After homebrewing for fotry years using bottles I have built a keezer and purchased 5 pin lock corny kegs. I brewed 3 batches and they are all three in the keezer under going forced carbonation. Keezer is now full. Now my question, If I make more beer to use the other two kegs what would be the preferred method for storage of the two full kegs? I have a fridge in my shop that has plenty of space for two kegs. I have read lots about making sure that I purge any and all o2 from the kegs to prevent or minimize oxidation. I think that I understand the process well enough. I don’t have an automated system. I brew kinda like my poppa did. I still use a pot to boil my wort and a plastic buckle to ferment. Poppa used a stone crock, and I have used it as well. Not any more. I sanitize everything before and after use. I just don’t want to make two kegs of beer and have an issue because I didn’t store properly. Or conversely would I just be better off just waiting until I have space in the keezer to brew the next batch.
Full corny keg storage question
- Thread starter JMV
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Once the beer is in the keg and you've done your best getting the oxygen out, you can certainly store them. Cold is always better than warm, though I've never had a problem with a keg left for a couple of months at ambient.
If you know you're going to be storing a keg warm for a while, you could consider adding priming sugar to the keg and naturally carbonating as you store. This will probably buy you some additional shelf life (metabolically active yeast eats oxygen and has decarboxylation enzymes) at the expense of a little more sediment in the bottom, though the effect is probably not a huge one.
If you know you're going to be storing a keg warm for a while, you could consider adding priming sugar to the keg and naturally carbonating as you store. This will probably buy you some additional shelf life (metabolically active yeast eats oxygen and has decarboxylation enzymes) at the expense of a little more sediment in the bottom, though the effect is probably not a huge one.
You could prime it like you would bottles and store it at room temperature so that it carbonates and is ready for when you put it in your keezer. Be sure to use a calculator for the amount of sugar in the keg. Otherwise you would want to put co2 on the keg, there are charts for carbonating at different temps.
One thought is - cold storage slows down reactions. I'd store something like an IPA cold. Opposite, say an Imperial Stout - I actually keep mine stored warm to try and speed that maturation time up.
Might be a consideration here, even if you do havewarm (edited, oops) cold storage as an option.
Also, don't get lazy on cleaning and sanitizing for longer term storage. If you keg a beer that'll be gone in a week or two, it probably doesn't matter as much. But if something sits and sits then it gives any wild yeast and etc. a better chance to do their thing.
Might be a consideration here, even if you do have
Also, don't get lazy on cleaning and sanitizing for longer term storage. If you keg a beer that'll be gone in a week or two, it probably doesn't matter as much. But if something sits and sits then it gives any wild yeast and etc. a better chance to do their thing.
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One of the considerations I am taking into account is it’s only me who drinks beer. The wife isn’t much of a drinker. Folks come by occasionally but not much more that that. I have a glass or two a day. Hell I was just tired of washing bottles. I have a couple hundred grolsh bottles that I have collected and used since I was in college. At 64 that been a while. I still will bottle some but I kinda like the Idea of just washing a single keg and I am ready to go.
Correct, it would be the same process as bottle conditioning. Just one big bottle instead of 50 little ones.
I do the same (store warm) for barleywine. I'm not sure it's mattered, but I do it anyway. I've also moved to closed transfers for almost all of my beers now, except for barleywines.
Kickass
Well-Known Member
That’s right. Here’s one consideration. Sometimes keg lids don’t seal very well unless the keg has been pressurized. This can be a problem as your keg slowly carbonates because the pressure builds slowly and escapes without actually sealing.
The easy solution is to add your priming sugar then hook up your gas and pressurize. When you hear the lid seal, disconnect the gas. This should do just enough to create a seal but have no negligible impact on the carbonation level.
well i would add there is cold storage, cellar storage, and hot storage...Meaning I definitely would not store them in the garage in middle of summer. otherwise i would gas them up to take on a decent amount of co2 or use priming sugar as others stated.
No basement and warm temperatures here in South Cackalacky, too! I keg my stouts in fermentation purged kegs, inject priming sugar (boiled) through the gas post, and let them sit a few weeks to carbonate and until I have room in the cooler. So far, so good. This is in the utility room off my carport, where the water heater and 3 freezers are located.
In the winter time, the kegs may not even be put in the cooler when the temperature stays around 45° in there; a decent temperature for a stout.
In the winter time, the kegs may not even be put in the cooler when the temperature stays around 45° in there; a decent temperature for a stout.
Another interesting post. I keep all of my kegged beer in the beer cooler. Luckily, I can fit six five-gallon kegs in it, three on tap and the others waiting for a free tap or I can use a picnic tap. I won't store any beer outside the fridge but in the colder months of Wisconsin I can store in the basement stairwell to the garage. It stays cold there but sometimes can get too cold.
