Does kegging cold condition a brew?

[Newts]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to ask this one. I'm trying to get a number of kegs ready for a function we have in a months time and I'm trying to minimise my cycle time for each brew. Typically my fermentation schedule has been to leave in the primary for 2 weeks, cold condition for a minimum of 4 days then transfer to keg. Usually I have another keg on so I just leave it at serving pressure (12 psi) for about 10 days and I have a keg ready to go.

I'm looking at the above and typically I think 2 weeks is a minimum in primary so I don't think I can shorten that. Just wondering if I can leave out the cold conditioning as I would think that transferring to a keg, then cooling to serving temp (I don't monitor this - I just use the fridge temp) would be cold conditioning the brew anyway. I would think anything that settles would come out in the first pot or 2 anyhow.

Anyone else have any input on this one? To fill my 6 corneys before the date, I really have to have another 3 brews on this week. Going to be a busy week.

Cheers,

Newts

 

[pnorkle]

That's a really good question, and one I've been meaning to ask. I don't bother cold conditioning, and just go straight from the FV to the keg and stick it on gas for a minimum of 1 week before I crack it - haven't had any bad results as yet.

 

[manticle]

If the kegs are kept cold then you will be doing the same thing. During CC, various things drop out of solution - if you CC in a vessel, then don't transfer from that vessel, these things will remain in the vessel but if you don't agitate it, you will probably find they stay at the bottom. Might pour a couple of pints of cloudy **** first up.

 

[Cube]

You could toss some gelatine and or polyclar in the kegs to help out. I do recall this topic of gelatine in kegs coming up before. Since I didn't read it I cannot call if it's a good or bad idea.

 

[slash22000]

I use gelatin before I keg, during cold crash.

That said there's no reason you CAN'T use gelatin in the keg, it's just better to do it BEFORE you keg if you can. Keep all the **** in the fermenter so it doesn't get into the keg in the first place.

 

[Kodos]

Only problem is you'll end up with more sediment in your keg.

This may be a consideration if you're planning for a function, since moving the kegs to a function will stir up a lot of gunk.

You could always cold-condition in the keg, then transfer to a new keg before transporting, thus leaving most of your sediment behind in the first keg - but this would require a second set of kegs, or working out a way to transfer between kegs as you go, eg transfer beer from Keg A to empty, sanitised Keg B, then clean/sanitise Keg A ready for beer transferred from Keg C....

I've had plenty of kegs pouring bright at home, then cloudy once they've been moved just a little way for a party/club meeting.

I tend to cold condition in the fermentor for at least a week (or until I get around to cleaning the keg) like you do for this reason, let the crap settle out in the fermentor and not the keg. If I add finings to the fermenter, then sometimes the beer pours crystal clear from the first pint out of the keg.