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Date: 11 Oct 2006 22:47:48
From: jahammel68
Subject: keg is carbonated, can I still 'condition'?
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I have a porter that has been thru 7 days of primary and 8 days of
secondary and I have chilled and carbonated (forced with CO2). Can I
put this keg back in my crawl space (63 degrees f.) for a month or two
or six to condition more?
I've read in several recipes about how some styles get better after
aging for 6months, a year, or even more. I was under the impression
that once I chilled and force-carbonated, there would be no more
conditioning
Or, could I bottle a 6-pack or so and set those in the crawl space?
Any input you have would be appreciated.
FYI - I did experience this 'post-kegging' conditioning with an orange
blossom honey amber that tasted (in my opinion) horrible, was cloudy,
yet took 3rd at a competition. I let the ribbon and a capped bottle of
it sit out on display (my 1st ribbon ever) for about a month in my
kitchen and decided to chill it and see if it still tasted crappy.
Surprisingly, it was perfectly clear and the honey/malt balance was
spectacular. Maybe I answered my quesion above, or does this only
work with certain ales? Thanks to all posters in this group for the
wealth of information I've gathered.
Cheers...jeff
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Date: 12 Oct 2006 12:13:08
From: Sheheryar
Subject: Re: keg is carbonated, can I still 'condition'?
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Related question: So a carbonated sealed keg can last a year with no
problems? Just curious, how long would a tapped keg last if one takes
it off tap and consumes from it for a few weeks (so it is in effect
sealed again)? The same amount of time? Also what is the best storage
temp range -- basement temps would work?
John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
> On Wed, 11 2006 22:47:48 -0600, <jahammel68@rem0vethis.yahoo.com> wrote:
> > I have a porter that has been thru 7 days of primary and 8 days of
> > secondary and I have chilled and carbonated (forced with CO2). Can I
> > put this keg back in my crawl space (63 degrees f.) for a month or two
> > or six to condition more?
>
> Absolutely.
>
> > I've read in several recipes about how some styles get better after
> > aging for 6months, a year, or even more. I was under the impression
> > that once I chilled and force-carbonated, there would be no more
> > conditioning
>
> It'll work fine. Carbonating before you condition is the best way to
> do it. Carbonating the keg is actually what keeps the lid sealed (assuming
> a corny keg), so you wouldn't want to condition an un-carbonated beer.
> >
> > FYI - I did experience this 'post-kegging' conditioning with an orange
> > blossom honey amber that tasted (in my opinion) horrible, was cloudy,
> > yet took 3rd at a competition. I let the ribbon and a capped bottle of
> > it sit out on display (my 1st ribbon ever) for about a month in my
> > kitchen and decided to chill it and see if it still tasted crappy.
> > Surprisingly, it was perfectly clear and the honey/malt balance was
> > spectacular. Maybe I answered my quesion above, or does this only
> > work with certain ales? Thanks to all posters in this group for the
> > wealth of information I've gathered.
>
> It works with all beers. The main variable is "how long". Different styles
> will benefit from different amounts of conditioning. Also, the prefered
> level of conditioning will vary depending on who is drinking it.
>
>
> John.
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Date: 12 Oct 2006 19:23:11
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: keg is carbonated, can I still 'condition'?
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On 12 2006 12:13:08 -0700, <sheheryarhasnain@hotmail.com > wrote:
> Related question: So a carbonated sealed keg can last a year with no
> problems?
Define "problems". ;)
As long as your sanitation was good, it will keep for a year without spoiling
with no trouble. The flavor of the beer will age/mature though. Depending
on the style of beer, a year may be past it's peak regarding flavor but it
will still be drinkable. On the other hand, a year may dramatically improve
the flavor if it's a style that benefits from a lot of aging.
I've heard of homebrewers finding 10 year old kegs before, and the beer
was still good.
> Just curious, how long would a tapped keg last if one takes
> it off tap and consumes from it for a few weeks (so it is in effect
> sealed again)? The same amount of time?
Should be the same amount of time, assuming that you don't have bacteria
in your tap or lines that would have infected the beer while you were
serving from it.
> Also what is the best storage temp range -- basement temps would work?
Basement temps would work fine, that's how I store mine. The temp does
effect how quickly the beer ages, so you have to take that into account.
If it's a big beer (barleywine, etc) that you want to do some conditioning
on then it will improve more quickly at warmer temps. If it's a lighter
style (mild ale, etc) then you may want it colder while you are storing
it for a long time so that it doesn't change as much and go beyond it's
peak.
John.
