Bottle Conditioning vs Keg Conditioning

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Meatball358

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Pretty straight forward question...just wondering what the difference is regarding time needed, quality of beer, etc between the 2

thanks:mug:
 
The variable is are you carbing in the bottle. If you are just asking conditioning a beer in a bottle shot from a keg vs beer left in the keg to condition, it is the same.
 
I Suppose I shouldve been more specific sorry about that...I was referring to conditioning beer which had been carbed and bottled from a keg vs beer that had been carbed with priming sugar in the bottle
 
i hate necroposting, but maybe reviving this thread would help my understanding of bottle conditioning versus "keg conditioning" if there is such a thing.

Revvy's thread 'Bottling Tips For The Homebrewer' makes the recommendation to let your bottles sit 3 weeks @ 70 degrees minimum, and he describes this allows the co2 to absorb back into the beer, but also for the flavors to marry (and he compares it to leftover sphaghetti sauce, chili, etc). I personally can vouch for this, and I'm sure everybody else here can also.

When you keg, you force carbonate so that part of the equation is removed (and yes, I know it's much easier to sanitize one vessel vs 50, and less time to keg vs bottle, blah blah blah). my necro post really is to address if you also wait 3 weeks in the keg to allow flavors to marry?

Some keggers make comments like a time saving factor of kegging is that you don't have to wait for conditioning time. Now I'm guessing they're referring to co2, . . . . or are they also referring to the marrying of flavors? Are they saying flavor marrying is inconsequential when it comes to kegging?

This is a learning process for me, and I've got stored bottles all over my garage now. Just thinking about kegging, but I'd like to understand it more.
 
my necro post really is to address if you also wait 3 weeks in the keg to allow flavors to marry?

Some keggers make comments like a time saving factor of kegging is that you don't have to wait for conditioning time. Now I'm guessing they're referring to co2, . . . . or are they also referring to the marrying of flavors? Are they saying flavor marrying is inconsequential when it comes to kegging?

for most people who keg, they falsely (mostly unconsiously) equate "being carbonated" to "being ready" since there is no real clear indicator when a beer has properly aged, flavor-wise. when people claim kegging is "faster", they are really only talking about carbonation and disregarding flavor. not necessarily because flavor doesnt matter, but just because exactly when a beer is "aged completely" is highly subjective. carbonation level is pretty clear, and is more commonly used as an objective indicator of 'done-ness'.

if you want to age a beer, as in letting the flavors intermingle and mellow, its going to take the same amount of time either way. the only difference that i could think of between bottle conditioning and force carbonating in a keg, would be the small amount of priming sugar you *might* taste (either in extra sweetness or slightly higher ABV). emphasis on the 'might' because its a very small amount, most often you wouldnt notice unless you had a side-by-side comparison.

Just thinking about kegging, but I'd like to understand it more.
if you are doing more than, say, 2 or 3 five-gallon batches a month, its really worth it for a keg setup IMO.
like you said- sanitizing only one container, having ability to control and correct CO2 pressure, and also being able to pour yourself half a glass (which can be dangerous, actually. i end up pouring more than twice as many half-glasses!), and experiment with mixing different beers. etc.

the downsides are
-you have to have something to chill your keg(s) in
-you have to buy CO2 tank, taps, lines
-harder to transport than bottles
-harder to give your beer away to people (could also be a pro)
 
when people claim kegging is "faster", they are really only talking about carbonation and disregarding flavor.
well that's kind of what i was thinking. so when i start kegging, and i force carbonate and start drinking my beer after a couple days, i'm still drinking carbonated green beer?
 
I think bottles tend to be better sooner. You drink from the bottom of a keg. The part you pull from is the last to clear up. The 12oz in a bottle clears much faster. I've never had a bottle take more than 10 days to fully carb. I've bottled and kegged the same 10 gallon batch many times and it always proves the same.
 
so it sounds like from your perspective, no matter how you slice it, it all ends up tasting the same in the end.

perhaps another advantage of bottle conditioning is that it really discourages you from cracking one open too early. not only do you get green beer, but you get undercarbonated beer. you can drink kegged beer almost immediately b/c you can get it carbonated, but how far into your keg do you get before it's not 'green' anymore . . . and who knows, maybe by that time you've drank the heavier coagulated part, and the upper half can't marry with anything because you drank the lower half already. am i splitting hairs?
 
Nothing preventing you from racking to a keg, give it a shot of c02 to seal and then age the same way you would a bottle. When you area ready put it on the c02 fulltime to carbonate....

Edit: btw, I'm in that group that just racks, hooks up to c02 & starts drinking when carbed, you can certainly taste the beer mature over the course of the keg..... while others may find this to be impatient, I enjoy experiencing the beers as it matures.
 
so when i start kegging, and i force carbonate and start drinking my beer after a couple days, i'm still drinking carbonated green beer?

Depends on the beer. If it's a DIPA or an RIS, then, yeah, you can definitely get it carbed long before it's really ready to drink.

If it's a Hefe, they're best when young (IMHO).

But you're on the right track realizing that aging (conditioning) and carbonating are two separate issues.
 
subliminalurge said:
Depends on the beer. If it's a DIPA or an RIS, then, yeah, you can definitely get it carbed long before it's really ready to drink.

DIPAs despite their gravity are best young. If they aren't best young, they weren't fermented clean enough. I've found hop flavor fades really quickly on those beers.
 
