Kegged too early, I fear...

[Ike]

SO, I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one. BUT, just to be sure:

My old process (for ales) when bottling: Brew, let 'er sit in primary for at least two weeks (as needed, but usually two weeks gets it done for my relatively simple recipes) bottle and let sit some place warm to carb up and age. Usually, I was cracking bottles after one week.

NOW, I just kegged my first brew. It spent two weeks in primary, and I kegged without any major issues. The keg was VERY full, so my effort at force carbing didn't go well. I've let it sit under 12 psi for about three days now, and the good news is it is carbing up. The bad news is that even in its partially-carbed state, I can tell it is pretty green.

I realize now the error in my process: in the keg, it didn't get the aging time equivalent to a week in the bottles. How do you all do that? Just keg, and let it sit in the keg at room temperature for a week? Give it an extra week in primary? Naturally carb in the keg?

ALSO, what is the best thing to do with what I have now? I'm assuming the aging will take place much more slowly at 40F than it would at 68. Should I surrender my carbing efforts so far, pull it out of the kegerator, let it sit in the pantry for a week, and retry? I'd be cranky at the loss of CO2 and time so far, but also don't want to spend the next month or so drinking crappy green beer.

 

[robc311]

I'm curious to hear some answers to this as well. I have my second kegged batch sitting in a keg at room temp for about a week and I planned to leave it possibly another week before chilling and carbing it at 12psi for a week. Hope this works out.

 

[cyanmonkey]

I typically let it age in the fridge. It still cleans up pretty well. Maybe not as fast as in a warmer temperature, but fine for me.

 

[TheMadKing]

SO, I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one. BUT, just to be sure:

My old process (for ales) when bottling: Brew, let 'er sit in primary for at least two weeks (as needed, but usually two weeks gets it done for my relatively simple recipes) bottle and let sit some place warm to carb up and age. Usually, I was cracking bottles after one week.

NOW, I just kegged my first brew. It spent two weeks in primary, and I kegged without any major issues. The keg was VERY full, so my effort at force carbing didn't go well. I've let it sit under 12 psi for about three days now, and the good news is it is carbing up. The bad news is that even in its partially-carbed state, I can tell it is pretty green.

I realize now the error in my process: in the keg, it didn't get the aging time equivalent to a week in the bottles. How do you all do that? Just keg, and let it sit in the keg at room temperature for a week? Give it an extra week in primary? Naturally carb in the keg?

ALSO, what is the best thing to do with what I have now? I'm assuming the aging will take place much more slowly at 40F than it would at 68. Should I surrender my carbing efforts so far, pull it out of the kegerator, let it sit in the pantry for a week, and retry? I'd be cranky at the loss of CO2 and time so far, but also don't want to spend the next month or so drinking crappy green beer.

Just leave it in there, it will condition just fine in the keg.

When people refer to "aging" beer there are two separate process categories being described.

Chemical Reactions
As a general rule, chemical reactions happen faster at warmer temperatures because there is more energy in the system. In beer, there are a huge number of chemical reactions taking place, some desirable, some not so much.

If you have acetaldehyde or diacetyl, for example, your beer might benefit from staying in the primary a bit longer so that the yeast can metabolise these compounds. Typically, when people refer to "green beer taste" they are talking about yeast byproducts, or suspended yeast itself.

If you have oxygen in your keg (you always will at some level), the oxygen will slowly change the taste of your beer. Keeping it cold will reduce the rate at which this happens, but some styles benefit from slow controlled oxidation (RIS, barleywine, etc).

In general, aging your beer at room temperature is beneficial for yeast activity and favorable chemical reactions. MOST beer that has completed primary fermentation benefits more from cold conditioning IMO.

Cold Conditioning
Lower temperatures cause yeast, proteins, and other solids to drop out of suspension. Many unfavorable flavor compounds are contained in these suspended solids and the yeast itself. Therefore, keeping your beer cold will actually clean up the flavor of your beer faster, and to a greater extent than aging it warm.

When bottle conditioning, the process of carbonation (at room temperature) and cold conditioning are often confused. In a bottle, you are simply fermenting simple sugar to produce CO2, which pressurizes the bottles. Very little flavor change occurs during the 2-3 weeks at room temp.

When you put the bottle in the fridge, the CO2 is more easily absorbed, and you get the benefits of cold conditioning. This is the actual "conditioning" that most people are referring to.

