Hop Aroma - Kegs

[Ross]

I love most aspects of kegging, but i've found the wonderful newly kegged hop aroma dissapates within a week or 2...
Is there a way of reducing this other than dry hopping the keg?....

 

[sosman]

I love most aspects of kegging, but i've found the wonderful newly kegged hop aroma dissapates within a week or 2...
Is there a way of reducing this other than dry hopping the keg?....

[post="54916"][/post]​

I can't say I have noticed anything that drastic.

 

[Batz]

I love most aspects of kegging, but i've found the wonderful newly kegged hop aroma dissapates within a week or 2...
Is there a way of reducing this other than dry hopping the keg?....

[post="54916"][/post]​

I can't say I have noticed anything that drastic.

[post="54918"][/post]​

Nope never noticed that one

Batz

 

[Ross]

Maybe you guys arn't dry hopping much & that's the aroma I'm losing?

It's not just me - I've had it commented by several people who have enjoyed a freshly kegged brew & then tasted a few weeks later & commented on where the lovely aroma went...
There's still aroma, but nowhere near the levels of the freshly kegged brew & bottles of the same brew opened near the end of the keg just confirm this, having much more aroma...

 

[PostModern]

I have read that aroma can leave the beer with CO2, so if you regularly increase and decrease your pressure (say 12psi for carbonating then 6psi for serving), you lose aroma that way. Personally I keep my keg at 12psi constantly and haven't noticed a decrease in aroma at all.

 

[kman]

so post modern do you always just leave your kegs at 12psi? you dont turn them off once you have finished for the night?

 

[jaytee]

I've perceived a difference between the same recipe kegged vs bottled.

I haven't done two batches in parrallel so I haven't been able to quantify it, but like Ross I think I get less hop aroma after time.

But, I also think I get a more pronounced bitterness right from the start

Like PoMo my kegs are a constant 12 PSI so I don't think its CO2

 

[Ross]

Jaytee...

Glad I wasn't totally alone on this one - really surprised that not many seem to have experienced this - maybe they just drink their kegs far quicker...

 

[Asher]

I just put it down to normal conditioning of the beer... But I've never compared it side by side with a bottled sample kept under the same conditions....

I'll be able to test your theory with my recently bottled and kegged mash paddle beer. I'll store both cold for the next 2 months and taste a spare bottle against a kegged sample then

Asher for now

 

[Ross]

Asher, did you dry hop this beer? - I'm guessing this might be the aroma that's dissappearing as it's very intense after kegging...

 

[Pumpy]

Ross ,
I have never dry hopped before do you have to use whole hops for dry hopping ?

Pumpy

 

[Tony M]

Ross, I agree with you 100%. I find both the hop aroma and to some extent the bitterness drop off over the life of the keg (usually about 3 weeks). I'm just gunna have to drink more.

 

[Ross]

Pumps,

I dry hop with plugs - 2 to a 25L brew generally...

 

[PostModern]

so post modern do you always just leave your kegs at 12psi? you dont turn them off once you have finished for the night?

[post="54955"][/post]​

When I remember to, I turn the gas bottle off :chug: The keg is in equilibrium, so it's at 12psi regardless of whether the gas is on or not.

 

[Batz]

Jaytee...

maybe they just drink their kegs far quicker...

[post="55081"][/post]​

Could be :chug:

Could be :chug:

Batz :chug:

 

[jaytee]

The average life of a keg is 5 weeks. That's one week conditioning on gas and four weeks drinking.

The exception was the Black Rock Cider that was crap and lasted 8 - just couldn't bring myself to drink it. Ended up making myself have a compulsary pint each day to finish it off !

With 2 kegs that was quite limiting. I now have a third and have an NZ Draught in secondary which should go in the keg Saturday. Racked it last night and hopped with Nelson Sauvin - should be an interesting one.

 

[Towradgi Brewer]

if I had a keg last 3 weeks I would have to be dead I think,lucky to last 7 days at anytime with 3 kegs in the fridge but back to the point never noticed any loss of aroma

cheers :beer:

 

[Duff]

The average life of a keg is 5 weeks. That's one week conditioning on gas and four weeks drinking.

[post="55204"][/post]​

Wow, 5 weeks. I must have a leak somewhere, mine are lucky to last beyond 2.

 

[jaytee]

Gotta remeber that kegs are only part of the beer equation.

The kegs supplement 13 crates of 1.25 litre PET bottles - about 8 kegs worth

This ensures that there's always plenty of variety available and at different stages of age.

I really like to drink my hoppy ales young - sometimes after only a week in the bottle - and that's why I think I notice a difference between keg and bottle.

 

[Ross]

I think the answers becoming more clear - I like to have a minimum of 5 ales on tap & switch between them as my mood takes me - Therefore some of the beers (especially the higher alcohol) can be in the keg for some time. With most people probably only running a small number of kegs & maybe not making a high volume of hoppy ales it's no real surprise that this isn't noticed - Could also be one of the factors behind your next brew always seeming to test better than the last?...