Opinions on ageing kegs

[DonGavlar]

Hi all,

New to kegging so still trying to learn the process. I kegged my first beer last friday, put it in my kegerator which is set to 40F, set to the recommended psi beersmith gave me, after a couple days I added gelatin, hooked the gas back up and was planing on leaving it a week or two then start drinking it.

I thought that using the ‘set and forget’ method of carbing would alow the beer to ‘age’ for a couple of weeks while its carbing. However, I’ve now just read that unless you are leaving it for a couple of months, it wont really age in the cold. So now I’m affraid I’m just going to be drinking a carbed green beer.

Do I need to leave my kegs somewhere at room tempature for a few weeks before i start my carbonation process in the fridge? If this is the case, this would add on atleast 2-3 weeks more onto the process than when I was bottling. Also I don’t think the mrs would be happy with me leaving kegs of beer around the house aging.

Was wondering if I could get some of your guys processes that work well and produce great beer.

The worry I have about leaving at room temp for weeks and then force carbing quickly is 1... the Mrs pulling her hair out about kegs lying about the place. 2.. not being able to have an accurate carbonation level and 3.. the beer not being as clear and crisp as it would if I had been carbing in the cold for a few weeks.

Any help appreciated, thanks.

 

[V-Fib]

I normally set them to 7-10 psi and just let them sit in the fridge. It takes about 2 weeks before they are fully carbed and ready to drink. I haven't tasted anything I'd consider green after its been on the gas for a week or 2. I normally keep my beers in the primary for 3-4 weeks with no cold crashing. Depending on the style I'll use gelatin but I've kin of gotten away from it and just let it sit longer if I want it to be crystal clear.

 

[V-Fib]

You can also look into using priming sugar in the keg which is something I've done the past few beers. More for the reason I've been able to brew faster than I can drink. So I'll get the carbonation process while I'm finishing off a keg.

 

[DonGavlar]

I normally set them to 7-10 psi and just let them sit in the fridge. It takes about 2 weeks before they are fully carbed and ready to drink. I haven't tasted anything I'd consider green after its been on the gas for a week or 2. I normally keep my beers in the primary for 3-4 weeks with no cold crashing. Depending on the style I'll use gelatin but I've kin of gotten away from it and just let it sit longer if I want it to be crystal clear.

Well, this is good to know! So you're finding that aging your beers for a couple weeks in the cold is producing just as good beer as would leaving them at room temp for a couple weeks?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

It will 100% age condition and go through flavor changes cold and carbed. My beers usually tastes different and better at the end of the keg.

What kind of beer and how long was it in the primary?

 

[DonGavlar]

It will 100% age condition and go through flavor changes cold and carbed. My beers usually tastes different and better at the end of the keg.

What kind of beer and how long was it in the primary?

An Irish Red, it was in the primary for 3 weeks. I understand it will still age and condition in the cold, however, I've read that say you usually like to let your beer condition or age a couple of weeks after the fermenter, which I do, the same process may take double the amount of time when cold.

I just want to make sure that aging my keg in the cold a couple weeks isn't going to be of any less quality than if aged for the same time at room temp.

 

[cegan09]

different styles take differing amounts of time. a huge RIS might taste best after a month or two of secondary aging. while an IPA can be perfect straight out of primary. There's no hard rule. And the best part is if it seems to need more time, you can just give it more time. Hard to take time away though.

I would say don't overthink it. Let primary fermentation run it's course. (you mentioned 3 weeks for the irish red, so you're probably good there). Then move it to the keg and carbonate. I'd say for that beer you're going to be fine after the carbonation period if you're using the set and forget method. Don't worry about warm vs cold. It's going to need some time to carb up in the cold anyway (beer absorbs more CO2 when cold, so if you try to carb when warm you'll need more pressure to get the same level).

The "green" beer thing i believe to be a bit overblown of an issue that you hear about when starting out. You'll notice it if you try to rush a beer from brew day to serving in 2 or less weeks. But it sounds like you're not doing that at all. With the timelines you're outlining you won't have any problems just throwing it right in the fridge.

 

[DonGavlar]

different styles take differing amounts of time. a huge RIS might taste best after a month or two of secondary aging. while an IPA can be perfect straight out of primary. There's no hard rule. And the best part is if it seems to need more time, you can just give it more time. Hard to take time away though.

I would say don't overthink it. Let primary fermentation run it's course. (you mentioned 3 weeks for the irish red, so you're probably good there). Then move it to the keg and carbonate. I'd say for that beer you're going to be fine after the carbonation period if you're using the set and forget method. Don't worry about warm vs cold. It's going to need some time to carb up in the cold anyway (beer absorbs more CO2 when cold, so if you try to carb when warm you'll need more pressure to get the same level).

The "green" beer thing i believe to be a bit overblown of an issue that you hear about when starting out. You'll notice it if you try to rush a beer from brew day to serving in 2 or less weeks. But it sounds like you're not doing that at all. With the timelines you're outlining you won't have any problems just throwing it right in the fridge.

Sounds good. Yeah I dont rush my brews, I usually leave my beers in the primary for 3-4 weeks, I then (was) bottling them and leaving around 3 weeks at room tempature before chilling a week. I let my stouts sit atleast a month at room temp before chilling.

However, I just don’t want to mistake my beers being in the cold kegerator for 2 weeks before drinking as them aging for 2 weeks like my bottles were. I read that when the beer is cold, the aging process is reduced significantly. So a 2 week aging period at room temp may take 1 month in the cold. However, so far it seems that you guys are getting good results by letting them stay cold straight from the fermenter and additional time isnt needed?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

yep..hes at 5 weeks after carbing....2 weeks longer than almost all my beer...hes good to go