A newb with questions. Please help!

[packerzphan]

Ok, so I'm just starting out brewing. Sorry if some of these questions are dumb. I want to go to kegging instead of bottling and have a couple of questions:

1) If I'm kegging it, can I do all the aging in a carboy and then just keg it when it's ready? I want to brew like 3 or 4 beers at a time and would like to use the carboys to ferment/age instead of buying a soda keg for every different brew.

2) Is it any faster by using kegs? I looked at the sticky and it said it takes 3 weeks regardless.

3) If it's not any faster and you have to age the beer in a keg, how do you know when to stick it in the fridge and try it out? I don't want to stick it in there too early and ruin it.

4) I have a big fridge/freezer and a stand up freezer. Which one should I convert to be a fermenter(65-70 degrees)? I heard somewhere that freezers are more efficient for temperature controlling.

Thanks so much for the help in advance!

 

[djsethall]

Well, first off, you need to have a beer. With that started, understand the pipeline principle. You will want a few extra cornie kegs so that you have some serving, some carbing and some aging. You can speed up the carbonation by ramping up the psi and shaking the hell outta the keg. That carbonates the beer fast but you have carbonated green beer with only a slight representation of what the aged/finished beer wil taste like. Anyways, as your pipeline increases with more beer, the impatience goes away. As for the freezer question, use the search engine, there are many threads regarding the subject

 

[bannonb]

I always primary and secondary (really age and clarify) in carboys. When I keg, I start the force carbonation. That beer is already 2 weeks old, and by the time it's carbed (at a constant target pressure) it is about 3 weeks old and drinks just fine.

What's faster about kegging is less dishes to wash. Bottling requires cleaning and sanitization of 60 vessels rather than one big one. Saves lots of time.

You might find that you are running out of carboy space and have to keg earlier than you like. It's not a problem to let beer sit in stainless in a fridge even weeks before carbing and serving.

No comment on which fridge/freezer to convert for fermentation. I brew in my basement and the floor stays pretty constant all year long at 64 or so. If you have both, use both. Make a fermenter out of one and a keezer out of the other. I use a chest freezer for my keezer and like it, but there are pros and cons.