Storing/Ageing in a keg

I am in the process of getting my keg system set up. The first keg should be filled next weekend. I was wondering about any beer that I might want to sit on for a while. Do you do the dextrose and let it self prime and hook it up when needed, let it sit un carbed and then force carb later. Is there advantages or disadvantages to aging under carbonation. I would like to eventually have a few kegs on hand that can be hooked up at any time, and some of them may sit waiting for some time.

I would prime it and age it carbed. The main reason being is that you'll be able to dispense once it gets to serving temperature instead of having to wait for it to carb. I am not sure if aging without carbing will make any noticeable difference. Although I have never personally done it.

I prime and let them sit, it works well. Just be sure to hit the keg with about 30 lbs of co2 to seal the lid and to purge the air.

lurker18 said:

I am in the process of getting my keg system set up. The first keg should be filled next weekend. I was wondering about any beer that I might want to sit on for a while. Do you do the dextrose and let it self prime and hook it up when needed, let it sit un carbed and then force carb later. Is there advantages or disadvantages to aging under carbonation. I would like to eventually have a few kegs on hand that can be hooked up at any time, and some of them may sit waiting for some time.

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I am in the same boat as you about ready to fill the first keg.

However, I wll be force carbing for a week and won't prime, as this is how I learned.

I can't tell you if this is better or worse than priming, hopefully someone else can.

In my experience there is a definite taste difference between primed and charged kegs. I used to force carb one keg and prime and set the other (splitting 10-gallon batches).

There was always a stronger yeast “bite” coming from the primed keg. Granted, that bite might have subsided if the keg were allowed to sit chilled for a month or more following 3 weeks of room temp conditioning…but I’m a fresh beer brewer. On average I’m rotating from grain to glass in about 6 weeks.

Some styles benefit from that yeast character so it’s really up to your preference.

If you’re not going to prime your keg, I’d advise you simply purge the Oxygen and seal the lid with 30PSI of gas. Don’t chill, carbonate and then remove from the cooler for storage. I’ve done that and ended up with over carbonated beer. If there is even a scosh of fermentables left in your keg, setting that beer at room temp will reignite fermentation and produce additional CO2 on top of what you’ve already forced.

BierMuncher said:

If you’re not going to prime your keg, I’d advise you simply purge the Oxygen and seal the lid with 30PSI of gas. Don’t chill, carbonate and then remove from the cooler for storage. I’ve done that and ended up with over carbonated beer. If there is even a scosh of fermentables left in your keg, setting that beer at room temp will reignite fermentation and produce additional CO2 on top of what you’ve already forced.

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Good call, I hadn't considered that.

Would you suggest using a smaller 5 lb CO2 tank continualy hooked up to the keg with 30PSI? Or load it and forget it...for a week?

jmkratt said:

Good call, I hadn't considered that.

Would you suggest using a smaller 5 lb CO2 tank continualy hooked up to the keg with 30PSI? Or load it and forget it...for a week?

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I would suggest you don't fully charge the keg until your getting close to serving time. Just purge the oxygen and hit the keg with 30PSI to seal the lid, remove the gas and set the keg aside.

BierMuncher said:

I would suggest you don't fully charge the keg until your getting close to serving time. Just purge the oxygen and hit the keg with 30PSI to seal the lid, remove the gas and set the keg aside.

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Good to know, thank you. How long would you recommend you wait until full charging? Perhaps a better way to ask that would be, how long before serving woulf you fully charge?

Didn't mean to take this on a tangent, lurker18.

No problem, same question so I got some ideas. I am planning to have a keg "ready to go" for when needed, but am also asking about stuff that you want to sit for a while, age to mellow.
If it helps, my kegging system has the kegs stored at room temperature and cooled after the kegs, so there will be no coolonig to carb, and then warming up again. Yes I know it will take more to carb these up like this, but that is the system I have.

jmkratt said:

Good to know, thank you. How long would you recommend you wait until full charging? Perhaps a better way to ask that would be, how long before serving woulf you fully charge?

Didn't mean to take this on a tangent, lurker18.

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I like my beers chilled for at least 2-3 weeks (depending on the gravity) so they have time to move through the chill haze and get clear. If you set your PSI at 10-11 for that time, you should be right on target.

good thread.

i've wondered the difference between carb aging and non-carb aging as well.

i hit my porter with 30psi, then let it sit at basement temps (60F) for a week. then I purged, put in keezer, and left it at 10 for about a week now. gonna leave it for another 1-2 weeks. problem is my keezer's at 50F right now....stupid bock fermenting....lol