Okay, so then can I age a beer in a keg? Put priming super in the bottling bucket, transfer all the beer to the keg, put the lid on with no co2 connection, and let it sit at room temperature to age and naturally carbonate for a few weeks?
 
I make it simpler than that.
Clean & sanitize your keg, boil your priming sugar, add to keg and let cool. Purge your keg with CO2.
Prep for racking beer from your primary or secondary ( I always go to secondary).
Vent keg and rack beer into keg avoiding any splashing. Close keg & apply enough CO2 pressure to seal.
Let sit for two weeks, cold crash, hook up CO2, serve.
 
I make it simpler than that.
Clean & sanitize your keg, boil your priming sugar, add to keg and let cool. Purge your keg with CO2.
Prep for racking beer from your primary or secondary ( I always go to secondary).
Vent keg and rack beer into keg avoiding any splashing. Close keg & apply enough CO2 pressure to seal.
Let sit for two weeks, cold crash, hook up CO2, serve.

I am wondering if there is any difference in the taste of the beer between the method above (I am going to assume that you allow the beer to carbonate at a temperature above 70 degrees, as per the post above) and the following:

Keg beer and carbonate at @ 10 - 12 psi/@ 35 degrees (depending on the beer and the carbonation desired) for 4 weeks.

In other words, does it take longer to mature green beer at a lower temperature?

I am using the second method and have noticed a vast improvement in the taste of the beer from week 1 to week 3.

Best,

Steve
 
I have a kink to add to this one, I have a batch of black IPA that is going in my spare keg next week but there wont be room in the kegerator for a while. I know I can purge the air and let it sit for however long I want and let it condition but the kit I got also came with priming sugar for bottles. I have had cask aged/carbed beer before, a local nano brewery does one every couple weeks, so I was thinking I could probably do something similar with this, seal it up in the keg with the priming sugar and when room comes available in the fridge toss it on and have it ready to pour with out having to worry about force carbing it.
 
Oh, now I feel like a derp, I didn't notice the second page.

Don't worry about it - I think that I have already made most of the mistakes and wrong assumptions that you can possibly make - but never say never, lol...

Putting in a "carbonate keg sugar" search on hbt pulled up some threads that suggested that the amount of priming sugar used should be less, per volume, than the amount of priming sugar used if one were bottling.

My question, above, probably needs to be restated: Does carbonating your beer with priming sugar in a purged, sealed keg at room temperature have any advantages over force carbonating, sans sugar, in the fridge?

I would think that the sugar priming method leads to a cleaner, more balanced beer.

Best,

Steve
 
Ok... Another kink. 10% Belgin Strong. I want to bottle half and keg half. I was thinking I would prime and add small amount of yeast to keg and rack beer out of the carboy onto the sugar mix and then bottle half. Put both the keg and bottles in warm room (77 deg) for two weeks. Cellar the bottles and move keg to tap. Does this sound like it would work.
 
In other words, does it take longer to mature green beer at a lower temperature?

I'd like to know the answer to this, too. I understand that bottles and kegs both need time to mature, but if I fill a keg, purge it, let it set at room temp for 2 weeks, then carb it for a week, will it taste any different from a keg that I fill, chill to 35 degrees, hook directly up to CO2, and drink 3 weeks later? (assuming carbonation is the same)

I suppose we'll just have to brew a 10g batch, split it between two kegs, and try it both ways...
 
Sounds like a choice between two viable options: either (1) you can "set and forget" at an appropriate psi at cooler temperatures for a longer period of time (that's what I did with my first home brew and the beer just got better and better over a three week time frame) or (2) do the same at room temperature and not have to wait as long for the beer to condition.

I'm actually interested in option #3 as it sounds both efficient and convenient. After primary fermentation is over:

1. Put priming sugar in keg and purge keg with CO2.
2. Rack beer to keg and seal with CO2
3. Disconnect CO2 and condition at @ 65 - 70 degrees.
4. Lower beer to serving temperature and connect CO2 at appropriate psi.

This is essentially the same as bottle conditioning except that you are sealing with CO2 in a keg instead of sealing with a bottle cap, yes?

I think that this would be appropriate for ale and am wondering if letting the suspended yeast carbonate the beer by eating sugars results in a cleaner beer vs. cold crashing the yeast and force carbonating?

Sorry if I sound like "hooked on phonics," lol...



Best,

Steve
 
Edited post:

I've been reading up and it seems that one of the disadvantages to adding sugar to the keg is that you get increased trub in the keg. So for now it's back to the basics that have served so many for so long. As a general format for ales I've decided to try the following and see how it goes:

primary (3 weeks) > rack to keg (4 weeks to ?) > set and forget (2 - 3 weeks). I understand that beers with a higher OG will take longer to condition; the format that I want to try above is for ales that I know will be ready to drink in about 9-10 weeks.

One question though: I've been reading threads that recommend conditioning in bottles at room temperature (around 70 degrees). Does the same temperature recommendation apply to kegs that have been sealed with CO2 but hold beer not carbonated using sugar?

I'm still drinking my first home brew (Irish Red Ale from NB) that was probably fermented at a slightly too-high temperature (basement was ambient 65 degrees, but primary temperature was probably a bit higher) and sat in the primary for a total of 4 weeks. It went into the keg and sat for an additional 3 weeks as I carbed it "set it and forget it." Total time was 7 weeks. It was yeasty at first due to yeast at the bottom of the keg but then cleared up very nicely and still tastes great.

Changes for next brew: outdoor propane burner and large brew pot for full boils; partial grain method; primary fermenter with temperature controls.

Best,

Steve
 

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