Double Check my Process

I am hoping someone would be kind enough to offer some input as to my process.

Currently I brew and leave the beer in the primary fermenter for 28 days. I then rack to the keg and let sit at serving pressure (after blowing out O2) for 1 week, then I serve.

However, I seem to think I may need to keg condition because the brews I have kegged so far taste much better after a week or two in the keg. The current brew, Sunshine Wheat clone, tasted horrible on first pour and was quite cloudy. Now after a few weeks it is crystal clear and pretty tasty. This is leading me to beleive I need to allow it a little more time.

What do you guys think?

jmkratt said:

The current brew, Sunshine Wheat clone, tasted horrible on first pour and was quite cloudy.

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Everything looks good. One reason why the first few beers taste not as good could be you are pouring of the sediment from transferring from one vessel to another.

In addition, I have noticed that beers taste different depending on what you drank or ate. This difference could exaplin a one time event but not a consistent after a week it was great experience.

I know secondaries are a debatable subject, but have you thought about one?

If you're not priming your kegs, two weeks is minimum at serving pressure, three weeks is perfect. I prime most of my kegs since I have a good backlog and they sit for weeks waiting on an empty tap. They're ready to drink as soon as they chill, but even then they're better after a week at serving pressure.

eljefe said:

I know secondaries are a debatable subject, but have you thought about one?

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I agree with eljefe and I was also thinking, do you "cold crash" before you keg?
That could help remove some of the sediment and possible cloudiness! IMHO

My first kegged beer has been getting better by the week. I'm going to stop drinking it for a couple of weeks..

eljefe said:

I know secondaries are a debatable subject, but have you thought about one?

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I do have a secondary but haven't used it yet, my IPA that's fermenting will be the first one to use it for dry hopping. I will be interested to see how it goes.

masonsjax said:

If you're not priming your kegs, two weeks is minimum at serving pressure, three weeks is perfect. I prime most of my kegs since I have a good backlog and they sit for weeks waiting on an empty tap. They're ready to drink as soon as they chill, but even then they're better after a week at serving pressure.

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I am not priming the kegs. Are you priming them at room temp and then when they are ready to chill you're ready to go?

KevinW said:

I agree with eljefe and I was also thinking, do you "cold crash" before you keg?
That could help remove some of the sediment and possible cloudiness! IMHO

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No, I haven't cold crashed anything. I am not sure I have the means to do that, but I will look into it.

tamoore said:

My first kegged beer has been getting better by the week. I'm going to stop drinking it for a couple of weeks..

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Yeah, I had that plan, too. It's a lot easier said than done!!

Yes I prime at room temp with about 3oz of dextrose. The kegs then sit and carb up for at least a few weeks, which is basically like a secondary. After chilling, just dump out the first half pint and it will be sediment free from then on. It gets increasingly clearer as the keg empties too.

masonsjax said:

Yes I prime at room temp with about 3oz of dextrose. The kegs then sit and carb up for at least a few weeks, which is basically like a secondary. After chilling, just dump out the first half pint and it will be sediment free from then on. It gets increasingly clearer as the keg empties too.

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Interesting, worth a shot.

I had always heard that if you force carb you don't need to prime. However, I would like better beer so I will try it.

The reason I prime is because sugar is cheaper and easier for me to come by than co2, and I have plenty of time to let kegs prime. If you let your kegs sit at serving pressure and temperature for 2 weeks you'll get the same results.