Ive just started kegging (only kegged 2 IPAs so far) and it seems like my beer takes several weeks up to a month after kegging to get better. Both were kegged after around 10 days, but everyone says IPAs should be better fresh. I know that beers can get better with age, but specially for lighter pale ales and IPAs, shouldnt that happen faster than the 4-6 weeks that Im seeing?
What Ive done for the 2 beers Ive kegs is the set and forget method. After about a week, I will pull off the slug of star san in the lines and a little beer, discard that and then taste a small sample (~2 oz), which both times hasnt been great. Then Ill wait a few days, pull off a couple ounces to clear the lines (and drink it for learning purposes) and then pour another small sample (2-4 oz) and it will usually be getting better, but still not great. Ive been repeating this every 3-7 days and it does seem like it keeps getting better so I was assuming they needed to condition longer. But should I just be pulling off 1 or 2 pints in the beginning and then drinking the rest? Will the beer be better then? Just curious what everyone else does.
What Ive done for the 2 beers Ive kegs is the set and forget method. After about a week, I will pull off the slug of star san in the lines and a little beer, discard that and then taste a small sample (~2 oz), which both times hasnt been great. Then Ill wait a few days, pull off a couple ounces to clear the lines (and drink it for learning purposes) and then pour another small sample (2-4 oz) and it will usually be getting better, but still not great. Ive been repeating this every 3-7 days and it does seem like it keeps getting better so I was assuming they needed to condition longer. But should I just be pulling off 1 or 2 pints in the beginning and then drinking the rest? Will the beer be better then? Just curious what everyone else does.