# Keeping Beer In Kegs Outside The Fridge



## CosmicBertie (7/11/11)

Hi Folks.

Just kind of got into kegging, and I'm wondering whether its ok to keep beer in a keg, but not refridgerated? IE, just stored in the garage. Is this ok, or is it a 'bad thing'? Theres only space in my kegerator for three kegs, but I'd like to brew more.

Thanks!


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## stux (7/11/11)

Cosmic Bertie said:


> Hi Folks.
> 
> Just kind of got into kegging, and I'm wondering whether its ok to keep beer in a keg, but not refridgerated? IE, just stored in the garage. Is this ok, or is it a 'bad thing'? Theres only space in my kegerator for three kegs, but I'd like to brew more.
> 
> Thanks!



Would you keep bottled homebrew in the garage?

Same thing


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## Ivan Other One (7/11/11)

Hey bert, have had no probs with room temp storage, and average temp here gets to be around 30 deg C through summer.


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## TedAu (7/11/11)

Cosmic Bertie said:


> Hi Folks.
> 
> Just kind of got into kegging, and I'm wondering whether its ok to keep beer in a keg, but not refridgerated? IE, just stored in the garage. Is this ok, or is it a 'bad thing'? Theres only space in my kegerator for three kegs, but I'd like to brew more.
> 
> Thanks!



I store mine in the shed without any dramas
Probably goes without saying you should at least purge the air from the keg before storing. I prefer to carb it up if I have the time to chill it down.


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## enuun (7/11/11)

I store mine in a place away from the sun. That's about it. Average temp here is about 27 degrees in the shade.


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## CosmicBertie (8/11/11)

TedAu said:


> I store mine in the shed without any dramas
> Probably goes without saying you should at least purge the air from the keg before storing. I prefer to carb it up if I have the time to chill it down.




Yeah, I was going to do the whole, purge and pressurise thing, but then just leave it in the garage, out of the sun, but it can still get quite hot +30C.



THanks for all the replies fellas


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## michael_aussie (8/11/11)

I asked the same question a few months ago.

The response wasn't fantastic. I'm not sure whether people don't care, or don't know. == so I'll piggy back on your question.

To summarise the ones who did reply .. I think that most said that ....

1. storing at serving temp would be best for beer life. Maybe not so important if you are going to drink in a month or two.
2. storing at fermenting temp may or may not improve the beer in the short term ... not conclusive.
3. storing at higher than fermenting temp wasn't desirable.

What wasn't clear to me was....

1. What is the best temp to store a beer in a keg to improve its taste in the short term? 5 degrees or 20 degrees?
2. are there any ill effects if a beer sees Aussie summer temps 30+ degrees.. My heart tells me it can't be "good" for the beer.
3. What is the best "program"? 

I also started a thread about my total "program" .. and had lots of interesting although sometimes conflicting advice. Obviously different styles have different programs.

I only brew ales. 
I used to:
1. Ferment at 20ish. (2 weeks)
2. Rest at a "bit" more "23ish" (1 week)
3. Cold condition at 2 degrees (1 week)
4. Keg and store at 20ish until I was ready to drink
5. Then chill again and drink.


Now I: 
1. Ferment at 20ish. (2-3 weeks)
2. Rest at a "bit" more "23ish" (3 days)
3. Cold condition at 2 degrees (3 days)
4. Keg and store at 5 degrees
5. Drink.

It's still not clear to me if I am doing this "right". 
Is #1 for 2-3 weeks "too long"?
Is #2 the right temp, the right duration, or even required at all.
Is #3 the right temp, the right duration, or even required at all. = I only do full worts and extracts and have never had haze problem before or after doing this.
Is #4 required at all. Or would I be better off at "room temp". I have the fridge space to be able to do this.... so I am flexible.

Not being able to do comparative taste tests (for example comparing storing at 5 degrees versus 20 degrees) means I am flying blind here.

I haven't had any "bad" beers, =={other than a few styles of full worts that I tried that weren't really in my comfort zone}.
... so I have no empirical data to support temps and durations. I have been guided by trying combine together the different things Ive read, and the different snippets of advice Ive been given.


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## Bubba (8/11/11)

Cosmic Bertie said:


> Hi Folks.
> 
> Just kind of got into kegging, and I'm wondering whether its ok to keep beer in a keg, but not refridgerated? IE, just stored in the garage. Is this ok, or is it a 'bad thing'? Theres only space in my kegerator for three kegs, but I'd like to brew more.
> 
> Thanks!




