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ButchTN

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Sorry folks I don't know if this needs to be in the Kegging Forum or not.

Our first attempt at kegging was actually our third brew overall so forgive my nubieness. We chose to keg an American Cream Ale. Nothing too fancy just a simple little extract kit. I've had it under 10 psi for a week and got good carbonation, but it was very bitter. I've read the "never throw a brew out" sticky, but if I remember correctly it was geared more towards bottling.

Will this stuff get better in a chilled keg?
 
How long have you been conditioning the beer? Kegged green beer that's been force carbed is still green beer- no matter how you slice it.
 
Patience Daniel-san.... It if your brewing techniques were sound, it will improve with age. Even with kegging, the last glass is usually the best.
 
How long have you been conditioning the beer? Kegged green beer that's been force carbed is still green beer- no matter how you slice it.

From start to kegged was about 3 1/2 weeks.

EDIT: Well...maybe 4 1/2 weeks not including the week under pressure. My buddy has the notebook and he's out of town.
 
From start to kegged was about 3 1/2 weeks.


Yep, it's still green. Remember how it took 3 weeks for your bottles to carbonate? And how your last beer of the batch was usually the best? Same with the keg. Think of a keg as a giant bottle/can that needs to mature before tasting best.

The longer the beer sits sealed in the keg (at room temp), the better. Then hook it up to pressure.
 
Yep, it's still green. Remember how it took 3 weeks for your bottles to carbonate? And how your last beer of the batch was usually the best? Same with the keg. Think of a keg as a giant bottle/can that needs to mature before tasting best.

The longer the beer sits sealed in the keg (at room temp), the better. Then hook it up to pressure.

Ok I can understand that. Can I assume that due to it being chilled that the maturing process will take longer than bottles at room temp?

Thank you all for your help by the way!
 
Was it a Brewers Best Kit? I have one that is about batch #...100+ for me, one of the last Extract brews before going AG, and it's so damn bitter it'll such your cheeks up underneath your ears!
I think they screwed up the hop type, amount. or AA% or something.
 
Was it a Brewers Best Kit? I have one that is about batch #...100+ for me, one of the last Extract brews before going AG, and it's so damn bitter it'll such your cheeks up underneath your ears!
I think they screwed up the hop type, amount. or AA% or something.

Yep, that's the one!
 
Brudda Man...I'm affraid we've been duped. I'm glad to hear it's not just me....and I'm sure you are too.

Not a bad Technique...just a bad Kit!

Maybe we should ask for another!

Sure sounds that way. So is there any hope for this one or is it a dumper?
 
Sure sounds that way. So is there any hope for this one or is it a dumper?

Forget about it for six months and try it again. If it's still too bitter, give it another six. It should mellow over time.

BTW, what places sell these kits? I see them mentioned frequently, but I have never come across one myself.
 
Forget about it for six months and try it again. If it's still too bitter, give it another six. It should mellow over time.
Normally, I'd totally agree, but I dont' think you understand just how bitter this is. It would take another 10#'s of pale malt, and 4 oz of dry Hops to balance this beer.

I'm telling you it's bitter like War Heads are Sour.
 
Forget about it for six months and try it again. If it's still too bitter, give it another six. It should mellow over time.

BTW, what places sell these kits? I see them mentioned frequently, but I have never come across one myself.

Im game for letting it sit, but I'll have to disconnect it from the CO2. Will that be ok? Will it stay carbonated if disconnected? I don't have the set up yet to keep multiple tanks hooked up to the same CO2. I can prolly give it 6 months, but if I don't see a vast improvement I may toss it just due to lack of space.

My LHB shop has the kits. I just assumed they were pretty common because that's pretty much all they sell in kit form.
 
Im game for letting it sit, but I'll have to disconnect it from the CO2. Will that be ok? Will it stay carbonated if disconnected? I don't have the set up yet to keep multiple tanks hooked up to the same CO2. I can prolly give it 6 months, but if I don't see a vast improvement I may toss it just due to lack of space.

My LHB shop has the kits. I just assumed they were pretty common because that's pretty much all they sell in kit form.

It's fine.
I just kick mine up about 15 psi...then take it out of the keezer and go to the basement.
 
Normally, I'd totally agree, but I dont' think you understand just how bitter this is. It would take another 10#'s of pale malt, and 4 oz of dry Hops to balance this beer.

I'm telling you it's bitter like War Heads are Sour.

Wow, now that is bitter. I suppose blending it with another, underhopped batch would be another option, but I personally wouldn't go through the trouble and the risk of ending up with 10 gallons of less-than-enjoyable beer.

If the OP doesn't need to use the keg for a while, I'd still say give aging a chance, but you may well be right that the bitterness will persist for longer than the cream ale's fairly delicate flavor profile.
 
Ok, I've been sampling this every day since I first posted and I'll be damned if i don't think it's getting better. Although it could be a mixture of just plain drunkness, Skoal fine cut, and the dead brain cells the fermenting Apfelwein in my inclosed office is producing, but it still finishes very bitter. It has a very nice hoppy aroma though.
 

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