When Does Conditioning Become Spoiling

I think I am in the boat of having read too many posts and am now a bit confused, just getting ready to start kegging my beer and wondering about the shelf life of the product.


Assuming Oxidation is not an issue, when does the condition phase end and the spoiling phase begin.

For sake of argument lets just make this a your average red ale.

Assuming I primary a beer for a week, and then secondary for a week and rack to a corny keg and put under pressure does conditioning end?


Assuming everything is sealed up and under CO2 how long is this keg of beer good for, can I draw one beer a week for a year and have an improving product due to conditioning or would this beer begin to turn south at some point?

How would this be changed by the kegs being at room temperature and cooled with a cooling plate vs the entire beer kept cold.

I read in one of the stickys than an unpasturized beer has a shelf life of something like 3-4 months tops?

Thanks for all of your help!

cold slows the 'spoiling' process significantly.

My beer's never lasted long enough to spoil. I know some guys here talk about their year old barley wine tasting fine too.

I can't speak to the question about when "conditioning" stops.

I've had kegged beers last in cool storage (not "cold" storage, just a basement room) for at least a year and didn't notice a decrease in quality.

Keegan

I brewed an Oktoberfest lager in early March and fermented it at 53 F. After about 6 weeks the basement began to warm so I kegged it. There it sat the whole summer (65-72F). Finally at the beginning of Oct. I had room in the fridge and after about 4 weeks (~48F) we finally had our Oktvemberfest party two weeks ago and the beer was phenomonal!!! Then it was gone.

Think of your keg as nothing more than a very large beer bottle.

Bottles of beer can last indefinitely, depending upon the alcohol content, the hop level and assuming it is kept at reasonably cool temps.

After all, beer is alcohol, Hops (a natural preservative) and CO2.

In theory beer will never spoil, it's sanitized liquid in a sanitized container. The environment in there is hostile to contaminants (alcohol, hops, lack of oxygen, reduced light, limited food supply)

In practice, humans are the shaky part. Poor sanitization can cause beer to "spoil" in days.