From The NB Blog : Why Bother with Bottling?

[NB-Marketing]

Why Bother With Bottles?

Seems like the answer should be pretty straight-forward: “So I can drink it!”…right? After all, almost everybody who brews started out by bottling their beer.

However, there are many options out there: kegs, mini-kegs, pressurizable stainless-steel growlers, and most recently, homebrew-sized brite tanks.

Bottling beer is a hassle. All that cleaning…and sanitizing….and filling….and capping. Not to mention figuring out the right amount of priming sugar. And if you bottle too early, bottle bombs! Why bother?

While there are definitely quicker and sexier options available, bottles still have a fundamental place in homebrewing. And not only because they are cheap. Bottles of all shapes and sizes are still more portable and convenient than even the smallest keg system. If filled and capped well, bottles stay sealed and carbonated a lot longer than a quick growler fill off the tap.

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[sneezles61]

Bravo! Well stated piece. I do always keg now and bottling does happen when some one want/deserves some home brew. One thing with the growler, I always advocate is, it wasn’t designed to be a long term storage container. I will bring them when visiting friends and once the lid is cracked, it needs to be drank, not saving for later kinda thing… Sneezles61

[jimrmaine]

I only read up to the 3rd paragraph before replying.
Why do I bottle? I currently have 18 varieties of tasty beer available in bottles ready for my whim. How many taps do you have?
Now I’ll go back to the rest of the article…

[jimrmaine]

Ok, finished the article. Well done Bjorn. Balanced for the most part. Maybe I’m the weird one- I really enjoy the bottling process.

[frenchie]

Jim, I’ve gotta agree. I’ve never looked at bottling as a chore, just one step closer to a new beer.

I do wish I had space for at least a couple of taps, though.

Cheers,

Ron

[sneezles61]

I just enjoy how this is all coming about, and I hope the other peeps on the other posts that are worried about this or that and how to control it git what was just said by Frenchie ^^^^^, well in a round about way, its part of brewing. I mean period. Once we get past the little nuances, get our equipment and knowledge working to gather, it is all part of the process and plan yer brew/day according. RDWAHAHB…. Sneezles61

[flars]

A well written article. I’m another one of those people that enjoys the bottling process. All my stuff is in one place. The clean bottles are in cases just waiting to be sanitized and filled with that wonderful fluid.

I’ve had my last taste of the beer for a few weeks or a few months as I fill and cap. I use the time to think about the brewing process and fermentation. This is where I add to my notes about a possible change in the process or keeping everything the same based on the taste of the final hydrometer sample. The decision to change or not change comes after the first few pours of the fully conditioned beer.

[brew_cat]

I don’t mind bottling and I don’t see how you can brew a lot of beer without doing some bottling. I have 9 kegs and still bottle. I have a pretty good stash of bottles and most people I give beer to return them clean which is a plus

[wilcolandzaat]

Got few growlers made for fast traveling and quick drinking got new system did put a kegurator and one keg at my daughters house so no hassle anymore dealing with growlers

[flars]

Recent bottling session. Those newly filled bottles just look so good getting ready fill up a couple of cases for conditioning. As the bottles filled slower from the bottom of the bottling bucket I was looking at the bench capper. The idea came to post the bench capper topic.

Some day I’ll neaten up the room with a new cabinet for the beer tools and wood finishing supplies.

[sneezles61]

Don’t organize it Flars, then us others would have to follow suit too! I call it organized chaos, and mine works well fer me! Sneezles61

[JohnInKY]

I keg all my brews now. Easier, faster, and I believe better for the beer. When I take beer elsewhere, I either fill a growler or two, or fill some pre-chilled and sanitized 22oz bottles with a “Last Straw” bottle filler…

[hd4mark]

Can’t remember the last time I filled a bottle. I have been the gamut with bottling. The counter pressure filler worked great but yes they are a PIA to use.

Yes for competitions it’s obviously the only option. I kind of gave up on entering them though. Sure they are great for bragging rights and some really good feed back but I learned that I brew almost exclusively for me. I know what beer I like and am happy to share but most of my friends drink something that ends in “light”. So there aren’t many reasons to bottle.

On the rare occasions I want some bottled just adding some sugar or prime tab type drops to a few bottles is the way to go. With so few to do my 20 year old wing capper still works great.

[sneezles61]

Here Here Mark! Sneezles61

[brew_cat]

You know @hd4mark I had a friend like that he turned into a project for me . I started him on some light bocks and moved home slowly to more flavorful beers. Now I’ve created a monster. The good thing is he buys me equipment and ingredients he has no interest in brewing himself he much prefers the tasting part. Helps me empty kegs so I don’t get backed up.