long storage in bottling tub

[Ski]

So, say I wanted to brew a lot of beer and store it in the following conditions.

in a third container (ie the tub I would normally bottle from)
in the dark

given that the beer I would bottle is exactly the same as the beer in the tub ie there is no rubbish at the bottom, shouldn't this keep as well as beer in a bottle and mature equally well ?

I am imagining a situation where I need to pull 6 kegs of beer all equally conditioned out of my hat over a month, but only had 3 kegs. I could have 3 drunk, then refill them from the bottling tubs and I would only need the two weeks priming time to 'refill' my 3 kegs.

I understand this is a very unusual situation but does any one see any pitfalls here ?

 

[webby45wr]

Sounds plausible. I've lagered in a brew bucket for 2+ months with no issues. I'd stick with an extra fermenter instead of a bottling bucket though. The bottling bucket has an extra hole which could leak (in a worst case scenario).

There was a BYO article a few months ago about long-term storage in plastic - some stuff can leech out, but if you are only talking a few months, I think you'd be ok.

 

[grem135]

How long would they be stored in there? How much headspace?
You will want to keep headspace to a minimum since there will most likely not be a CO2 layer to protect it. A carboy would probably be better for long term unless you can inject some CO2 in your bucket/tub.
I have left beer in my fermenter for a few months (life got in the way) and it turned out great.

Edit: I agree with above, maybe get some 5 gallon buckets for your "aging"

 

[JimRausch]

Unless I'm missing something, Beer in a bottle is NOT the same as beer in a bottling bucket. In the bottle, priming sugar has been added and fermented creating CO2. So, it's well carbonated. In the bucket, even if you have added primer, any CO2 produced can escape, so that beer won't be well carbonated. So, my guess is that Ok to store it, but you would still need to prime and bottle and wait the standard 3 weeks before drinking.
Oops. I reread the O.P. and I guess I did misunderstand. You are storing the beer, then kegging, right? So, my whole position about bottle carbonation is irrelevant.
Go ahead Sir......