Conditioning all-grain kegged beer

So how do all you other all-grain brewers who keg instead of bottling prefer to condition your beer? Let' say on a medium complicated ale with a variety of specialty grains and hops--do you prefer to let the bulk of conditioning take place in the secondary or in the keg under pressure? Assuming all fermentation is complete after a week or two in the primary and a week in the secondary, do you leave it in the secondary for a couple extra weeks or do you get it in the keg right away so it is conditioning with the aid of carbonation?

Just curious how others approach it. unless there is a reason to leave it longer in the secondary or my keg is full, I like to get it under pressure and cold conditioned as I find it balances out much more quickly than bottle conditioning or sitting in the secondary....but maybe I am missing something.

i do both. i cold condition my ales in secondary in my chest freezer for 2 weeks, then i keg it and usually let it sit for another week prior to tapping.

Good question and has been in the back of my mind as well. Actually was going to post this too...

I'm finally getting ramped up enough in my brewing where I have two on tap and one waiting to be tapped (want two kegged, two tapped rotation). My intentions were to do the normal 2 week seconday then rack to keg. Clear the headspace and tighten the seals with shots of CO2 and then just let it sit. Is this cool? Got my Apricot Wheat in this mode right now. Sitting in about 60 degree environment (no fridge space for cold conditioning).

I generally go straight to the keg for browns, porters and stouts. Ales that need to be clearer, I'll use a secondary.

I brew mainly pale ales and bitters.

I try for 1-2 weeks in primary, 2-4 weeks in secondary, then 1 week conditioning before drinking.

Usually works well, but I've had some very slow fermentations recently that caused things to back up. I actually ran out of homebrew for 1 week. Now I've run out of secondaries, and have two batches in primaries that need to be racked. (Much better situation than running out of beer.)

All should be sorted out this weekend.

-a.

ferment for 6 or 7 days then straight in the barrel,i use king keg with top float take off,i use copper finnings for the last 15 mins of the boil.and im usualy drinking in 2 to 3weeks and its all drunk in about the same again 3 weeks,if i'm bottleing i secondery ferment for 2 weeks

desertBrew said:

Good question and has been in the back of my mind as well. Actually was going to post this too...

I'm finally getting ramped up enough in my brewing where I have two on tap and one waiting to be tapped (want two kegged, two tapped rotation). My intentions were to do the normal 2 week seconday then rack to keg. Clear the headspace and tighten the seals with shots of CO2 and then just let it sit. Is this cool? Got my Apricot Wheat in this mode right now. Sitting in about 60 degree environment (no fridge space for cold conditioning).

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Funny, your question is exaclty where I was going. I am thinking of stepping up to a seond keg but I don't have room for two kegs and the Co2 in my fridge, so I either need to start drilling holes, or I could condition a keg as you describe and let it sit in the basement in 55-60 degrees, which should be fine for ales. I think they make a pressure guage for kegs you can attach to the Co2 intake, which would at least let you know the seal was still good....

Drawbacks?

jeffg said:

Funny, your question is exaclty where I was going. I am thinking of stepping up to a seond keg but I don't have room for two kegs and the Co2 in my fridge, so I either need to start drilling holes, or I could condition a keg as you describe and let it sit in the basement in 55-60 degrees, which should be fine for ales. I think they make a pressure guage for kegs you can attach to the Co2 intake, which would at least let you know the seal was still good....

Drawbacks?

Click to expand...

Not sure if we need the pressure gauge or not for a keg. I hit it with about 30psi to make sure it sealed (after bleeding off the O2 headspace). If you give a tug on your release you should get a hiss but that's going to absorb into the beer and assume it won't hiss at you after a while. Dunno, this is my first time doing it this way. Not sure if I feel like anyone gave me/us a definitive "yes - correct approach" answer yet either . Or I'm just thick...

Me too desertbrew. Don't need pressure guage on the keg. Just another connection to leak. I do a lot of lagers so my ales when finished primary, condition in secondary for a week and into a keg, forced carb'd and into kegerator. Yum.

for most of my beers ill let the beer sit in the secondary until I have room in the fridge then ill put the beer still in the secondary vessle in the fridge and let it cold condition for a min of 1 day to up to week to allow for all the yeast and protein to fall out, example , brewed a oatmeal stout in mid oct , then transfered it to the secondary for 3.5 month to age then to the fridge, if i would have put it in the keg after fermention then i would have about .5-1 inch of fallout in the keg and when you pour your beer you get all the yeast and protein in the glass not good , so its wise to let in chill for a couple days to allow for fall out

Perfect timing for this thread.
I've got Richard's Windy Winter Brown in my primary which is going to be my first beer kegged. I was planning on racking it this weekend, give it a week in the secondary at cellar temps, then place the secondary in the fridge for a week, and then force carbonate.
How does this sound?

Yeah, I got a problem with letting my ales sit in secondary for that long a time as they are history by then anyway. I use finnings in secondary to floc any sediment faster and sometimes I filter.
Richbrewer; that sounds like a plan to me. After secondary if you can get your temps down to around 32f for a week will help clear and reduce chill haze in the beer.