I'm kegging my next batch of beer for the first time, and I have some lingering questions. I've searched around, but haven't really found the answers I'm looking for. Plus, this might be an interesting discussion for beginners and/or those of us looking keg for the first time.
I've always left all my basic beers (say, non-wheat beers under 6% ABV) in primary for two weeks and two weeks in clearing tank, even if my hydrometer tells me I could move it earlier. Then, as a bottler, my beer got 3 - 4 weeks at room temps conditioning. I had no space issues, so I liked giving the beer plenty of time.
Is this overkill for kegging typical American style ales? I'm moving my process from a huge indoor closet to a fermentation freezer in the garage, so I'll either have to speed up the process or brew less often.
Should I save the room in my fermentation chamber and go from primary straight to cold crashing and into the keg in two weeks or so? If I do this, should I pull the keg out and leave it at room temps for a couple weeks to condition, or are most beers fine going straight into the keggerator after a couple weeks?
I've always left all my basic beers (say, non-wheat beers under 6% ABV) in primary for two weeks and two weeks in clearing tank, even if my hydrometer tells me I could move it earlier. Then, as a bottler, my beer got 3 - 4 weeks at room temps conditioning. I had no space issues, so I liked giving the beer plenty of time.
Is this overkill for kegging typical American style ales? I'm moving my process from a huge indoor closet to a fermentation freezer in the garage, so I'll either have to speed up the process or brew less often.
Should I save the room in my fermentation chamber and go from primary straight to cold crashing and into the keg in two weeks or so? If I do this, should I pull the keg out and leave it at room temps for a couple weeks to condition, or are most beers fine going straight into the keggerator after a couple weeks?