I'm about to keg an oatmeal stout. I planned on using the CO2 from the tank to force the air from the tank, and put it aside for a bit of time to let it age a bit more. Is it best to age it at serving temp or at room temp? And when is warm too warm?
Keg Aging
- Thread starter CCericola
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If you got room to store it a cooler temps do that. I have a few kegs of oatmeal stout I brewed 5 weeks ago and have them all forced carbed and they keep getting better with age stored in my kegerator. I have been tasting them occasionally and they are definitely getting more well rounded flavors.
You can condition the beer at room temperature or in a cold place. A good rule of thumb; the wamer you keep it, the faster it will condition. Of course, speed isn't always the goal. Just remember a keg is just a big stainless bottle. Mid 70s is the highest I would go, just like a bottle of beer. Colder will make the beer last longer.
Are you talking about aging or carbonating? If you are talking about carbonating, are you force carbonating or priming the keg to let it carbonate naturally?
If you are about to keg a stout, you need to carbonate it. If you are force carbonating, then the colder the better. If you are naturally carbonating, you need to keep the keg at ~70F for at least 3 weeks, and if my experience with stouts is anything to go by, possibly 6 - 8 weeks. Once the carbonation is complete, you can age it at a constant temperature. Serving temperature should be fine and better than room temperature. The worst thing you can do while aging is to let the temperature vary excessively.
-a.
If you are about to keg a stout, you need to carbonate it. If you are force carbonating, then the colder the better. If you are naturally carbonating, you need to keep the keg at ~70F for at least 3 weeks, and if my experience with stouts is anything to go by, possibly 6 - 8 weeks. Once the carbonation is complete, you can age it at a constant temperature. Serving temperature should be fine and better than room temperature. The worst thing you can do while aging is to let the temperature vary excessively.
-a.
I had two thoughts. Both involved pumping in CO2 to force out the air in the keg.
The first was to just let it sit without any additional carbonation, and carb it when it's time to drink it. It sounds like this is a bad idea.
The second was to add priming sugar (half as much as normal) to let it carb in the keg naturally and let it age.
I'm working on two projects at the same time - setting up the fermentation chamber and setting up the kegerator to handle two taps. Next up is the kegerator but I probably won't be ready by the time I'm ready to keg that stout.
Purging the air out of the keg with CO2 is always a good idea.
I wouldn't say it is a bad idea to let it condition without carbonating, and then carbonate later, but why? If you carbonate first, and then let it condition, the conditioned beer will be ready to drink earlier.
If you add priming sugar to the keg, then the carbonation process will also produce more yeast. This can result in the first glass or two being cloudy. However, it is much cheaper than force carbonating, and if CAMRA is to believed, results in a better flavor.
Personally, for kegged beers, I don't prime or force carbonate. English bitters have enough carbonation as a result of fermentation. It makes things so much easier.
As for a fermentation chamber, I use a chest freezer, and my basement is my kegerator. Again, perfect for English bitters.
-a.
I wouldn't say it is a bad idea to let it condition without carbonating, and then carbonate later, but why? If you carbonate first, and then let it condition, the conditioned beer will be ready to drink earlier.
If you add priming sugar to the keg, then the carbonation process will also produce more yeast. This can result in the first glass or two being cloudy. However, it is much cheaper than force carbonating, and if CAMRA is to believed, results in a better flavor.
Personally, for kegged beers, I don't prime or force carbonate. English bitters have enough carbonation as a result of fermentation. It makes things so much easier.
As for a fermentation chamber, I use a chest freezer, and my basement is my kegerator. Again, perfect for English bitters.
-a.
Once you purge it, you can let the keg sit at room temperature with no problems. Think of it as another secondary. As far as the carbing. I routinely carb my beers at room temperature. You have to use a higher psi, (there are plenty of online calculators to help you set the regulator for temperature/style), but by doing that you don't have to worry if you have a space open in the kegger. Course, having a second CO2 tank helps immensely.
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