Kegged brew not staying fresh

[djsereno91]

I recently brewed a pale ale (this one actually, ~5% ABV), which I then kegged and force carbed. At first, it tasted pretty good (I've made better but I was satisfied with it nonetheless). That was about 5 months ago (I'm surprised I still have as much left as I do but I've been drinking a lot of other beers lately). I poured some for the first time in a while and it just does not taste that good anymore. I know the hop flavor should be less pronounced, but the beer just tastes off in general. Also, I realize that 5 months is a while but I've read/would expect it to last up to a year, so long as it was in a properly sanitized keg.

My setup is as follows. My fridge is set around 44 degrees. When kegging, I fill up the keg with some sarsan solution, making sure the whole thing is nice and clean/sanitized. I then push the starsan out of the keg with the CO2 (sanitizing the lines in the process). I then fill the keg through the out tube and burp the keg to release the CO2. This way, the keg is completely sanitized and purged of any oxygen.

There was a short period of time where I unplugged the kegerator, and forgot to re-plug back in, so it got warm (room temp, 65-70 degrees F) for about a week. Is this enough to kill the beer? I wouldn't think so, considering bottled beer from the store gets warmed and cooled throughout its lifespan.

I'm still honing in on this kegging process. For some reason, it has not been a smooth one for me (initially serving lines were too short, then I found out that my system had a leak, now this). Can anyone give some insight into the problem and how long a beer should last when kegged? Maybe I just need to be drinking more! Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[doomy86]

There was a short period of time where I unplugged the kegerator, and forgot to re-plug back in, so it got warm (room temp, 65-70 degrees F) for about a week. Is this enough to kill the beer? I wouldn't think so, considering bottled beer from the store gets warmed and cooled throughout its lifespan.

Temperature swings are always bad for beer. As you said, 5 months is quite a long time to keep a beer tapped. I only keep them for about 2 month max.

 

[kh54s10]

Different beers will age differently. IPAs will lose their hoppiness quickly, but still a few months. Your pale ale is probably on the downhill side. Stouts and big beers can last for years.

 

[oujens]

You might check out keg spunding to maximize your shelf life (including hop flavor and aroma). However, I assume 5 months is a bit long for a home brew keg. It really wouldn't add much more work than what you are already doing. The end result is a naturally carbed keg and a better chance at long-term flavor stability.

 

[Brian66]

Found this thread as I was curious how long my keg would stay fresh. My keg is 2 1/2 gallons and my last batch of pale ale only amounted to 2 gallons. I tapped it about 1 1/2 weeks ago. I've only had 3 pints so far and had decided I'd save the rest until our father's day picnic. So from what I've read above, this should not be an issue regarding the freshness - correct? Anything specific I should do if I know I won't pour any for another 1 1/2 weeks?

 

[Dland]

Keep it at cold steady temp, don't move it around, and you should be good.

 

[Brian66]

Thanks