keg aging and temperature

[isaac338]

I kegged my first batch a few weeks ago, and it's been sitting in the fridge ever since (I've been drinking it ever so slowly..). It's still pretty green and I'm wondering if maybe taking it out of the fridge (around 40F) and putting it in the closet (around 75F) will help speed up the aging process. I know aging is just the yeast doing more work, so logic tells me warmer (to a point) will be better. It's an ale brewed with an ale yeast.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[cyberjoey80]

I had this same problem. I just got into kegging and my first batch was still quite sweet. It took me a long time to make it through my first few gallons (a couple pints a weekend) and I noticed each week that it tasted better than the last. I just raised the temp of my frige until it was around 50F and it seemed to help speed up the process. Now what I do is 1 week in primary, 2-3 weeks in secondary and then keg. However, I leave me keg in a closet and bleed of excess O2 for about another 10 days then apply O2 at serving psi and let sit another 10 days. I just started this system but I think this will give the beer more time to age and I rather wait and have a winner than to be unhappy with an overly sweet beer. On the plus side...all the girlfriends of my buddies really loved it cause it was sweet. Not the best compliment but they don't have to know that :cross:

 

[cyberjoey80]

Oh and also, 75 sounds a little warm. I believe the ideal temp (and you want to check on this) for ale yeast should be around 60-65f. I try and keep my ale's stored around 60. Hope this helps.

 

[david_42]

For most ales, 50-55F is the best range, but a week or two around 70F won't hurt.