How long to keg a pale ale.

As the title says, how long do you generally leave a beer in the keg before drinking (not just tasting).

Would an average strength APA benefit much from say a month or is there not much difference
after a week? (I primary for three weeks).

NewkyBrown said:

As the title says, how long do you generally leave a beer in the keg before drinking (not just tasting).

Would an average strength APA benefit much from say a month or is there not much difference
after a week? (I primary for three weeks).

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In two weeks your pale ale is ready to go!! If not sooner. But I usually find that two weeks after kegging a pale ale works for me. No more green flavors at that point. I find most ales will clean up and taste great after 14 days in the keg IMO. Like I said most ales but not all!!

I pitch the proper amount of yeast at the proper temperature, and ferment at the lower end of the yeast strain's optimum temperature. The beer is done and pretty clear by day 10. I then dryhop for 5-7 days, and then package.

Normally, I'm kegging on about day 15-17 and drinking a few days after that.

For a well made beer, there isn't any advantage to letting it sit once it's been done and it's clear.

I do a primary for up to 2 weeks with pale ales.I do secondary for a week just to help minimize the sediment getting into the keg - 4 days at room temperature and 3 days at 30F. At day 21 -or sooner -the beer ice cold and ready to be transferred to the keg. Force carbonating around 30F takes little time. If i am in a pinch it is ready in 5 minutes.

I transfer from my secondary to my keg, cool for 24 hours, then add gelatin, wait a few days, carb up and drink. So I would say about 5 days.

Thanks for the replies.


I have a pale ale that may get better but it seems to have a weird off flavor. It is enjoyable but could be better. I doubt then it will get much better in a week or two.

I guess I need to be more precise with yeast quantities as my temps have been good.

I've gone grain to glass in a week and it tasted great. Granted I used a large WLP090 starter and EdWort's Haus Pale Ale all grain recipe.

What is your weird off flavor?

hophop said:

What is your weird off flavor?

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To be honest I'm not sure. Could be a bit of astringency. I put a good amount of hops in the recipe ( Amarillo and ahtanum) with Ed worts pale ale grain bill. I also dry hopped with an ounce of Amarillo but the hops are just not shining through.

I haven't paid any attention to my water/ Ph in the mash and I believe we have very hard water here.
I that this can affect the hop flavour/aroma and also add astringency. I also used one pack of rehydrated US-05 without checking if I needed more. It was a slow starting ferment!

Any thoughts?

One pack of US05 rehydrated would be fine for anything under 1.050. Fermentation temp does play a very important role in the first two to three days though.

I find that Pale Ales are best about 4 or 5 weeks after brewing. Pale Ales are simple, but still they seem to smooth out a bit, even after they've cleared and have been bottled. Temperature plays a role, though. The higher the temp you store your beer during aging, the quicker they'll mature.

I use a temp controlled kegerator. I pitch at 62, then raise temp 1 degree every 12 hours, until I reach 68 degs, then I finish at room temp. After 10 days at room temp, I cold crash for 3 days at 35 degs, then into the keg and dry hops for 2 weeks at 50 degrees, then I cool to 35 for about 1 week to carbonate fully, then bottle or put it on tap. I just leave it on the dry hops the entire time, because you won't pick up the "grassy" flavors by dryhopping in the 50's, and at lower serving temps.

That's what I like to do, and my beer comes out like nectar of the Gods - but everyone has a different routine. You just gotta figure out what works best with your own equipment and experiment.