How long can beer remain in Keg?

[Yroc]

When I left for Florida at the end of October, I wondered if two corny kegs under Co2 in the kegorator would spoil by the time I returned. I read these forums ... most information I found suggested the beer would not keep that long (it is not pasturized and it was never put through a secondary). A few said it might.

I got back yesterday and the beer is perfect after 5-6 months (some of my best ever clarity wise).

My idea was to avoid having to buy commerical beer while I make my 1st batch upon return.

Cheers

 

[VikeMan]

I got back yesterday and the beer is perfect after 5-6 months (some of my best ever clarity wise).

Good looking beer! The clarity shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. That's what time and gravity combine to do. The tradeoff, off course, is staling reactions. They happen relentlessly. How fast and how bad depend on a lot of factors. I'm glad you're still able to enjoy this beer.

 

[Dland]

Relentless, ? anyway, .. A lot of aging outcome has to do with conditioning/storing temp. And of course exposure to oxygen after fermentation, especially if a keg has been tapped. Recommend storage of finished kegs at 30-35F, but higher cellar temps are better than fluctuation..

Gravity and non fermentable's complexity are also factors in how long one wants to condition, but will leave aside for now.

A beer six weeks cold crashed can (and often does) turn out to be a tasty and refreshing beverage. If one is fortunate enough to have a enough beer in pipeline to let the next keg of same batch condition further, the beer if often just as satisfying, but even better...

Having two kegs of each batch is the only way I can do this, by the way, if I just had one keg, sometimes it might be gone before I could taste in mature, or fully conditioned state.

This might not even be a pertinent response to OP's question, but I have at least 5 minuets invested in typing it, will send it off....

 

[VikeMan]

Relentless, ? anyway, ..

Yes. It starts even before packaging and never stops. Every beer undergoes oxidation. The rates are different and the damage (both objective and subjective) can be different. I mention this mainly because I've seen so many posts that say "Well, I do "X" and my beers are never oxidized."

A lot of aging outcome has to do with conditioning/storing temp.

Yes, lower temperatures slow down the relevant reactions. By about 2-3 times per 10 degrees C. But they still happen.

This might not even be a pertinent response to OP's question, but I have at least 5 minuets invested in typing it, will send it off....

I wouldn't worry too much about that. He didn't ask a question.

To further answer a question that wasn't asked, this presentation covers a lot of the factors affecting freshness/staling:
http://sonsofalchemy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Oxidation_and_Freshness.pdf

 

[superiorsat]

When I left for Florida at the end of October, I wondered if two corny kegs under Co2 in the kegorator would spoil by the time I returned. I read these forums ... most information I found suggested the beer would not keep that long (it is not pasturized and it was never put through a secondary). A few said it might.

I got back yesterday and the beer is perfect after 5-6 months (some of my best ever clarity wise).

My idea was to avoid having to buy commerical beer while I make my 1st batch upon return.

Cheers

View attachment 764776

What type of beer line are you using in your kegerator?

 

[bwible]

I had 5 gallons of a club brew bourbon barrel RIS that was on tap in my kegerator for about a year and a half. Didn’t do weekly comparisons or anything but it was good til it kicked. Might have lost a little of the wood/barrel flavor by the end, but still very drinkable.

I just kicked a 5 gallon keg of homebrew lager that I brewed back in Sept. So that was on tap for ~6 months. I swear the last few beers were the best ones.

 

[kevin58]

Keep in mind that in the 1800's London breweries, among the largest in the world at the time, stacked barrels and barrels of beer outside, unprotected, in all weather for up to 12 months at a time. A few months in your keggerator, under pressure and kept at serving temperature will be just fine.