set on the other hand do not quite regulate that beers carbonation process, and only rely on yeast to create the needed carbonation.

For a safe storage of beer kegs win the challenge by being able to protect the beer from direct sunlight and by being able to protect the beer from unwanted movements, which often lead to an unclear beer. Nonetheless, for those wishing to participate in home brew award winning competitions, bottle set ups would prove to be the best option, since these competitions usually demand bottle set ups as participatory preliminaries.

Each beer conditioning system serves to satisfy particular needs as efficiency and simplicity. Conclusively, this being an art, it would not be right to brand one system completely inefficient as each serves to paint to ones liking of the brewer.




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