FG reached, when can I Keg??

[hammerthreat]

So I’m currently brewing a NEIPA, I have been hitting my final gravity after a week into fermentation. I have kegged at day 10 with good results. (At least everyone including myself thought so). But would like to hear pros and cons of kegging earlier or later in the process. I know day 10 sounds very early to keg, but that’s what the recipe I was given by a friend called for...

 

[day_trippr]

My neipa schedule: pitch, add bio-hops 48 hours later, add dry hops 4 day after that, start a two day cold-crash four days later, then keg. So, 12 days from pitch to keg.

I could see shaving a day off the bio-hops and a day off the dry hops and very likely end up with the same results. But I'm not in a hurry...

Cheers!

 

[Yooper]

That’s about my schedule as well, depending on the dry hop additions.

 

[jtratcliff]

You can keg any time after FG and after you're done dry hopping... You don't need to crank it up to serving pressure right away... It'll clear and condition in the keg just as easily as in a carboy... Heck, you can even dry hop in the keg with a hop sack and dental floss...

You may need to toss the 1st pint or so, as the sludge gets sucked up, though.

 

[hammerthreat]

Thanks for the help guys, as far as conditioning goes, how long should you wait before drinking? It’s carbonated in a few days, but is there benefits to waiting before drinking it?

 

[couchsending]

As long as you manage your O2 uptake after fermentation your beers will only improve with time in the keg, (up to a certain point). I’ve got an Enigma/Galaxy/Vic Secret 7.2% IPA that has been in the keg for three weeks and just keeps getting better. Aroma has improved and become more defined and the flavor components have all come together really nicely. I’ve had kegs last two months before aroma starts to be affected, which IMHO is the first thing to go with O2 ingress.

If you think you need to start drinking your IPAs after 10 days to drink them “fresh” something is wrong. Young Heavily hopped IPA tastes very plastic to me. With good O2 management your beers should get better with time in the keg, not worse. You won’t need keg hops either.

 

[whiskeyjack]

I have a 4 oz glass that I test my brews with every few days. It's good to try them as they evolve. My last ipa smelled amazing but tasted like water for a week. Then it started developing that harsh young hop bite, once that faded it was excellent. Soon as it tastes good drink it. It will change rapidly and you don't want to miss that sweet spot, doesn't last long, especially for neipa's