Why do YOU keg?

[bluesman]

1. kegs are easier to manage (one vessel vs 50 bottles)
2. more shelf stable (less oxidation) longer shelf-life when kept cold
3. serving via kegerater is preferable
4. less cleaning/sanitizing
5. beer lines are easy to clean (I use BLC)
6. force carbonation is faster/easily controlled
7. kegs are cool

[mugwort]

All good reasons given so far, but I didn't see anyone mention oxidation. A standard crown cap lets in about 200-500 ppb O2 per month, and 500 or so is pretty much the maximum allowable level for long-term storage.

C'mon now.  You can't just roll stats like that without sharing a source.  I'm staring at some precious bottled HB approaching the four year mark now with visions of oxygen ingress dancing in my head.

[theDarkSide]

7. kegs are cool

[klickitat jim]

I've found that the black top kegs are the coolest and the blue top ones lower my efficiency by as much as a  half a percentage point. Maybe they are for lite beers only.

Does anyone polish their kegs for a more tricked out, sexy, look?

"Freedom is temporary unless you are also Brave!" - Patriot

[Joe Sr.]

Does anyone polish their kegs for a more tricked out, sexy, look?

I have actually thought about cleaning them up with some BKF so they don't look so beat up.  But ain't nobody got time for that.

[The Professor]

I started doing it because of #7 (the cool factor) ...but in the end it also allows for convenient bulk aging/conditioning. 
And when I do elect to bottle (either a few bottles or most of a batch) I can bottle bright, properly aged, perfectly conditioned beer without producing any bottle sediment.   

[brewsumore]

I just like to see the disappointed look on a friend's face when the keg holding their favorite beer kicks, and the same face lights up a minute or two later when they realize that they actually enjoy one of the other remaining beers, possibly a style which they didn't think they liked!

Kinda like weaning them off of BMC!

[a10t2]

All good reasons given so far, but I didn't see anyone mention oxidation. A standard crown cap lets in about 200-500 ppb O2 per month, and 500 or so is pretty much the maximum allowable level for long-term storage.

C'mon now.  You can't just roll stats like that without sharing a source.  I'm staring at some precious bottled HB approaching the four year mark now with visions of oxygen ingress dancing in my head.

Sorry, the 500 number is just a rule of thumb that I've picked up. The numbers for O2 ingress I got from the manual for our Meheen Merlin. They cite: Proceedings of the European Brewing Congress, Oslo 1993, p 654. That isn't online, but I found a pretty interesting paper on staling that does have some data. They did find lower diffusion rates (0-850 ppb over 180 days). http://dfadel.ferasoft.com.br/homebrew/livros/artigos/flavor_stability_8p.pdf

[euge]

I quit a short homebrewing endeavor in 93-94. When I started back up in 2007 it was straight to kegs. I knew already that it was easier and less messy than dealing with bottles so enjoyed my very first batch of SNPA clone on draft.

Also, I don't mind breaking a keg down to clean since it only takes a few minutes. I reach into the keg and feel around for any slime building up- which can happen. Then it needs a scrub with a sponge instead of just an oxyclean soak.

Bottles tend to build up on the counter by the sink. Don't like that... Even so, I tend to bottle hefeweizens but this year I'll be kegging them.

[beersk]

I quit a short homebrewing endeavor in 93-94. When I started back up in 2007 it was straight to kegs. I knew already that it was easier and less messy than dealing with bottles so enjoyed my very first batch of SNPA clone on draft.

Also, I don't mind breaking a keg down to clean since it only takes a few minutes. I reach into the keg and feel around for any slime building up- which can happen. Then it needs a scrub with a sponge instead of just an oxyclean soak.

Bottles tend to build up on the counter by the sink. Don't like that... Even so, I tend to bottle hefeweizens but this year I'll be kegging them.

Hefes are a style where I like having that sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Perhaps the issue I've been having is slime/whatever building up in my dip tubes.  Since I've only recently bought a dip tube brush, I hope this issue goes away.