Help on brew timing

[wlssox524]

Hey all--

I've brewed a batch of Centennial blonde that I will be serving at a party in 5 weeks. I find that most of my beers seem to peak in flavor after ~8 weeks so I'm looking for advice on the best schedule for the next 2 weeks. I'm considering 2 options--any thoughts on which is better (or maybe it doesn't matter?)
-leave it in primary for 3 weeks, keg, put it on gas for 2 weeks (probably ~11 days actually), and serve
-leave it in primary for 2 weeks, keg, put it on gas for ~3 weeks and serve

 

[Pie_Man]

It really depends on your fermentation. After two weeks, if the beer is finished fermenting and tastes clean, meaning the yeast have cleaned up fermentation byproducts like diacetyl (buttery flavor), you're fine to keg. If you think it needs more time, then keep the beer on the yeast for another week before kegging.