# Ageing Keg Beer, Fridge Or Room Temp



## mick8882003 (29/11/08)

I am about to do my first keg in a few days time. I am wondering if it would be better to age the beer in the fridge or room temp?

Also does it age differently in kegs as to bottles?

Cheers and beers, Mick


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## reviled (29/11/08)

I read on the chimay website that beer ages better in bigger volumes, something about the flavours melding together better or something, which is their reason for selling the 1.5litre magnums for cellar ageing... 

And once its carbed, id suggest you age it in the fridge, just in case... Im not sure if it makes that much of a difference, but I know if you have an infection, if the beers colder, it will be harder for the infection to work...


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## mick8882003 (29/11/08)

I pretty much nuke all my gear before using it (before this brew I sanitised my fermenter for two hours with starsan.) So I am hoping that I will never get an infection? I will see how many kegs I can fit into my fridge in the next few days, that will determine how I go about this.


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## kook (29/11/08)

I'd fridge it personally, unless it was something deliberately soured that I wanted to get funkier in the keg with temperature and age.


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## newguy (29/11/08)

If your sanitation is up to snuff, you can age it at room temperature but it takes on a smoother character if aged in the fridge. Also be sure to let the yeast drop out first and draw it out of the keg before aging at room temp for any length of time. At higher temps the yeast can start to autolyse (die) faster than at lower temps and this will make the beer soapy, meaty, "fatty". Generally unpleasant.

Also make sure the beer is carbonated (naturally or forced) so that the keg will remain pressurised and thus sealed. You can't pressurise uncarbonated beer as the CO2 is just absorbed and the keg loses its seal.

I should state that I recommend room temp aging only if you run out of room in your serving fridge. Beer keeps better and ends up tasting better if kept cool/cold.


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## mick8882003 (29/11/08)

Oh god, another another excuse to spend money :blink: I can see it now, a freezer converted to a beer fridge, hmm and what about a font


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## newguy (29/11/08)

Mick C said:


> Oh god, another another excuse to spend money :blink: I can see it now, a freezer converted to a beer fridge, hmm and what about a font



Save yourself some money and skip the freezer altogether. Convert a room in the house into a walk-in cooler instead. All you need are some sheets of 2" thick styrofoam insulation and a window a/c unit. 

There are times that the climate here is a good thing if you're a brewer. My buddy converted one of the rooms in his basement into a giant walk-in cooler. He doesn't need an a/c unit either. He just has a fan that pulls in outside air hooked up to a thermostat.


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## tdack (29/11/08)

newguy said:


> Save yourself some money and skip the freezer altogether. Convert a room in the house into a walk-in cooler instead. All you need are some sheets of 2" thick styrofoam insulation and a window a/c unit.
> 
> There are times that the climate here is a good thing if you're a brewer. My buddy converted one of the rooms in his basement into a giant walk-in cooler. He doesn't need an a/c unit either. He just has a fan that pulls in outside air hooked up to a thermostat.



You'll need this: Linky


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## The Big Burper (29/11/08)

Ooh, I always wanted my own factory!


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## wyatt_girth (29/11/08)

I was hoping to see some responses suggesting that room temp is ok. I have five kegs in rotation at the moment but only two fit in the fridge so the rest are stored inside a walk-in pantry. My reasoning to think that this would be ok was that I have stored bottles in the same place and haven't had any dramas (that I can tell) so couldn't see why a keg would have been too different. I charge each one with about 200-250 kpa before storing and check them occasionally to see that they are still holding pressure. Autolysis was also a concern with the warm(ish - dark room temp - not too bad) yeast still in the bottom and I had considered draining a few litres after allowing to settle but I know of people that naturally carb their kegs, and again this is the same way as my bottles a stored.

No doubt I am way off the mark with most of my reasoning and so I will keep an eye on this thread to help decide if my methods are going to need some reconsidering.

Cheers
wyatt 

_edit- spelling_


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## MCT (29/11/08)

I really can't see what's wrong with storing kegs at room temp once it's carbed up. 
You store you bottles at room temp right? A keg is really just a big bottle.


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## PostModern (29/11/08)

wyatt_girth said:


> I was hoping to see some responses suggesting that room temp is ok. I have five kegs in rotation at the moment but only two fit in the fridge so the rest are stored inside a walk-in pantry. My reasoning to think that this would be ok was that I have stored bottles in the same place and haven't had any dramas (that I can tell) so couldn't see why a keg would have been too different. I charge each one with about 200-250 kpa before storing and check them occasionally to see that they are still holding pressure. Autolysis was also a concern with the warm(ish - dark room temp - not too bad) yeast still in the bottom and I had considered draining a few litres after allowing to settle but I know of people that naturally carb their kegs, and again this is the same way as my bottles a stored.
> 
> No doubt I am way off the mark with most of my reasoning and so I will keep an eye on this thread to help decide if my methods are going to need some reconsidering.
> 
> ...



Only reconsider if your beer doesn't taste good.


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## drsmurto (30/11/08)

I 'age' my kegged beers at room temp. 

They are cc'ed or lagered first and fined prior to kegging.

SOmetimes i then force carb, other times i just give it a few cycles of CO2, vent, etc

Stored in a spare room in the house with my bottles at 20C.

CO2 doesnt leak out of a keg if it seals properly so no chance of an infection assuming your sanitation is up to scratch,

Ideally i would be storing them at 10C but dont have space for 8 kegs in the fridge!


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## barls (30/11/08)

DrSmurto said:


> I 'age' my kegged beers at room temp.
> 
> They are cc'ed or lagered first and fined prior to kegging.
> 
> ...


im the same but i naturally carb mine. i dose them, fill and then purge.


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## RobB (30/11/08)

Sadly, I'm not kegging yet, but my thinking for when I eventually do is that a keg at room temperature would be like a secondary fermenter?

I was planning to purge the head space of the keg and leave the yeast to clean up after itself for two weeks before chilling and carbonating. Bad idea? Even though the fermentation may be complete, the yeast may still have work to do and I don't want to send them straight to sleep in the fridge.

Kegs are a couple of years away, but I'm happy to start learning now.


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## davidsmith (1/12/08)

Due to freezer space, I carb my kegs 250psi and store them at room temp. I haven't had any drama's yet. however I do check the pressure every few days to make sure they are keeping their pressure.


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## davidsmith (1/12/08)

PSI should be 250 KPA


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