Hitting FG and flavor quick

[sicktght311]

Tell me why I shouldn’t be kegging my ales and IPAs if I’m hitting final gravity within 5 days, letting it sit stable at fg for another 2-3, and the sample tastes clean and flavorful. No diacetyl. No green flavors. No residual sweetness. Etc

My NEIPAs I regularly turn around brew day to keg in 7 days, but I brewed a wheat and a pumpkin recently and both followed the same fermentation timeline as a NEIPA.

I brewed my pumpkin beer Sunday 9/22, tasted a sample today when checking gravity and I’m at my expected FG and it tastes great. If I sample again on Sunday and it’s stable and still tastes good, why wouldn’t I keg it?

 

[Yooper]

I have no idea why you would not package the beer when it's done. I do it all the time.

I know there is a very vocal contingent that tells you to leave your beer in the fermenter for ages and ages, but it certainly is not necessary with a well made beer.

I have tried a longer time in the fermenter to see if I liked the characteristics. I found that I do not like the yeast character imparted by a longer time on the trub. I would think it must be personal preference.

When the beer is done, clear (or well on its way to clearing), I see no reason to not package it.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Tell me why I shouldn’t be kegging my ales and IPAs if I’m hitting final gravity within 5 days, letting it sit stable at fg for another 2-3, and the sample tastes clean and flavorful. No diacetyl. No green flavors. No residual sweetness. Etc

Keg it! There's NO reason to wait if you fermented cleanly like this.

 

[sicktght311]

I totally get when we’re talking darker beers and stouts. I’ve made the mistake of kegging early and the bitterness and intensity was just too much. Those absolutely need time to condition and I always let my stouts sit in primary longer, and then condition at room temp in a keg with 15psi in the headspace to keep it sealed up, but I’m just not seeing any reason to ever wait that long for ales.

I ferment under tight temperature control, and always pitch enough yeast, so I guess it’s time to just keg and enjoy! Thanks fam

 

[NitrogenWidget]

I regularly use harvested yeast that i made a starter with a few days before and my session ales usually ferment down to FG in about 3 days.
then dry hop and it's in the keg on day 7.

as long as I keep the temp of my ferm chamber in the low to mid 60's have not seen a problem.
heck session wheat beers I ferment high 60's are in the keg on day 4 or 5.


I hear of these kevik? yeasts people use for IPA's at room temp in the summer that burn through a normal ABV beer in a few days with no off-tastes.
havn't tried those yet.

 

[Vale71]

I totally get when we’re talking darker beers and stouts. I’ve made the mistake of kegging early and the bitterness and intensity was just too much. Those absolutely need time to condition and I always let my stouts sit in primary longer, and then condition at room temp in a keg with 15psi in the headspace to keep it sealed up, but I’m just not seeing any reason to ever wait that long for ales.

You do realize that unless you filter and pasteurize your beer it will keep conditioning in the keg just the same? Minus the oxidation you will get if you ferment in a bucket and let the beer sit in it for an unnecessarily long time.

 

[seatazzz]

Unless life gets in the way, my ales are usually grain to glass in 10 days or less; 3 of those are for carbonating. I.E., if I brew an ale on a Saturday, I'll be kegging it either the following weekend to slow-carb and finish in the keg, or the following Thursday (only night of the week with no work/other responsibilities), then force-carbed for a day. Cold-fermented lagers get more time, of course, but are usually done in 14 days or so and on tap shortly thereafter. I have no idea why some people want to leave a perfectly brewed, mid-to light ale (agree that stouts & big beers need more time) on the yeast for 21 days when they could be enjoying it much faster.

 

[Day-Day]

Do what makes you happy... that's what it's all about... I'm in the camp of packaging sooner than later... especially IPA's... there' is just so many variables ... it's hard to say you should package your beer every single time after 7, 10 days or whatever... Like you said... if it tastes clean and ready to go... package....it will continue to condition in the keg...

With that said, I find that bigger beers 1.070 OG and up generally benefit from some extra time before drinking... my bigger IPA's usually taste better 3 weeks after brew day than they do 10-14 days after brew day... but I'm still generally not leaving them in primary longer than 2 weeks... kegging and drinking a week later...

My IPA on tap right now is exactly 22 days old from brew day... I went grain to glass in 13 days... it's changed a lot (for the better) over the last 9-10 days... I'd say it's going to peak in a week or two then slowly fade...

Can I go grain to glass in 7-10 days... absolutely... do I ... absolutely...

My point is I see no reason to wait to keg it, if you've hit your terminal gravity and the sample tastes good...

BUT... it may benefit from aging another week or so in the keg while slow carbing it...

The real question is what do you have to gain by drinking your beer before it's reached it's prime (which is subjective anyways)...