Consider your keg like a big bottle of home brew...storing it in the garage, the spare room, ther laundry etc is fine as long as it is sealed and pressurised. The beer will not go off if bacteria cannot get in.
As far as temp goes, that is exactly the same principle...keep it as consistent as possible, and try to avoid extreme heat (above 30 degrees if possible). If it does go over 30, it wont kill your beer but due to the lack of preservatives in home brew, it deteriorates quicker at higher temperatures, and with great temp variations.
Dont take it in and out of the fridge. Once it is refrigerated, it needs to stay refrigerated.


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## seemax (8/11/11)

michael_aussie said:


> It's still not clear to me if I am doing this "right".
> Is #1 for 2-3 weeks "too long"?
> Is #2 the right temp, the right duration, or even required at all.
> Is #3 the right temp, the right duration, or even required at all. = I only do full worts and extracts and have never had haze problem before or after doing this.
> Is #4 required at all. Or would I be better off at "room temp". I have the fridge space to be able to do this.... so I am flexible.



There is no right answer. You could ferment, keg and force carb within a week... in fact I have done this... sure the beer is cloudy but after a week or two in the keg at 6C it clears up and taste fine.

You don't have to do #2, useful though if you're sitting above your expected FG... gives the yeast a boost to get a few more points off.

Cold conditioning... also not essential but will help the yeast drop out of suspension... I do it by default as I bring the fermented wort down to 5C before I drain to the keg.

If the wort is not infected and the keg is purged and the headspace is full of CO2 the beer will be ok at ambient.


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## Keemju (28/7/17)

Bubba said:


> Consider your keg like a big bottle of home brew...storing it in the garage, the spare room, ther laundry etc is fine as long as it is sealed and pressurised. The beer will not go off if bacteria cannot get in.
> As far as temp goes, that is exactly the same principle...keep it as consistent as possible, and try to avoid extreme heat (above 30 degrees if possible). If it does go over 30, it wont kill your beer but due to the lack of preservatives in home brew, it deteriorates quicker at higher temperatures, and with great temp variations.
> Dont take it in and out of the fridge. Once it is refrigerated, it needs to stay refrigerated.


Im looking at going to kegs and will prob look to store kegs out side the fridge. Wh As t kind of pressure should i look for in the keg to store it.


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## klangers (29/7/17)

You'll need to store them at much higher pressures than if they were in a fridge. Check out a CO2 solubility chart (google) and look at the pressure required for the carbonation level you want, at ambient temperature. 

You'll also need a cold plate which sits in the fridge and cools the beer as it flows through to the tap.

The problem is that carbonation/keg pressure will vary with ambient temperature, and this could play havoc with the balancing of your beer lines. 

It can be done, and is indeed what most pubs do, but it is more complicated to achieve and that's why most homebrewers don't do it.


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## good4whatAlesU (29/7/17)

Just purge the headspace with C02 to store it for a while. Charge the keg up with gas when you want to drink it.
Usually for me due to a shortage of kegs I need to rotate them relatively quickly, so use a counter pressure bottle filler to fill a few bottles for posterity (greater than 6 months), kept in a dark cupboard.


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## Lionman (31/7/17)

If you your going to store at room temperature, may as well prime the keg with 1/3 cup of sugar so it's ready to serve as soon as it's chilled. 

It will have the added advantage of reducing 02 in the keg too.


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## Keemju (1/8/17)

What kind of life span are we talking before the beer goes south for both methods


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## Boxcar (2/8/17)

I've got a Marzen sitting in kegs right now with temp pretty constant at 20 C. It was kegged on May 31st and won't be tasting until October. Kegs were purged prior to filling close to the top, sealed with 30PSI. Two nights ago I started drinking in earnest a cream ale I kegged at the same time. It's been sitting in my keezer at a constant 4 C and 12-13PSI. Delicious, much better after two months than after only 2 weeks.


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## Keemju (2/8/17)

So in general purge head space carb to around 30 psi than try to maintain temp and it should act similar to bottle conditioning


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## Brewnicorn (2/8/17)

Keemju said:


> Im looking at going to kegs and will prob look to store kegs out side the fridge. Wh As t kind of pressure should i look for in the keg to store it.



Great thread here. We're moving in October and downsizing and kegging could be the way of the future. Been contemplating this very question! Thanks Keemju.


