Shelf Life of Kegged Home Brew?

[mgo737]

So I have seen folks say that kegged home brew will be fresh for about 2 months. How come bottled home brew is generally thought to improve with age when bottle conditioning way beyond 2 months? Is there really any inherent differences?

 

[MarsColonist]

the colder its stored, the longer it keeps, bottle or kegs.. also depends on post fermentation oxygen contact, and the abv of the beer..

 

[MultumInParvo]

I would say it depends entirely on the type of beer. A big beer can be 'fresh' for years in a keg. If anything I would say you could store larger in a keg since there is less overall headspace, and therefore less oxidation risks.

 

[MarsColonist]

"freshness" may depend on the flavors you want.. some big beers wont mellow out for a good while (months), while hop "freshness" is optimal around 6weeks... you may find flavor of fresh fruit beers (not fruit extract flavoring) may die off fairly quickly, and wheat beers are probably the fastest "grain to glass" and tend not to age that well... there is probably some issue with the proteins in the beer breaking down over time that contributes as well, but I cant necessarily verify that... so I would agree that the type of beer also makes a difference in the ability to withstand aging

 

[david_42]

Malty beers age well. Hoppy ones, not so much. That simple.

 

[jeffmeh]

Agreed. If you have a high ABV malty brew, age is great. If you have a brew with highly volatile hop compunds, then age will eventually take its toll.