Keggin vs Bottle Conditioning Question

[andy6026]

I'm soon to make the switch from bottling to kegging. When bottling, one thing I've noticed is that before about 3 weeks in the bottle for most beers, while the carbonation may be there, the beer tastes thin and it's flavors less blended compared to when it's truly ready. This is usually attributable to the fact that it needs further 'conditioning'.

What about when kegging though which can have a beer carbed in significantly less time - does the beer still need additional time to condition? Will it taste thin and unblended even though it's carbonated to an appropriate level? Or is what we perceive as 'conditioning' wholly attributable to the carbonation?

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I find it still takes time to condition. It all depends on the beer. But usually a week or so in the keg is the minimum so that it tastes good. It will get better with time for most everything. Hoppy stuff starts tapering off after 3-4 weeks in the keg.

 

[hopjunkie26]

Definitely depends on the beer. You will find that some beers will still need some time before they taste just right but you may also realize that some beers taste even better, such as IPAs/Pale Ales/etc, because the hops are fresher. That is one of the differences I noticed when moving to kegging...much better flavor in my IPAs because I was drinking them sooner.

Regardless, the nice thing about kegging is that you can take small samples at weekly intervals to see if the beer is ready. You don't have to worry about opening an entire bottle to see if a batch is ready. Once you find that sweet spot, keep notes so you know when the beer will be in it's prime.

Cheers!