Kegged beer lifespan?

[Stoughton]

Sorry for the basic question but last night I was trying to sell the idea of a kegorator to the wife and she had a pretty good question - how long is the beer good for? Would we be able to drink it before the keg went stale?

And after seeing some of those amazing setups with 4+ beerson tap, I gotta wonder - how do you consume it all before it goes stale?

Thanks!

 

[buzzkill]

a keg is like a big bottle, how long can you keep a bottle of beer. a long time.

 

[Stoughton]

a keg is like a big bottle, how long can you keep a bottle of beer. a long time.

Understood, but doesn't that change once you start to draw it down?

 

[lowlife]

no

 

[prosper]

This was a concern of mine as well, and it kept me from kegging for a long time. But, after asking around and doing some research, I learned that it shouldn't go 'stale' like party pump kegs do, because you're not pressurizing them with *air*, you're using CO2. I don't see any reason why the beer in the keg wouldn't last every bit as long as bottled beer. Your taps and lines, though, may require more frequent cleaning

 

[Stoughton]

This was a concern of mine as well, and it kept me from kegging for a long time. But, after asking around and doing some research, I learned that it shouldn't go 'stale' like party pump kegs do, because you're not pressurizing them with *air*, you're using CO2. I don't see any reason why the beer in the keg wouldn't last every bit as long as bottled beer. Your taps and lines, though, may require more frequent cleaning

Thank you

 

[lumpher]

i've had kegs on tap for several months, and they're good as long as they're on co2. that keeps nasties from growing, and that's what makes the bad tastes

 

[jpc]

I have my Christmas ale on tap still.. from back in December. It's getting better, as the spices are mellowing.

 

[mmurray]

Yes the easy answer is Oxygen = BAD, Carbon Dioxide = GOOD!

Like hand pumps at weekend parties every time the beer is pumped you are introducing contaminants from the surrounding air and the beer will soon spoil. Take Real Ales in England for example. Those beers once taped are just left open to the environment through a vent and by rule (Law?) they have to be consumed in 3 days or be discarded.

Now as long as you keg your beer, presurize it with CO2 then bleed off the Oxygen (CO2 is more dense than O2 and will push the O2 out of the vent when the pressure is released) your beer will be covered in a blanket of CO2 and will preserve it for as long as you can drink on it!

Cheers!

 

[j1laskey]

Once your friends find out that you have 4+ taps of homebrew, nice and cold, your brew won't stick around for too long...which gives you an excuse to brew more...what a vicious cycle

 

[apo09283]

Once your friends find out that you have 4+ taps of homebrew, nice and cold, your brew won't stick around for too long...which gives you an excuse to brew more...what a vicious cycle

My six keg kergerator and taps are the only friends I need! (Besides my wife!)

 

[poley]

Just because it can keep for a long time though, doesn't mean that it will. IPAs and any beer with delicate flavors will show signs of aging after a couple months. As said before, treat it like a bottle. Some beers age well, some are best fresh.

 

[Hammy71]

I kegged my double chocolate oatmeal stout last November and I'm still pulling off it. More like a dessert for me so I treat it as such.

 

[broadbill]

Like hand pumps at weekend parties every time the beer is pumped you are introducing contaminants from the surrounding air and the beer will soon spoil. Take Real Ales in England for example. Those beers once taped are just left open to the environment through a vent and by rule (Law?) they have to be consumed in 3 days or be discarded.

FYI, beer will be oxidized and go skunked way before an airborne contaminant (i.e. lacto bacteria) will spoil it....

If airborne contaminants were that fast at spoiling beer, they would certainly spoil home-brew way before it would be ready to drink. Think about all of the times the beer is exposed to air during the brewing process (pitching, hydrometer sampling, transfer to secondary/keg/bottle, etc).

 

[wilceaser]

Once your friends find out that you have 4+ taps of homebrew, nice and cold, your brew won't stick around for too long...which gives you an excuse to brew more...what a vicious cycle

And once they find out, you'll be amazed at how many friends you have!

 

[DustinHickey]

And once they find out, you'll be amazed at how many friends you have!

Yea I'm on the verge of starting a dollar a beer policy. I'm 25 and have a lota mooch friends who show up with no domestic garbage to drink and end up polishing off 5 gallon kegs within a week or two. I have 2 taps (stout and ale) and have been having a hard time keeping my kegs filled even brewing once a week. I want to upgrade to 10 gal batches but want to get a sweet system built before putting more money in. No space to build and store one though... ****

The compliments are nice though.

 

[poley]

Yeah, that's not cool. If it's 100% mooch, they should at least be helping you get your ingredients. I had a roommate at one time, and he bought 50% of the ingredients, and I was fine with that arrangement.

 

[JVD_X]

Yea I'm on the verge of starting a dollar a beer policy. I'm 25 and have a lota mooch friends who show up with no domestic garbage to drink and end up polishing off 5 gallon kegs within a week or two. I have 2 taps (stout and ale) and have been having a hard time keeping my kegs filled even brewing once a week. I want to upgrade to 10 gal batches but want to get a sweet system built before putting more money in. No space to build and store one though... ****

The compliments are nice though.

You can still do 5 gallon batches... put half in the keg and then bottle the other 2.5 gallons. you run out - so what. Stash the bottles away in a closet for a few months if the beer is really good, then it makes great gifts. If it is not that great then serve it the following weeks to get rid of it.

In either case, it's good you brew beer great enough that your friends enjoy it so much.

 

[camiller]

My six keg kergerator and taps are the only friends I need! (Besides my wife!)

???Your location - US attorneys office in Spokane WA?

[ame]http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=47%C2%B0+39%27+31%22+-117%C2%B0+25%27+33%22&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.898798,66.884766&ie=UTF8&ll=47.658505,-117.425968&spn=0.00245,0.004082&t=h&z=18[/ame]

 

[apo09283]

???Your location - US attorneys office in Spokane WA?

Pretty close but no.

 

[Stoughton]

Thanks everyone for the info, it's been quite educational. It
s also been quite useful in that now the wife is 100% on board with the idea of kegging. (it really wasn't a hard sell). She just asked that I finish at least 1 other project before I start a new one.

I wonder if washing the dishes tonight counts as a project?

 

[HeyNoPie]

Totally! Furthermore, it seems you shouldn't have to wash the dishes again until your keggerator is built. I'd hate for you to start a second project (dishes) before the first project is done. That's just the rules