How long after kegging can you drink your 🍺

[Elliott 22]

So I have just kegged a beer on top of my hops and placed in the fridge, the beer was fermented under pressure, transferred under pressure on top of the hops and carbonated to correct pressure at the temperature it was transferred at, then set at serving pressure in fridge.

I tried after 2 days and carbonation is pretty much there but a bit green if you know what I mean, I was wondering how long the beer need to condition until ready?

It’s a festival razorback ipa extract kit, dry hopped with the hops provided post fermentation + 50g of cryo hops, my understanding of ipas is they need to be drank fresh, yet I think I have been drinking them far too soon as get quite a bitter taste, compared to when I was bottle conditioning and doing secondary fermentation.

I am still very new to kegging and pressure fermentation, but can get a beer finished in around a week max, any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[phildo79]

Been a long time since I made a kit beer but none of the ones I ever made were ready in under 4 weeks. 1 week to ferment and 3 weeks to condition. I can't imagine how it's packaged making any difference. How long ago did fermentation end?

 

[Elliott 22]

Been a long time since I made a kit beer but none of the ones I ever made were ready in under 4 weeks. 1 week to ferment and 3 weeks to condition. I can't imagine how it's packaged making any difference. How long ago did fermentation end?

Finished fermentation on Wednesday this week

 

[RichardM]

Just keep trying it every day. It will be perfect when you realise there are only a couple of pints left.

 

[phildo79]

How long do the instructions say it takes before it's good to drink?

 

[RichardM]

How long do the instructions say it takes before it's good to drink?

Whatever they say, they are lying, it will take longer.

 

[Elliott 22]

Just keep trying it every day. It will be perfect when you realise there are only a couple of pints left.

Ain’t that the truth

 

[Elliott 22]

How long do the instructions say it takes before it's good to drink?

Times will be massively different due to conical pressure fermentation, can reach fg in 4/5days
Just the dry hopping time schedule I’m wondering about and how long to be ready to drink after dry hopping

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

It does depend on the recipe and the type of ale but in general I’d say lighter coloured beers need a couple of weeks conditioning, dark beers need 4-6 weeks and strong ales like imperial stouts might need 3 months or more. Some lagers might need longer than that if fermented at low temperatures, dosed with a yeast like brett, and lagered at very low temperatures.

 

[Elliott 22]

It does depend on the recipe and the type of ale but in general I’d say lighter coloured beers need a couple of weeks conditioning, dark beers need 4-6 weeks and strong ales like imperial stouts might need 3 months or more. Some lagers might need longer than that if fermented at low temperatures, dosed with a yeast like brett, and lagered at very low temperatures.

Cheers @Hazelwood Brewery

got a bit mixed up after changing to pressure fermentation and kegging
As read drink ipas as soon as and neipas but guessing there is a conditions period.

is it ok to condition in the fridge?

 

[phildo79]

Fermentation will take as long as it takes and dry hopping will only need about 3 days. It's the conditioning time of kit beers that prolong the experience. I have never known any to take less than 3 weeks, once packaged. But then I haven't made one in years so perhaps they have a faster turnaround time now.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

is it ok to condition in the fridge?

Absolutely. This is what lagering is and you can lager ales just like “lagers”.

It might take a little longer to condition at cooler temperatures but you certainly don’t want hot temperatures. Try to keep your beer below 18C and ideally at about 12C (or below) or it will oxidise more quickly.

 

[Elliott 22]

Absolutely. This is what lagering is and you can lager ales just like “lagers”.

It might take a little longer to condition at cooler temperatures but you certainly don’t want hot temperatures. Try to keep your beer below 18C and ideally at about 12C (or below) or it will oxidise more quickly.

It’s currently in my fridge at 7c
So hopefully ready in 2ish weeks?

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

It’s currently in my fridge at 7c
So hopefully ready in 2ish weeks?

That sounds fine. Yes, probably in two weeks but feel free to try it at any time, your taste buds will tell you when it’s stopped getting better. The more you brew a recipe the more you’ll know about how it conditions. I have an English Bitter I brew frequently that’s good right out of the fermenter - one day I might let that fully condition

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I should also say that if you brew a very hoppy ale, the hops start to fade fairly quickly so as the ale conditions you start to loose some of the fresh hoppiness. I brew a hoppy ale and the sweet-spot is 2-6 weeks, 2 weeks before it’s at it’s best, 6 weeks before the hops noticeably start to fade. It’s still good for another month or more, but not as good.

 

[Elliott 22]

T

I should also say that if you brew a very hoppy ale, the hops start to fade fairly quickly so as the ale conditions you start to loose some of the fresh hoppiness. I brew a hoppy ale and the sweet-spot is 2-6 weeks, 2 weeks before it’s at it’s best, 6 weeks before the hops noticeably start to fade. It’s still good for another month or more, but not as good.

hanks @Hazelwood Brewery
I’ve been trying it between 2-5days after dry hop no wonder they tasted green

was so worried the hops would fade

 

[Binkei Huckaback]

If you're pressure fermenting, your beer will come into condition quicker, though some beers are more suited to it than others. David Heath has some interesting videos on the subject on Youtube.

Which conical fermenter are you using?

 

[Elliott 22]

If you're pressure fermenting, your beer will come into condition quicker, though some beers are more suited to it than others. David Heath has some interesting videos on the subject on Youtube.

Which conical fermenter are you using?

Fermzilla 27l

 

[crowcrow]

My pressure fermented lager (fermented in a corny keg) was done very fast. If was fermented in a week and I was drinking it straight away after the cold crash and transfer to final keg. Now it certainly tasted better after 2 weeks in the keg, but there is nothing to stop you drinking early - only your own tastes.