Aging the same as carbing?

[edecambra]

So one of my brew club members told me that after he kegs his beer, it spends 2 weeks at ferm temps in the keg, then he puts it on the gas for another 2 weeks at serving temp before he taps it.

I was under the impression that it takes about 2.5 - 3 weeks to age so if you keg and hook up the gas right away it should be carbed by the time it is properly aged, Right?

I am wondering because I have only kegged the past five batches and I am battling impatience. Is the aging better if its off the gas at normal temps for two weeks or should I just hook it up right away? What's your strategy

 

[Changeduser123]

Aging and carbing are not the same. You can have a beer with the right level of carbonation, but still too young to drink. For example, a Belgium grand cru I made last year became drinkable only after 5 months at room temperature. It took all this time to the yeast to clean up after the early fermentation stage and develop the right aromas for this style of beer. In a fridge, this clean-up stage would be considerably slower. the result may have been different too, since yeast to not work the same way depending on the temperature. If you have some recipe books, they tell you when the beer is supposedly ready to drink, and how you should age it.

 

[Hammy71]

Aging/conditioning will occur faster at room temps for ales. The person from you club may keep his beer in the primary for a month and then keg. So, after the beer ferments, (usually a week), and 3 weeks in the primary, and then 2 weeks in the keg...he/she has 5 weeks of conditioning + 2 weeks cold in the kegger. Won't work for every beer like mperceau said...but not unreasonable.