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## Grott (2/8/17)

Yes, purge and pressurise the lid at 30psi. This ensures a good seal, should the beer absorb some of the co2 over time.


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## Taswoods (13/9/17)

Grott said:


> Yes, purge and pressurise the lid at 30psi. This ensures a good seal, should the beer absorb some of the co2 over time.



Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but this conversation has been very helpful for a new kegger and I just wanted to ask one more question.

For my first few brews I have been force-carbing at 30psi for a couple of days before serving.

If I were to store a keg at 30psi for a few weeks after after purging, should I repeat the force carbonation when it's time to tap the beer?


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## pcqypcqy (13/9/17)

Taswoods said:


> Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but this conversation has been very helpful for a new kegger and I just wanted to ask one more question.
> 
> For my first few brews I have been force-carbing at 30psi for a couple of days before serving.
> 
> If I were to store a keg at 30psi for a few weeks after after purging, should I repeat the force carbonation when it's time to tap the beer?



No. If you've forced carb to the carbonation level you're chasing, and you're keg is sealed then all that gas should still be in there. You'll just need to hook up to the serving pressure to push the beer out.


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## Taswoods (13/9/17)

pcqypcqy said:


> No. If you're keg is sealed then all that gas should still be in there. You'll just need to hook up to the serving pressure to push the beer out.



Thanks!


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## Lionman (13/9/17)

Taswoods said:


> Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but this conversation has been very helpful for a new kegger and I just wanted to ask one more question.
> 
> For my first few brews I have been force-carbing at 30psi for a couple of days before serving.
> 
> If I were to store a keg at 30psi for a few weeks after after purging, should I repeat the force carbonation when it's time to tap the beer?



You shouldn't need to recarbonate the beer. Once the beer is carbonated, the net volume of CO2 in the keg should remain constant. If it doesn't, you have a leak.

Note that 30 psi at room temp will not be the same as 30 psi at serving temp. At 20c You will need about 23 psi for a week or two to get the volume of CO2 up to serving.

If the beer is going to be warm for 2 weeks or more, I recommend naturally carbonating the keg. About 1/3 cup of sugar added to the keg will be similar to priming bottles. The keg is just a big bottle really. Some of the best beers I've tapped I've made like this, but usually I dont have time (patience) to wait.


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## Fro-Daddy (13/9/17)

If you cold crash (2°C), will raising the temperature to ambient again for storage mess with any flavours?


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## Taswoods (13/9/17)

Lionman said:


> If the beer is going to be warm for 2 weeks or more, I recommend naturally carbonating the keg. About 1/3 cup of sugar added to the keg will be similar to priming bottles. The keg is just a big bottle really. Some of the best beers I've tapped I've made like this, but usually I dont have time (patience) to wait.



Thanks mate - I think I'll give this a try. So put the sugar in then give the keg enough gas that the seal won't break? Which would be how much?


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## Grott (13/9/17)

If you are going to store your kegs for a couple of weeks plus, I personally wouldn't chill and force carb then take out of the fridge and allow to warm up to room temp for storing. It's not the best for the beer plus you are wasting some fridge "chilling power".
Just purge your keg, pressure to 30psi and store. When needed, chill and then carb as you want and away you go.


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## Taswoods (13/9/17)

Grott said:


> If you are going to store your kegs for a couple of weeks plus, I personally wouldn't chill and force carb then take out of the fridge and allow to warm up to room temp for storing. It's not the best for the beer plus you are wasting some fridge "chilling power".
> Just purge your keg, pressure to 30psi and store. When needed, chill and then carb as you want and away you go.



Thanks - that's very clear and the advice is much appreciated.


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## Lionman (13/9/17)

Fro-Daddy said:


> If you cold crash (2°C), will raising the temperature to ambient again for storage mess with any flavours?



It is not ideal for beer to go through big changes in temp. For big hoppy ales it could reduce the flavour and aroma, for more subtle beers or malt forward beers it will be less of an issue.



Taswoods said:


> Thanks mate - I think I'll give this a try. So put the sugar in then give the keg enough gas that the seal won't break? Which would be how much?



I purge the headspace of air at normal serving pressure, around 10psi or so. This is just for convenience though as I usually grab a line temporarily from a keg in the fridge. Seems to work fine. You could use higher pressure if you wanted to.

Aside from purging air from the headspace of the keg, adding pressure to the keg and then disconnecting the line and storing without priming is probably somewhat futile. Most the CO2 will probably be absorbed by the beer, reducing the pressure.


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