First keg day questions!

[bmickey]

I have 2 extract batches of beer:
batch 1 - Belgium Tripel brewed on 2/12, racked to secondary on 2/20.
batch 2 - Raspberry wheat brewed on 2/19 still in primary.

This will be my first time kegging so I have lots of questions/thoughts running through my mind.

1) Have I allowed enough time to go ahead and rack to the keg, hit it with 30psi to seal, refrigerate at 38-40 for 24 hrs and then put on 12 psi to set and forget and.taste at 1 week and then 2 weeks?

OR should I let condition in the keg even longer before setting up in fridge and then set and forget?

2) Assuming I am starting with 10 feet of beverage line, what do must people do to keep that line neat and organized?

3) Does it matter how long the gas lines are? my guess is no...

 

[justinakajuice]

I do the 1) and let it sit for two or three weeks. Works well for me, but sometimes the beer tastes a little green so I leave it alone while it gets better, pouring a pint once a week or so.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

1. As long as your primary fermentation is done (SG is no longer dropping) it's ok to keg it. However, you should allow it to condition at room temp for a certain amount of time if it's not yet tasting mature. How long this takes will depend on the beer. Essentially think of the corny keg as a secondary.

2. I like to take cheap cable clamps around my keg lines. I wrap them up into circles and then clamp them to keep it together.

3. The gas line does not have to be a certain length. Long enough to reach is fine.

 

[Flywheel]

1. As long as your primary fermentation is done (SG is no longer dropping) it's ok to keg it. However, you should allow it to condition at room temp for a certain amount of time if it's not yet tasting mature. How long this takes will depend on the beer. Essentially think of the corny keg as a secondary.

2. I like to take cheap cable clamps around my keg lines. I wrap them up into circles and then clamp them to keep it together.

3. The gas line does not have to be a certain length. Long enough to reach is fine.

+1 to all of this. I always let my keg condition at room temp for a few weeks before they go into the fridge and get carbed up.

 

[bmickey]

What is the reasoning behind the additional aging time in the keg? For example, my raspberry wheat will be about 3+ weeks old already and with the sset and forget method it will carbonate within 2 weeks and that makes 5+ weeks. does the cold and carbonation process stop the aging I would normally get in bottles?

 

[MeatyPortion]

The aging will let some of the flavors develop better and the beer will clear up a bit. I've tried a kegged brew, that I fermented for 14 days and no aging plus 7 days of carbing, at 2, 4, 8-12, and finally 20 days and that's where it was finally perfect. The early tastings were decent but the beer was hazy and the flavor and aroma weren't quite there yet. It pays to be patient.

 

[bmickey]

The aging will let some of the flavors develop better and the beer will clear up a bit. I've tried a kegged brew, that I fermented for 14 days and no aging plus 7 days of carbing, at 2, 4, 8-12, and finally 20 days and that's where it was finally perfect. The early tastings were decent but the beer was hazy and the flavor and aroma weren't quite there yet. It pays to be patient.

I definitely agree on that, just didn't know if carbonating and refrigerating somehow halted that process. with bottling I understand how the process plays out.

 

[MeatyPortion]

To the best of my knowledge carbing and refrigerating will not stop the aging process but merely slow it down. Now, pasteurization will halt fermentation and stop the beer in its tracks at a certain profile but you're not doing that, you're just slowing everything down. This is as I understand it. Wait until one of the mods (or Revvy) see this and elaborate.

But at any rate: it's been my experience that it's best to let the beer sit and organize itself rather than drinking it young.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

To the best of my knowledge carbing and refrigerating will not stop the aging process but merely slow it down. Now, pasteurization will halt fermentation and stop the beer in its tracks at a certain profile but you're not doing that, you're just slowing everything down. This is as I understand it. Wait until one of the mods (or Revvy) see this and elaborate.

But at any rate: it's been my experience that it's best to let the beer sit and organize itself rather than drinking it young.

Ditto. I notice improvements with my beer after months in the keezer compared to weeks in a secondary. Keeping the keg at room temperature or there abouts allows faster maturation from my experience. Although I don't think this always has to be a long time but it can be a long time for big beers.

 

[peabody304]

What's "room temperature?" in the winter here in Central Texas room temperature in 68 to 70. In the summer we keep the house in the 77 to 79 range. Is that too warm for room temperature aging?

 

[bmickey]

bottle aging temps for me are 65, house fermenting temps are usually 70. a matter of upstairs vs basement which is cooler