Aging in cold keg ?

[callback79]

Hi,

my first batch is now kegged and started carbing 5days ago. I still have a lot of apple taste in it and I tought aging will help. But I've recently read I can't age beer when cold, and I'm carbing at around 41F. (Also read that aging without priming sugar is useless)

Is it possible to finish the carbing process and then unhook the Co2 and take the keg in a warmer area, or will it causes the beer to lost all its carbonation and will not give any benefits regarding the taste of the beer ?

Other advices ?

Thanks.

 

[scone]

Aging cold (lagering) is perfectly fine. You can age at room temperature as well, things age quicker at hotter temperatures. The Co2 will come out of solution, so you'll need to give it time when you cool it off again for the co2 to re-dissolve. Also, aging without priming sugar is fine as well. I think perhaps you read the "conditioning" without priming sugar won't work (e.g. you won't get any carbonation in your beer without adding sugar for the yeast to eat) but you aren't conditioning if you're force carbonating. I'm sure others will chime in with more details, but just give it some time and it should be great.

What kind of beer did you brew? The more alcohol content, the longer it needs to age before the off-flavors go away.

 

[callback79]

Thanks for the reply. It is not a big beer, coopers extract, og was around 1.038 and fg 1.005. Ferm temp is probably the culprit, the swamp cooler has not been enough for our hot days...

I'll give it some time, but have no idea how many weeks/months I'll have to wait.

So, from what I understand, if the beer is carbed and I take it to a warmer area, I'll just have to let it cool again ? No need to spend another 15 days on the carbing process ?

Thanks again.

 

[brewjack]

yup, and you're probably right about the ferm temp being the culprit. Give it some time, I'm always amazed how many problems just sort themselves out when I just leave it alone for a while.

 

[david_42]

Let it warm up and give it 2-3 weeks, then cool it down again. Should be good to go. If you keep it cold, it will take months.

 

[callback79]

Let it warm up and give it 2-3 weeks, then cool it down again. Should be good to go. If you keep it cold, it will take months.

It breaks my heart to think my keezer will be empty for that long, no other beer on tap. Will do it tonight.

 

[callback79]

Just want to give an update to other newbies (like me) with apple taste problem.

I've bottled a 6 pack about 15 days ago, let the bottles at room temperature and take one to the fridge this morning. I opened it up 5 minutes ago, and my glass in now empty because that beer was very good. Not as good as the best homebrew in the world but not worst than any commercial beer. I'm very happy with the result.

I just hope my 5 gal batch in the keg will be the same in a few days.

Not sure if the priming sugar in the bottle can make a difference vs force carbed in a keg and forget it for 2-3 weeks.