Beer-lord

Recipes 

After I put beer in my corny, is it better to pressure it up and let it sit at room temp for a few weeks or put it in the fridge for a few weeks?
Basically, does it condition any faster with CO2 in the fridge than at room temps?
I've tried going right to the fridge for a week and it was carbed but still green of course. Tried the same thing at room temps and then in the fridge for 3 days on high CO2 and it was definitely better.

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bartbert

Recipes 

I don't think you will get much conditioning effect once you drop the temperature down (assuming you serve it in the 40's). The yeast will be too inactive to do you much good. I pressurize my kegs to about 20 lbs and let them condition for a couple of weeks before dropping the temperature. I have enough of a pipeline built up that adding a couple of weeks for conditioning is no big deal. If you have no other homebrew to drink while you are waiting, then your patience gets tested a bit more.

zacster

Recipes 

I was just going to ask about keg conditioning. So you just put it at 20lbs and let it sit warm? My brew has been in the primary for 2 weeks now and I had let the trub settle in the first carboy and then siphoned the clear wort into my second carboy where I let it ferment. There was absolutely no sediment in it so I'm thinking that going straight to keg should be good.

Do you keep it connected to the CO2 or do you pull it off and let the carbonation just happen?

Hammy71

Recipes 

Kegs are nothing more than big bottles. They don't allow you to skip the conditioning stage. I let my beer sit in the primary for at least three weeks and then leave in the keg at room temperature for at least three more. After filling the keg you have to purge the air out of it with CO2. I use 20 psi to do this and also to seal the lid after purging. You can then just set the keg aside. I have an extra CO2 tank that I use to carbonate my kegs while they condition. That way when a space comes available in the keezer, I have a carbed/conditioned beer that just needs chilled. But, it's not a necessity, I'm just lucky to have an extra tank. The beer won't carbonate if you disconnect the gas.

bartbert

Recipes 

I don't keep it connected because I don't have extra CO2 bottles, regulators, etc. to do it. About once per week I hook them up and recharge them back up to 20 lbs. The first week they will typically drop 5 to 10 lbs due to the CO2 going into solution. The second week it drops 2 or 3 lbs. and then it hardly drops at all after that. If you are trying to get your beer ready to serve as soon as possible, this probably isn't the way to go. I'm generally not in a hurry, so it works for me.

Cambone

Recipes 

Conditioning will happen at serving temps, just much much slower. I had a dry stout that took about 6 weeks in the fridge to lose it's "green-ness". I'm sure at room temp it would have been three or less.

My new plan is to buy a second corny to build a pipeline, and then carb my kegs with corn sugar so I'll be forced (pun intended) to keep them at room temp. I'll save CO2 and my beer will condition a tad faster.

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Beer-lord

Recipes 

If it's already been chilled, I assume it would be best to remove it and bring it back to room temps unless you are willing to wait a long time to condition.

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zacster

Recipes 

I'll give it a try at 20lbs disconnected, and give it a shot or two during the first week. I'll let it sit for 2 - 3 weeks, but probably give it a try every now and then to see how its coming along. This will be my first beer made specifically for my keg. The other one was a lager that didn't carbonate in the bottle, and that's what prompted me to go to kegging.

bartbert

Recipes 

Yes, that's what I would do.

david_42

Recipes 

I condition at 60-65F.

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