How long will a keg last at room temp

So I know that there have been many forums asking how long a beer lasts in a keg. But all the answers seem to lean toward, "when cold, or the colder the better" I dont have a ton of cold storage space and my brewing has really taken off lately if a keg is pressurized at room temp (70 F) how long do they last? I have been brewing a long time but im fairly new to keging and only have space for two kegs in the fridge. Im working on more but those darn fiances tend to get in the way.

If this has already been addressed just direct me to the forum, I couldnt find one, Thanks!!!!

It depends on the beer from what I understand. I left a non descript 4.6% ale in a keg at 75* for 5 months, not meaning to-just forgot about it, with no ill effects compared to the same beer I bottled. I don't know much though. How long are you looking to hold the keg?

I wouldn't worry about 70F. If it gets to 80 or 90, I'd find a friend with a basement.
I have found cold conditioning to help my beers, but they still get better with time at higher temps, it just might take longer.

Difficult to say...depends really on the type of beer and the sanitation involved. A barleywine w/ proper sanition, probably years. A session ale w/ poor sanitation, a few weeks/months I would guess??

Ahh, well first off thanks for the quick reply. So it looks like I will be fine. My "man cave" has its moments of high temps, but in the house it stays at or below 75 F. I always assumed that a pressurized keg would last just like a bottled beer. I try to keep very good sanitation so I think that ill be ok. I just wanted to make sure that my beer wouldnt go bad outside the kegerator. Thanks guys! Feel free to add to the post, the more info the better!

How is that state any different than what a typical beer shelf is at the packy? The beer stores around here tend to be in the low 70's for temp, and so long as the container isn't leaking the beer is under CO2 pressure. The keg is also lightproof so you don't have that to worry about either.

carl spakler said:

How is that state any different than what a typical beer shelf is at the packy? The beer stores around here tend to be in the low 70's for temp, and so long as the container isn't leaking the beer is under CO2 pressure. The keg is also lightproof so you don't have that to worry about either.

Click to expand...

True enough- but remember that commercial beer is pasteurized. Commercial beer is generally meant to sit on the shelves in beer stores.

Homebrew, though, is pretty tough and you can keep it a very long time as long as you've observed proper sanitation. Just like bottled homebrew, some beers age well (like barleywine) and some start to lose flavor after a few months (like IPAs with all of the hops). I've had kegs for months without any problem, but I never kept one for more than 6 months.

carl spakler said:

How is that state any different than what a typical beer shelf is at the packy? The beer stores around here tend to be in the low 70's for temp, and so long as the container isn't leaking the beer is under CO2 pressure. The keg is also lightproof so you don't have that to worry about either.

Click to expand...

Most of the beer at the "packy" (MA term for packaged goods store / liquor store), has been pasteurized, and does not contain active cultures like homebrew.

Mike
UMass 84

Humm. I think at my house it would last longer at room temp than when I have it on tap

YooperBrew said:

True enough- but remember that commercial beer is pasteurized. Commercial beer is generally meant to sit on the shelves in beer stores.

Click to expand...

Are all the craft/micro brews also pasteurized as well? They sit on the same shelves as the BMC swill.

I have a friend who has been brewing for 15 years. He leaves his in the keg(s) in his garage as they wait to go into the kegerator. He makes some really good beer and has never had a problem and he lives in Florida.

Brewin_CRAZY said:

Im working on more but those darn SWMBO's tend to get in the way.

If this has already been addressed just direct me to the forum, I couldnt find one, Thanks!!!!

Click to expand...

FIFY

carl spakler said:

Are all the craft/micro brews also pasteurized as well? They sit on the same shelves as the BMC swill.

Click to expand...

Not at all, a lot of micro brews will bottle with live yeast. It really depends on the brewery, most of the smaller breweries really rely on bottle aging, if they pasteurized their beer they may have a slight problem with that. Hey even Sierra Nevada bottle ages, no pasteurization there... Pretty crazy that a brewery that big doesnt pasteurize. Not all breweries have the room to Lager their beer and dont want to force carb.

Its good to hear that I should be ok leaving my brews in the kegs until I have an open tap. Like LooyvilleLarry said, it will last longer outside the kegerator anyway, hahahahaha, so true.

goatchze said:

FIFY

Click to expand...

SWMBO... hahaha, SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED!!!
For those of you who are scratching your head...

I too am going to be running into this problem until I get my keezer built. Would I be able to hit the keg w/ co2, purge the keg and hit it again to clear out any oxygen before setting it aside. Would the purging be necessary?

golfguy819 said:

I too am going to be running into this problem until I get my keezer built. Would I be able to hit the keg w/ co2, purge the keg and hit it again to clear out any oxygen before setting it aside. Would the purging be necessary?

Click to expand...

are you naturally carbing? if so yes purge. if force carbing let it sit on co2 for a while until carbed

pen25 said:

are you naturally carbing? if so yes purge. if force carbing let it sit on co2 for a while until carbed

Click to expand...

i hadn't thought about naturally carbing while waiting for a spot to open up (my kegerator is only a single tap). i thought about just hitting the keg w/ co2, purging, then hitting it again to get all the oxygen out, take the gas off and then set it aside in my brew closet. then finish carbing in the kegerator since cold beer obsorbes the gas better. would that process have any ill effect? although, priming sugar is cheaper then refilling a co2 tank since i only have a 5 lb tank for now.