Kegging and fermentation questions

[rob211]

I'm wondering, being a newb, on when it's time to keg. I see lots of info on when to bottle a particular beer, and then about how long it takes to age. But not so much on when to keg and aging in the keg.

Other than increasing the amount of undesired sediments that would otherwise be left in the primary, is there any reason not to move to a keg after two weeks, and assuming that a specific gravity reading shows virtually no change? I would think it would be akin to going to a secondary.

But what about temp, if the keg is in a keezer?

And does force carbonation affect the aging of a beer? In other reasons, even if one wanted to age the beer a bit more is there any reason to not carbonate it? I figure do that and if tastes good drink it, if not, let it sit longer. And since most kegged homebrew has a sort of "use by" limitation, it would seem efficient to have it ready to drink.

thanks,
Rob

 

[brewguyver]

Assuming you're brewing something basic and not a beer that requires aging, it's done when its done. Same for bottling and kegging.

If you have a keezer or large fridge I recommend cold crashing before kegging - it causes a lot if the sediment to drop out and leads to a cleaner, clearer beer.

Not sure what you're referring to about the shorter shelf life - keg and bottle should the about the same. IPAs will lose some of their bite, Belgians their clove etc. flavor over time, but I've had beers kegged for 18 months and still be good. It's more a factor of how well you clean and sanitize.

There are some really good threads in here about force carbing. I find it works best if I can leave the keg in the keezer at serving pressure for a week or so. If you over carb you'll get a acidic flavor from carbonic acid - it goes away when you correct the pressure, but that can take a while.

Don't get discouraged if it takes you a little time to get the kegging process right. I avoided it for years and mainly stuck to bottling. One day I got it right, and it has worked fine ever since. The keys for me were carbing in the keezer and completely disassembling and cleaning the kegs.

 

[brewguyver]

Forgot to mention - one reason not to force carb is because you are filtering your beer. The filter is a giant set of nucleation sites, so carbed beer goes in, mostly flat beer goes out. You want to filter and THEN carb.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Based on my own experience, you can keg at 2 weeks and then let it condition further if needed. Conditioning does tend to happen faster at room/basement temps as opposed to keezer temps, but conditioning in the keezer does work. It just takes a little longer. Personally, I go 3 weeks minimum before kegging, and 4 weeks is my typical ferm time before kegging, as I want to give it plenty of time to finish, clean up, and clear. I keep my pipeline full, so there is never a need for me to rush a batch.

Force carbing will not affect aging. I'm not really aware of any "use by" limitation of kegged homebrew. Once it's kegged and the O2 purged, it should last for quite some time. Maybe you're referring to hop flavor and aroma, which do fade with time.