1st batch kegged and tastes green

[RSNovi]

This past weekend I tapped the keg of my first batch. It was a Brewers Best kit Scotch Ale. I ended up with about 4.5 gallons and I used 2.5 oz of priming sugar. 2 weeks in the primary and 2 weeks in the keg with the sugar. Tried it on Saturday and it was flat with a green apple taste. I left it on the gas for 3 days and it now has decent carbonation, but still the green apple taste.

It seems like it needs more time. Should I leave it in the kegerator on the gas? Pull it back out in the warmth? Other ideas?

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[Rusty2089]

2 weeks in the primary seems pretty short. In the future, if you're not going to use a secondary, I'd keep it in the primary at least 4 weeks (for a low to moderate gravity beer).

But that doesn't really help you now. Go ahead and keep it on the CO2 and let it sit. What temp is the beer at? It would be worth getting the temp back up to 60-70 degrees so the yeast can potentially do a little more clean up work. Be patient and test it every so often.

 

[sputnam]

i usually do 2 weeks primary, sugar prime in the keg, sit out for 2 weeks then goes in the keezer. It's rare that the beer is "good" until 6 weeks from brew date---usually 8 weeks though. I recently had a black IPA that smelled like beef jerky for weeks. It was so bad I had planned on dumping it. Fortunately life got in the way and I put it off for just a few more days and it turned into a great beer. Never consider any medium abv beer finished until at least 8 weeks from brew date. Many may be drinkable and often even good but I think beer does most of it's maturing in that time frame.

 

[jethro55]

You might try to double up on the yeast. When I did that, no more green beers.

 

[kombat]

Green apple is acetaldehyde, and means the yeast hadn't finished cleaning up after themselves. I always do 3 weeks in primary, then cold-crash, gelatin, and into the keg.

Regarding the lack of carbonation, did you pressurize the keg after sealing it up with the priming sugar? An unpressurized keg is often not completely sealed, and applying a little pressure will simply leak out. Kegs usually need to be pressurized to squeeze those seals tight and completely seal the keg. If you primed the keg and just left it, then as the CO2 was produced (as the yeast consumed the priming sugar), it probably leaked out tiny gaps in the lid seal, never building up enough pressure to "push" that lid tightly closed.

 

[RSNovi]

Right now it is at 38 degrees F. I did put 10 psi of CO2 after filling the keg. You think I should take it out of the keezer and warm it up?

 

[MattyIce]

I have a green beer that I plan to pull from the kegerator for a couple weeks as well. I still have a couple others on tap to keep me supplied for now.