For the homebrewer, there are two main options for storing beer: bottles and kegs.
Bottles
A typical five gallon batch of beer will yield approximately fifty 12oz bottles, forty 16oz bottles, or twenty-five 750mL bottles.
Advantages
- Ease of portability
- A six pack is easy to take with you.
- Ease of storage
- Beer can be stored in a closet out of the way until you're ready to chill and drink.
- Ease of sharing
- You can divide your batch up however you please and give it away without problems.
Disadvantages
- Cleaning
- Sanitizing two cases of bottles is time-consuming and unpleasant.
- Filling
- Filling two cases of bottles and then capping them is also time-consuming
- Inconsistency
- Flavor variations from one bottle to another are a concern, as well as inconsistent carbonation.
Kegs
One five gallon batch yields one five gallon keg, obviously.
Advantages
- Cleaning
- Sanitizing one keg is quick and easy.
- Filling
- Filling a keg is as simple as racking from your fermenter and sealing the keg.
- Force Carbonation
- Instead of using priming sugar, you can force carbonate to speed along the beer towards being read to drink.
- Consistency
- The entire batch will have consistent flavor and carbonation.
Disadvantages
- Cost
- The initial costs of kegging equipment are high.
- Portability
- Kegs are more difficult to move from place to place than bottles.
- Storage
- Kegs may be stored warm, but the entire keg must be chilled, which quite a bit of room and usually requires a seperate refrigerator.