The 10 Kegs of Winter - 5 Months Worth of Beer

[cannman]

It is May. Winter is still months away. But I am already looking toward the future.

A few things that happened last year that have me thinking:

1. Geee it was uncomfortably cold in Late October. But I have to get that Celebration clone ready for the Holidays! Brewing outside, the wet, the wind, the brrrrr......
2. It was tough keeping ale fermenting as Winter Approached. Fermenter is kept in a shed outside, not insulated. I've got the fermwrap clones I made pumping away, but even those are only able to keep temps so far above ambient

So this year, once the winter weather hits, I'd like to keg enough beer through February and hang up the brewing system until the spring. I'm not sure how much beer I'd actually need (club meetings, friends, Hockey games on TV), but my freezer fits 10 kegs, so lets go with 10 kegs.

Once carbonated, they would be kept cool at serving temps in the freezer (and hey, its fall/winter, easy).

With a 3 tap system (2 beer, 1 soda), will I be able to keep the kegs fresh and tasty through winter (4~5 cool/cold/freezing months)? What styles would best keep through this, and which styles would likely perish?

Thank you! I look forward to this project!

 

[Chomp]

I would definitely brew some beers that benefit from aging, maybe a scotch ale or try oaking some beer. Although I just drank a bottle of an IPA I made about 11 months ago and honestly it didn't really taste any worse than it did back then, probably why it's still around.

 

[cannman]

I would definitely brew some beers that benefit from aging, maybe a scotch ale or try oaking some beer. Although I just drank a bottle of an IPA I made about 11 months ago and honestly it didn't really taste any worse than it did back then, probably why it's still around.

This is a great idea. I read on kegerator.com that the kegs will not keep very long because they are not pasteurized..

 

[rekoob]

Honestly I can't see you having any issues with whatever beer you make.

Make it, keg it, carb it, store it, drink it.

 

[m00ps]

If you purge the kegs and sanitize them well, they will keep a long time IME. I accidently left a DIPA in a keg with keg hops for 4 months and it was still very fresh when I finally chilled it down and tapped it. If you are keeping your stuff at frdige temps, this is slow down the degradation process even more.

So i'd just make anything you feel like drinking

 

[beersk]

I'd suggest some lagers if you have the ability.

 

[Newsman]

Stouts are also good for winter drinking.

 

[azazel1024]

If you purge the kegs and sanitize them well, they will keep a long time IME. I accidently left a DIPA in a keg with keg hops for 4 months and it was still very fresh when I finally chilled it down and tapped it. If you are keeping your stuff at frdige temps, this is slow down the degradation process even more.

So i'd just make anything you feel like drinking

This. Sure, at room temperature, not purged they'll degrade possibly faster than in the bottle. However, purged and at fridge temps, they'll probably degrade a lot slower than in the bottle in a cellar. Temps below low 50's and especially in to the high 30's and there isn't much in the way of bacteria that is active at those temperatures, at least if things have been reasonably sanitized along the way.

Downside is, you don't get much actual aging either if kept cold. I've had IPAs and DIPAs that were quite fresh when they've been kept in the fridge for 5-6 months since they carbed up. I am going to do a straight test one of these days, but I'd bet that a 6 month old IPA is going to have better hop aroma and flavor if it spent those 6 months in the fridge (age determined by when it hit the bottle, not brewed) than one that is 3 months old, but only kept in my 65F cellar.

For keeping things warm, are you using any kind of insulated box? Not super cold, but keeping in my mini-fridge in my basement, I don't have a lot of issues keeping it at 108F for sour kettling. My 40w paint can heater probably runs around 50-75% duty cycle to keep it there. Would be roughly equivelent to keeping it in the mid-60s F if it was around 20F ambient. As a test I tossed a blanket over the entire mini-fridge and it went from about 50-75% duty cycle to about 33%.

I'd personally go stir crazy if I went ~6 months without brewing. I certainly brew less in the winter, but I still either tough it out, outside or in my garage with the doors cracked or stick to using my stove top to get at least 3-4 brews in over the winter.

 

[Kharnynb]

cannman, why not have a "swampcooler" with a aquarium heater or 2 to keep the temp up? it's been working well for me in the cellar which is about 5 celcius and brewing at 16 celcius (40f and 60F)

 

[cannman]

For keeping things warm, are you using any kind of insulated box? Not super cold, but keeping in my mini-fridge in my basement, I don't have a lot of issues keeping it at 108F for sour kettling. My 40w paint can heater probably runs around 50-75% duty cycle to keep it there. Would be roughly equivelent to keeping it in the mid-60s F if it was around 20F ambient. As a test I tossed a blanket over the entire mini-fridge and it went from about 50-75% duty cycle to about 33%.

Its a 14.8 CF freezer, so its insulated, its the shed that houses the freezer that is not insulated. I like the blanket idea for other applications though... :rockin:

 

[cannman]

cannman, why not have a "swampcooler" with a aquarium heater or 2 to keep the temp up? it's been working well for me in the cellar which is about 5 celcius and brewing at 16 celcius (40f and 60F)

Last year's brewing was lager brewing, but even then things slow down due to, well, lagering! lol.

I'm perfectly content waiting out the cold weather, sipping on some fall harvest Perhaps when we move and I have an insulated area or a garage for crying out loud, I'll get into winter brewing again.

 

[philipCT]

For what it's worth, I brew a 6.5%ABV Christmas Red Brickwarmer beer every year. I bottle it and give most away. In February this year I found a bottle from the previous year that had been refrigerated for the past 12 months. I did a side-by-side tasting with a bottle from this year's batch. They were almost exactly the same, and they were both lovely. This year's was a bit sweeter, but I mostly attribute this to slightly incomplete attenuation this year.

In any case, I believe this shows that an unpasteurized beer of moderate gravity, properly packaged and kept refrigerated, can be maintained in good condition for a pretty long time.

But to really answer your question, I would want to put up a big Imperial Stout and an American Barleywine for winter drinking though. As a matter of fact, I think I'll brew those in the coming months and just put them aside for aging for six months.

 

[dyqik]

I'd also think about brewing a dubbel and a porter or similar in the next couple of months, and lay down for 6 months aging or more until winter. I'd also bottle the dubbel rather than kegging it as I think it ages a bit better naturally carbed in bottles. Don't rush all your winter brews in October - start now and spread the effort out.

 

[cannman]

Don't rush all your winter brews in October - start now and spread the effort out.

What a great idea to start my morning!