So in summary, just keep your keg cold and your beer will clean up in a week or two while simultaneously carbonating, unless your beer is a RIS or barleywine, in which case it will benefit from a year or so at room temperature.

This is just based on my experience and understanding of the brewing process, I didn't look anything up or verify these opinions empirically. So if anyone can dispute and correct anything I've said here, please do.

 

[hezagenius]

What kind of beer?

I do mostly super hoppy IPAs and they are "green" for a few weeks. I'd say they really start getting drinkable about 3 weeks after brew day. The flavors need some time to smooth out and also to let some of that suspended material drop to the bottom as it chills.

Edit: I try to get the beer in the keg sometime between Day 4 and 6 with some extra dry hops and leave it at room temp with a blowoff tube hooked to the gas post. I typically start carbing and chilling around Day 10-11. Usually by Day 21, it is very drinkable and stays that way for quite some time.

 

[Morrey]

This could be an option.......

Finish up carbing in the keg to the volume you desire. Of course your beer needs some time to further condition for the flavors to round out and mellow. We may assume conditioning happens a bit more quickly at room temp as opposed to refrigerated.

Maybe you can bottle some beers from your keg since it is already carbed fully, then leave the bottles at room temp to mature. Drink these (give a week or two) while the remaining keg contents continue to age in the keg under refrigeration.

 

[Atlmustang]

For me, I let my beer sit in the bucket for 2 weeks and I force carb at 20 psi for 3 days for 5 gallons, if three gallons it only takes 2 days at 20 psi.

So 17 days. The first few beers are a little green, but still very drinkable. At about the third week the beer clears up nicely and has aged appropriately.

 

[ericbw]

I ferment for 3-4 weeks in primary, move to keg and carbonate, then chill. To carbonate, I set it at 30PSI for 24 hours, then lower to 12-14. Release the pressure so it is really 12-14.

Let it sit for 2 weeks and it is usually carbed. After another week it tastes better.

Last summer, I did a 10 day fermentation and kegged, and it took about 5 weeks to get right in the keg. I think you're looking at 6-8 weeks for beer. I KNOW there are those who go grain to glass in 7 minutes. But for me, it seems like it just takes that amount of time.

You CAN carb faster, but I don't think you can condition faster.

 

[Atlmustang]

If I wanted to wait a month or so I would for conditioning, but I dont mind the taste of slightly green beer. Ive paid for and drank craft beer that tastes worse than mine so I am happy rushing it along. Plus by the halfway point of the keg its conditioned fully.

Long as it drinkable then i am drinking

 

[jamorgan3777]

Dont worry, it will continue to age and clarify as it sits in the keg. I am famous for making 1/3 of a keg of really good beer. The first two thirds being too green. I just cant wait sometimes. Also some beers appear to be more tolerant of quick drinking than others. Actually I think that is a little of the fun, drinking a beer as it ages (at least once) can give you an idea of how long you have to wait on batch n+1

 

[beernutz]

Time doesn't heal all wounds but it helps with a lot of them. Let it cold condition at least a week if not longer and I bet you'll notice a marked improvement.

 

[mongoose33]

I ferment for 3-4 weeks in primary, move to keg and carbonate, then chill. To carbonate, I set it at 30PSI for 24 hours, then lower to 12-14. Release the pressure so it is really 12-14.

Let it sit for 2 weeks and it is usually carbed. After another week it tastes better.

Last summer, I did a 10 day fermentation and kegged, and it took about 5 weeks to get right in the keg. I think you're looking at 6-8 weeks for beer. I KNOW there are those who go grain to glass in 7 minutes. But for me, it seems like it just takes that amount of time.

You CAN carb faster, but I don't think you can condition faster.

My approach is similar--3 or more weeks in primary, then crash and fine and then keg. I brewed a Cal Common I have sitting at 32 degrees waiting for me to keg it. I brewed it on the 22nd or 23rd of October, so I'm almost to 4 weeks on it. When I checked gravity last weekend (1.012, so it's done), it tasted great.

This is my new normal, i.e., leave it in primary at least three weeks, preferably four weeks. Early on, when I didn't have much beer in the pipeline, I too tended to drink greenish beer. Now, I don't have to. I have three full fermenters going (Cal Common, my Funky Rye, and a Porter), but have four beers on tap so there's no hurry.

I used to do 2 weeks and keg, and while fermentation was complete, it STILL needed another couple weeks to finish. Now, I just let it finish in the fermenter, and I believe it's a bit better for it, as it's still sitting on the yeast cake.