Keg Aging: Carb right away or wait?

[wittmania]

I've got an ale I'm planning on letting age for a couple of months in the keg. Should I force carbonate it as soon as I keg it, or should I wait until a few weeks before it's "done" before I introduce CO2? Will it make a difference?

 

[chapa]

What do you mean "done"? If it ages for several months, it is surely done. I'd suggest cold crashing before kegging if you can. This will compact the sediment to the bottom, minimizing trub in the keg, AND.....cold beer carbonates quicker!!! If nothing else, if you can't cold crash 1st, once you fill the keg, just throw it in the keggerator and let it chill for a day or so, then force carbonate it.

There are several ways to carbonate too, so be sure to check out details for that, to see if you want to FORCE carbonate or just set it and let it carb itself over time. It'll take a lot longer to do the latter though, I always force carb mine. Good luck!

 

[devilishprune]

If you're going to age it a long time in the keg, I would just prime it with corn sugar and let it sit. That way, when you want to drink it all you have to do is chill it and you're ready to go.

As far as I know, cold beer does not carbonate faster, it just does so at a lower PSI.

 

[Mr_Bigglesworth]

Hitting it with at least a little C02 will purge the oxygen in headspace of the keg, would prob be a good idea for long-time aging