[dellsworth]

I have more corny kegs than fridge space.  Can I simply keg my beer, add co2, and let it sit in storage for months?  My usual ambient temperature ranges from 20-24C (68-75F) year long.

Second related question.  Can I cold crash first in my fermenting fridge, then keg, add co2, and let it sit in storage?  Does the cold back to warm affect anything?

In both cases I bleed O2 from the head space and I'd probably store at 20 psi though come to think of it 12 might be better since the storage would be more than a couple of weeks.  Perhaps there's no point to higher pressures if it'll absorb eventually anyway.  Or maybe 20 since it's warm and then drop it with it goes to the fridge.  It's a minor point.  More important is the storage.

Before you make a comment about making beer at a slower pace I have a few people this beer goes to and the demand bounces up and down.

Comments please.

Thanks,  Dan

[dmtaylor]

No one else might agree with me, but I think it's probably fine to do as you propose as long as the beer is consumed within about 4-6 months.  Aging affects different beers differently, some will show flavor impacts quickly while others will not, but in general they can last "for a while" without refrigeration.  Keep it as cool as you can -- move it to the coolest corner, etc. -- and get an extra refrigerator if possible.

[Nathan]

No one else might agree with me, but I think it's probably fine to do as you propose as long as the beer is consumed within about 4-6 months.  Aging affects different beers differently, some will show flavor impacts quickly while others will not, but in general they can last "for a while" without refrigeration.  Keep it as cool as you can -- move it to the coolest corner, etc. -- and get an extra refrigerator if possible.

I have the same situation and have never had beer spoil last spring we had a Family emergency that kept me away from home for 21/2 months I had just kegged a breakfast stout before we left and it was stored in a dark corner of our garage when I returned I expected the worst but the beer was great. I do live in Northern Canada and it had never been too hot but that’s my story


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[Slowbrew]

This is my standard procedure.  I store beer for months in kegs.  I even naturally carbonate.

I store them in a cupboard I built on an inside basement wall (backs up to dirt under the garage) specifically for my kegs.  As long as you can maintain reasonable cool, i.e. cellar temps, you'll be fine.  I've never had any problems in 15 years, so far.

Paul

[jeffy]

This is my standard procedure.  I store beer for months in kegs.  I even naturally carbonate.

I store them in a cupboard I built on an inside basement wall (backs up to dirt under the garage) specifically for my kegs.  As long as you can maintain reasonable cool, i.e. cellar temps, you'll be fine.  I've never had any problems in 15 years, so far.

Paul

There used to be a brewer in Florida whose "secret" to winning best brewer in the state was to store his beer in sealed containers in his living room for a long time before bottling.  I forget how long he aged it.  He contended that beer, like food, is always better after aging.  I was and still am skeptical, but there's another thread going on right now about controlled oxidation helping beer taste better, so he may have had a point.
Beer stored warm will oxidize faster of course, but that doesn't always mean it is bad.

[BrewBama]

If this was me, I’d would close transfer from the fermenter to the keg just prior to it finishing and let stand at cellar temps.

It will finish in the keg, building head pressure, therefore carbonate naturally, and the yeast will scavenge any oxygen the close transfer process may have allowed in.  If you have a spunding valve you can monitor and control head pressure to achieve a certain volume of carbonation.

I’d store at cellar temps until “close final” (aka I need the beer), cold crash, fine w/gelatin thru the gas port if desired, and serve.


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[dellsworth]

If this was me, I’d would close transfer from the fermenter to the keg just prior to it finishing and let stand at cellar temps.

It will finish in the keg, building head pressure, therefore carbonate naturally, and the yeast will scavenge any oxygen the close transfer process may have allowed in.  If you have a spunding valve you can monitor and control head pressure to achieve a certain volume of carbonation.

I’d store at cellar temps until “close final” (aka I need the beer), cold crash, fine w/gelatin thru the gas port if desired, and serve.

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This sounds appealing.  Especially since most replies were to the affirmative on storage at room temperature.  I looked up closed transfer process.  It looks like the next step in my brewing technique.  Thanks.

[hopfenundmalz]

Most of my beers are stored cold. Some are in the coolest room in the basement, and those tend to be high ABV beers like barleywines and so on.

[The Beerery]

The minute beer stops fermenting, it starts staling.  Good, bad or indifferent.  For every 10c reaction times basically double.  Because of this a beer stored at 0c and a beer stored at 20c means the beer at 0c will be 4 times fresher, at any given minute. Science. 


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[BrewBama]

...but if you don’t have fridge space all the science in the world won’t help. Cellar temps are all he has.  He has to make the best of the situation.

IMO the best solution is brew less, drink more, and plan to have beers ready just in time as fridge space becomes available. Logistics.


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[The Beerery]

...but if you don’t have fridge space all the science in the world won’t help. Cellar temps are all he has.  He has to make the best of the situation.

IMO the best solution is brew less, drink more, and plan to have beers ready just in time as fridge space becomes available. Logistics.


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I understood the question and the situation. Whether he chooses to keep them at cellar temp, brew less or get a cheap fridge off Craigslist, still doesn’t stop the science behind staling. This is the reason there are born on dates.  I apologize for trying to explain some of the science behind packaging. 



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[BrewBama]

Cool. I thought he was asking about advice on what to do in his situation.


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[hopfenundmalz]

The minute beer stops fermenting, it starts staling.  Good, bad or indifferent.  For every 10c reaction times basically double.  Because of this a beer stored at 0c and a beer stored at 20c means the beer at 0c will be 4 times fresher, at any given minute. Science. 


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I have a Baleywine that I was careful about the O2 pickup in the process. After 2 years I get, it needs more time to age from the judges. Oh well, I do like a nip now and then. It is pretty good.

[The Beerery]

The minute beer stops fermenting, it starts staling.  Good, bad or indifferent.  For every 10c reaction times basically double.  Because of this a beer stored at 0c and a beer stored at 20c means the beer at 0c will be 4 times fresher, at any given minute. Science. 


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I have a Baleywine that I was careful about the O2 pickup in the process. After 2 years I get, it needs more time to age from the judges. Oh well, I do like a nip now and then. It is pretty good.

Accelerate it but bringing some up in temp for a shorter period, then halting it with getting it at 0c. Ancient Chinese secret.  I have done quite a bit of tests with “forced aging”.


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[BrewBama]

If this was me, I’d would close transfer from the fermenter to the keg just prior to it finishing and let stand at cellar temps.

It will finish in the keg, building head pressure, therefore carbonate naturally, and the yeast will scavenge any oxygen the close transfer process may have allowed in.  If you have a spunding valve you can monitor and control head pressure to achieve a certain volume of carbonation.

I’d store at cellar temps until “close final” (aka I need the beer), cold crash, fine w/gelatin thru the gas port if desired, and serve.

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This sounds appealing.  Especially since most replies were to the affirmative on storage at room temperature.  I looked up closed transfer process.  It looks like the next step in my brewing technique.  Thanks.

I recommend purging your empty keg with CO2 prior to closed transfer. It’s really simple to do. Though I’m sure I’ll be told I’m doing it wrong, here’s how I do it: Fill the keg with liquid to the brim (I fill with warm water then add Star San so it doesn’t foam up while filling the keg).  Put a jumper hose from the keg out post into a bucket and put ~2PSI CO2 pressure on the keg. In a few minutes you will have a bucket full of sanitizer and a keg full of CO2. Remove the liquid out jumper, turn the keg upside down and pull the PRV to ensure 1) it doesn’t stick, 2) sanitizing it, and 3) draining the last bit of liquid out.

...then closed transfer.


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