keg aged?

[maestro]

Soo...I bought two kegs from a fellow brewer in anticipation of building my own keggerator (one day). But he also gave me one of his brews (a very delicious stout) that he said he aged in the very kegs he sold me.

It wasn't until I went home and enjoyed said stout that I realized he said, "keg aged".

Can anyone summarize what it is to keg age a beer? I have an IPA in secondary right now, would i put it in a keg to age it or should I be using the keg as the secondary and waiting longer for secondary?

Thanks!

 

[Cyclman]

If you keg, it can be convenient to age a beer directly in the keg. But it isn't really any different that ageing it in a carboy.

I ferment most of my beers in primary, cold crash it, and bottle or keg. If I am going to do extended ageing on wood, fruit, etc., then I do secondary, but otherwise it's just extra work in my experience.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Soo...I bought two kegs from a fellow brewer in anticipation of building my own keggerator (one day). But he also gave me one of his brews (a very delicious stout) that he said he aged in the very kegs he sold me.

It wasn't until I went home and enjoyed said stout that I realized he said, "keg aged".

Can anyone summarize what it is to keg age a beer? I have an IPA in secondary right now, would i put it in a keg to age it or should I be using the keg as the secondary and waiting longer for secondary?

Thanks!

Some beers with lots of roasted malts or high alcohol content, etc. benefit from time to mellow. An IPA is the exact opposite...drink it fresh for maximum hop aroma.

Some "age" in a secondary and others in the bottle and still others in a keg. A lot of it is perception, some of it is real and some might be either but the collective does not agree. From personal experience, strong, roasty beers do improve after about 6 months.

 

[okbecker]

Agree with all the above. I like to age in kegs cause I feel it gives me better control over possible oxidation issues....but that's just me!

 

[BigFloyd]

Some beers with lots of roasted malts or high alcohol content, etc. benefit from time to mellow. An IPA is the exact opposite...drink it fresh for maximum hop aroma.

Some "age" in a secondary and others in the bottle and still others in a keg. A lot of it is perception, some of it is real and some might be either but the collective does not agree. From personal experience, strong, roasty beers do improve after about 6 months.

This ^^^^^. I've seen some darker, more complex beers benefit greatly from an extra 6 months of room temperature conditioning. Other beers seem to age better at fridge temps.

You would not, however gain anything from aging an IPA. Its peculiar IPA character will fade over time.

 

[maestro]

Thanks everyone. I've never really aged any beer before beyond a few extra weeks and then bottle conditioned for a few weeks more.
Figured I'd throw the question/idea out to the pro's first!!

 

[notyal]

When you do transfer to a keg and don't plan on drinking immediately (either purposely for aging or just waiting until a tap opens up) what pressure to do you leave it at? Is it possible to put 20?, 30? psi in there and let it age a couple weeks and carb simultaneously?

I currently have 2 kegs and 2 taps on my keggerator, so it hasn't been an issue. I'm wondering (like the OP) how beneficial it would be to have an extra or two. Obviously, having extra equipment is a good thing, but there are still many pieces of primary equipment I need or seriously need to upgrade.

 

[okbecker]

I have done it a couple ways. I've hooked up co2 and carbonated fully then let age. I've hit kegs with just enough psi to seal then age, though this way you have to keep an eye on your seal as the co2 will absorb into beer and could lose keg seal. I prefer the first option.

 

[SeeMont]

With my IPAs and APAs, I keg and have ready as soon as three weeks, these need to be gone after 3 months. For my dark brews I like to let them age. I seal kegs with 30 psi and check for leaks. As my kegs age I take samples and record my thoughts. When finished, I hook to CO2 and recharge the kegs. Stouts and porter are best after 4 to 6 months. I am still drinking on a barley wine after 1 1/2 years, still better each time. Good Luck.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I have a 60-day drink by date on my IPAs from package date. They are packaged 14-18 days after brew day depending on dry hop schedule.

I have a BDSA that is keg conditioning right now. It is carbonated and ready. Keg conditioning is similar to conditioning in the bottle. I force carbonate but you could use priming sugar and keg condition after adding priming sugar if you wanted.

I typically refer to it as bulk conditioning and I prefer to use a keg because I have great control over oxidation.