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newbie bottling question
i'm sure this question has a very simple answer but here goes anyway. does conditioning take any longer in a 22 oz bottle than a 12?
Nope, & you lose less beer when you pour it. I gave all my 12oz away.
Do you know anyone that drinks one 12oz homebrew?
they love to push 12-oz'ers on you at the brew store, but they aren't all that. too many to bottle, extend the bottling period, you are going to drink more than one any way and who the heck wants to clean and sanitize all those anyway!
the conditioning period depends on the beer, not the bottle size. so don't sweat it.
when you get the opportunity, trade up.
oh i've got sort of a mixed bag right now of recycled sam adams 12s and some newly purchased 22s. picked those up for the same reason you've both stated. betcha cant drink just one!
No differences in carbonation time... just a difference in prep time.
I think this is the natural progression for the homebrewer's packaging growth:
1. Start with all 12 oz.
2. Start using half 22oz, fill the rest in 12oz.
3. "Screw these 12 oz bottles" bottleling everything in 22oz.
4. Invest in single keg and draft system. Stuck with single batch at a time, so you go back to 22oz bottles for the other three styles you have going.
5. Find "cheap" keg purcheases, buy 10 more kegs... sending bottles to their grave and swearing never again.
6. Filling all 11 kegs, and still you don't have enough room.
7. Drink beer right out of primary fermentor, save kegs for friends.
Which is to say, your interest in kegging is directly proportional to the number of bottles you have capped.
I am becoming extremely interested, and am approaching step 4. at a rapid rate.
I use the 12oz bottles, only because I got them for free. That was clearly the biggest pain; to remove labels, wash and sanitize just over 100 bottles. I do have a couple of cases of 22oz, and will use them for sure. I also opened a seperate bank account specificly for brewing equipment savings. I'm thinking go to kegging first, then upgrade to AG....
I'll be honest. I have a 4 tap kegorator in my garage and I have 10 kegs.
I have been kegging for the last 6 years or so.
I find myself drifting back to bottling. I am not saying I am going to dump my kegging equipment because its great. But there is something to be said for bottled beer. Its convienent and easy to store and easy to give away so you can brew more.
I have been working on bottling in 22oz bottles right from the keg with a homemade filler too.
What I really need to build is an all out bottle washer and autosanitizer. Then bottleing would be a breeze and if I could patent it and sell it, I'd be in heaven.
You can buy a bottle washer, like a bottle tree. It costs more, but should work the same. My bottle tree has a little cap piece, that holds sanitizer, then pumps a few sprays into each bottle.
i like 12 oz bottles because i take a couple with me to work every day ,, if i didnt have any beer for work i wont go that day. i dont find bottle cleaning to unpleasent, i sit in the garage , crank up the music , drink some beers and just enjoy the day .try not to think of it as a chore but part off the experiance after all to me this is a hobby with great rewards.
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