Got my first keg: Q about "conditioning

[Smellyglove]

So, Johnny got his keg.

I'm wondering about the effect it has to go straight from fermentation to 4C, as opposed to fermentation ->20c for bottle conditioning.

The yeast will be less active. But, this is a two week head start on the "lagering" (even though I'm making ales too). Should I let the keg sit in roomtemp, before I connect co2 and put it in the fridge?

 

[bobeer]

If you're kegging a lager I'd probably lager it in your fermentor before kegging it. Or you could put it under a little bit of pressure in a keg and lager it for a month or so. I don't think it really matters as long as you have the "lag" time in the proper temp.

 

[Smellyglove]

I might have been unclear in my OP.

The question is about what the different temperatures for two weeks do on the flavour. Are the effects that different that I would like to keep the kegged one in room-temp not to hinder yeast activity for the two weeks I would normally use to condition the bottled ones?

 

[bobeer]

If you leave a beer with lager yeast at ale temps then you're going to get a steam beer. If you leave a lager at lager temps for the full time you will most likely get a "true" lager. If you've had the lager sitting out for a while, not a lager temps, I don't think it would do any harm to put it in the correct temp for lagering. It might have a slight steam beer aspect to it but I don't think it'll have a damning impact on your beer. You could call it a steam lager or something. If it were me I'd just throw it in your cooler anyway and see what happens.

 

[Smellyglove]

I shouldn't have mentioned "lagering". This goes for all beer I make.

Same beer. Half batch goes into bottles and is stored in room-temp for two weeks, primed to make some bubbles.
The other half of the batch goes straight into a keg in the fridge, connected to co2, to make some bubbles.

Which one would taste better after two weeks? I'm just after the difference the temperature would impart.

 

[Potamus]

I think with ales you would want them fully conditioned before cooling. There won't be much conditioning in the fridge.

 

[dcp27]

as long as the batch was given the proper amount of time to clean up after itself, after 2 weeks id expect the keg to taste better, albiet minorly. the bottle carb would have the ferment from priming to clean up and settle out, whereas the keg would just be clearing.

 

[Smellyglove]

I think with ales you would want them fully conditioned before cooling. There won't be much conditioning in the fridge.

So I should either leave it in the fermentor at fermentation-temps, after it's "done". Or rack it to a keg which is left in room-temp, before I move it into the fridge?

 

[Smellyglove]

as long as the batch was given the proper amount of time to clean up after itself, after 2 weeks id expect the keg to taste better, albiet minorly. the bottle carb would have the ferment from priming to clean up and settle out, whereas the keg would just be clearing.

So there is no need to let the beer "mature" or whatever after the two weeks of fermentation? As it would if I try make some bubbles naturally

 

[dcp27]

i mean it depends on the beer. if there are some fermentation flaws, warm would probably do better, but if it tastes fine then theres no need to keep it warm. the 2 weeks for bottling is just to give it time to ferment, settle, and the carb to evenly dissolve back in, theres nothing special about that needs be carried out with kegging. all my beers go into the keg after 2-3 weeks and straight to 6C, most in fact were already there crashing before hand for a few days.

 

[m1k3]

I have tried storing a keg at room temp and another of the same beer on tap.

The problem I had is that the beer stored warm did not have constant CO2 pressure on it and it became oxidized while sitting warm. (I did try putting 30psi on it twice in the first two days. But it lost pressure and the seal failed.)

Now I have a full size fridge for fermentation and an extra CO2 tank so I would never store my extra kegs warm.

You can prime a keg with sugar and let it condition warm like a big bottle.
But you will grow more yeast in the keg, which is a disadvantage.

So, to answer your question... when it is done keg it and keep it cold.

 

[Smellyglove]

Alright. Then I won't worry about kegging into a fridge after 2 weeks of fermentation.

Thanks for all your input.

 

[bobeer]

Sorry for the confusion. I thought you were making a lager!
Two weeks in a keg in cold storage would taste better over 2 weeks in a bottle at room temp. All the way.

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