# How Long Do I Age A Keg



## Skipsta (10/3/07)

I have purchased my keg setup (it's just not set up yet  ) 

My question is, we all know that bottles left to age will improve the flavour greatly. I have been told the beauty of the keg system is you brew it, you gas it, then you chug it. But do kegs benefit from aging as well??? And if so:
1. Should they be left warm or chilled? Chilled bottles will not mature any further so is this the same with kegs?
2. Should they be gassed or left ungassed?

I don't drink huge amounts of beer, but I have four kegs. Ideally I would like to have about 3 of them going at once, using one and letting the others mature (if thats possible). How long can they mature for before reaching an optimum level or am I just kidding myself and they never improve any further.

Any advice would be appreciated.


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## Fingerlickin_B (10/3/07)

If you can, then cool the kegs as soon as filled. The longer they stay at serving temp, the clearer the beer will be when you pour it. 

If not, leaving them at room temerature for months if you have storage restrictions won't hurt...I was worried about this when I experienced my first "keg summer", but it's quite fine to do  

PZ.


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## homekegger1 (10/3/07)

Skipsta,

In my experience the longer a keg is left cold and gassed the better the beer inside becomes. I have also had the problem of that not lasting all that long. I find that after a few weeks in the keg the beer begins to clear up, and I also find, like many other keggers out there that when the beer is clear and tasting sensational,*pttsssssss*** the keg finishes. If you can hold onto a keg for a month or so you will be drinking a much better quality brew than one just gassed and tapped. But either way You will enjoy it. I know I do. 

All the best with your kegging...

Cheers

HK


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## Sammus (11/3/07)

homekegger1 said:


> ...when the beer is clear and tasting sensational,*pttsssssss*** the keg finishes.



I hate that...


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## domonsura (11/3/07)

Mostly I actually chill down the whole fermenter in the fridge to 'cc' it before kegging. Then when I keg it, it's already cold, and can be gassed immediately. Then left alone to age. I reckon 2 weeks is a good age to start drinking depending on the beer, but as HK1 says, a month is ideal.


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## QldKev (11/3/07)

Assuming you will not be using a filter; I would recommend is a secondary vessel for CC'ing.

Ferment in primary fermentor
Then cold condition it in a food grade jerry can (for min 1 week)
Then keg / gas it

The longer you leave it in the jerry can the better, I personally have never tried much over 1 month. You will still get a lot of sediment in the jerry can, which is why I don't recommend conditioning the beer in the keg.


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## warb (11/3/07)

QldKev said:


> Assuming you will not be using a filter; I would recommend is a secondary vessel for CC'ing.
> 
> Ferment in primary fermentor
> Then cold condition it in a food grade jerry can (for min 1 week)
> ...




exactly, i go from fermenter to jerry can in a fridge for a min of 4 weeks, normally 8 weeks, then move to a keg.. however i have ran out of fridges, i used to run 5 fridges, the power bill was a killer (they are all old, off the side of the road jobs, etc)... so next would be to build a small fridge room in the shed i think...


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## Skipsta (12/3/07)

Thanks for the feedback guys, answered all my questions :beer:


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## Bobby (12/3/07)

domonsura said:


> Mostly I actually chill down the whole fermenter in the fridge to 'cc' it before kegging. Then when I keg it, it's already cold, and can be gassed immediately. Then left alone to age. I reckon 2 weeks is a good age to start drinking depending on the beer, but as HK1 says, a month is ideal.



I do the exact same


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## Back Yard Brewer (12/3/07)

Skipsta said:


> Thanks for the feedback guys, answered all my questions :beer:



Believe it or not but I still have a KK stout in keg still going, dated 1/7/06. It is neaaaarly finished. My customers  have said it is one of the best stouts that they have ever had. Yes they are genuine stout drinkers. So yes the bloody thing should be MT by know.

BYB


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## Wortgames (12/3/07)

Skipsta said:


> Chilled bottles will not mature any further so is this the same with kegs?


Not true!

Once the beer has carbonated, you'll usually find that it improves far more from cold storage than from warm. Seriously, try it with your next batch of bottles. After they've carbonated, put some of them at the back of the fridge for a few weeks. Then compare one of these with a 'room temperature' one you just chilled overnight. The difference is usually quite striking, the beer that was stored cold is much cleaner-tasting, usually a lot clearer and often with what seems like a finer head.

I don't think there are any circumstances where warm storage of beer is actually beneficial to flavour, except in order to carbonate, or for those high-gravity barley wines where the yeast still needs to work over many months or years in the bottle. In most beers, the yeast has done its job as soon as the bottle has carbonated, and the beer improves much more from letting it settle out and from certain other activities which seem to happen at cold temperatures.

To answer your question about kegging, the best way is to try it and see. You'll find that some beers reach their best after a few days and then seem to deteriorate, and others don't reach their pinnacle until after a few weeks. If you've got the luxury of a couple of taps and enough storage space, then you can try them all from time to time and learn about the nuances.


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