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Date: 14 Oct 2006 10:30:18
From: Scott Lindner
Subject: Re: keg is carbonated, can I still 'condition'?
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> Related question: So a carbonated sealed keg can last a year with no
> problems? Just curious, how long would a tapped keg last if one takes
> it off tap and consumes from it for a few weeks (so it is in effect
> sealed again)? The same amount of time? Also what is the best storage
> temp range -- basement temps would work?
I picked up a keg habit from a friend that you may want to consider.
Whenever I disconnect and connect my keg to my kegerator, I spray the posts
on the keg and the insides of the kegerator fittings with a StarSan solution
in a spray bottle.
My opinion is the best temp and pressure for storage is that which you serve
at. I try hard to not even touch a beer until it hits 6 months under
conditions like this. Of course I usually have the problem Dan has.. the
keg is empty just as it because perfect. :-)
Scott
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Date: 12 Oct 2006 17:37:46
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: keg is carbonated, can I still 'condition'?
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On Wed, 11 2006 22:47:48 -0600, <jahammel68@rem0vethis.yahoo.com > wrote:
> I have a porter that has been thru 7 days of primary and 8 days of
> secondary and I have chilled and carbonated (forced with CO2). Can I
> put this keg back in my crawl space (63 degrees f.) for a month or two
> or six to condition more?
Absolutely.
> I've read in several recipes about how some styles get better after
> aging for 6months, a year, or even more. I was under the impression
> that once I chilled and force-carbonated, there would be no more
> conditioning
It'll work fine. Carbonating before you condition is the best way to
do it. Carbonating the keg is actually what keeps the lid sealed (assuming
a corny keg), so you wouldn't want to condition an un-carbonated beer.
>
> FYI - I did experience this 'post-kegging' conditioning with an orange
> blossom honey amber that tasted (in my opinion) horrible, was cloudy,
> yet took 3rd at a competition. I let the ribbon and a capped bottle of
> it sit out on display (my 1st ribbon ever) for about a month in my
> kitchen and decided to chill it and see if it still tasted crappy.
> Surprisingly, it was perfectly clear and the honey/malt balance was
> spectacular. Maybe I answered my quesion above, or does this only
> work with certain ales? Thanks to all posters in this group for the
> wealth of information I've gathered.
It works with all beers. The main variable is "how long". Different styles
will benefit from different amounts of conditioning. Also, the prefered
level of conditioning will vary depending on who is drinking it.
John.
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Date: 14 Oct 2006 00:25:23
From: Lee
Subject: Re: keg is carbonated, can I still 'condition'?
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Yeah! This is what causes the 'problem' where you keep "testing" it to
see if it's good yet, and right about when you start thinking it's
getting good, the keg is empty.
John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
> On Wed, 11 2006 22:47:48 -0600, <jahammel68@rem0vethis.yahoo.com> wrote:
>> I have a porter that has been thru 7 days of primary and 8 days of
>> secondary and I have chilled and carbonated (forced with CO2). Can I
>> put this keg back in my crawl space (63 degrees f.) for a month or two
>> or six to condition more?
>
> Absolutely.
>
>> I've read in several recipes about how some styles get better after
>> aging for 6months, a year, or even more. I was under the impression
>> that once I chilled and force-carbonated, there would be no more
>> conditioning
>
> It'll work fine. Carbonating before you condition is the best way to
> do it. Carbonating the keg is actually what keeps the lid sealed (assuming
> a corny keg), so you wouldn't want to condition an un-carbonated beer.
>> FYI - I did experience this 'post-kegging' conditioning with an orange
>> blossom honey amber that tasted (in my opinion) horrible, was cloudy,
>> yet took 3rd at a competition. I let the ribbon and a capped bottle of
>> it sit out on display (my 1st ribbon ever) for about a month in my
>> kitchen and decided to chill it and see if it still tasted crappy.
>> Surprisingly, it was perfectly clear and the honey/malt balance was
>> spectacular. Maybe I answered my quesion above, or does this only
>> work with certain ales? Thanks to all posters in this group for the
>> wealth of information I've gathered.
>
> It works with all beers. The main variable is "how long". Different styles
> will benefit from different amounts of conditioning. Also, the prefered
> level of conditioning will vary depending on who is drinking it.
>
>
> John.
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Date: 14 Oct 2006 09:57:05
From: Dan Logcher
Subject: Re: keg is carbonated, can I still 'condition'?
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Lee wrote:
> Yeah! This is what causes the 'problem' where you keep "testing" it to
> see if it's good yet, and right about when you start thinking it's
> getting good, the keg is empty.
That keeps happening to me!
--
Dan
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