Questions about conditioning

[Fal]

I've two questions about conditioning since I've moved to kegging recently.

How long do you leave your IPA's before drinking them?

I keep hearing drink them fresh but I got into a bad habit when I moved to keg's of kegging on day 14 and drinking when carbonated which could be as soon as day 16. I never felt like they were good enough.

Can you condition a stout in a sealed keg at room temp, in particular during the summer?

I've a keggerator that holds 3 kegs, which is usually fine. But I've a stout in a keg that needs a few months to condition and I was wondering if I could condition it outside the freezer?

[Pheeel]

When you say you didn't think they were good enough what do you mean?

I wouldn't condition a stout unless it was an imperial

[bigvalen]

Brewcon had a big session on it this year. Seems like a good idea to drop it to 11C for two days (diactyl rest) then a week at 4C to clarify the yeast from the beer.

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[Fal]

They would taste young, then a bit off for a few days/a week then start to be how I thought they should be.

My stout is an 8.5% smoked stout. It's a bit rough yet, but it's only a month old

[Fal]

@bigvalen after how long did they leave it before the diactyl rest

[Jonnycheech]

Yeah I think you need to give a beer at least a couple of weeks in cold conditioning for it to reach it's potential. To be honest i find most hoppy beers are at their best 3-4 weeks after kegging. If you are drinking them straight away after kegging the off taste may be yeast still in suspension.

[bigvalen]

There was a fight...trad lager maker reckoned a few days at 10C or so, while the scientific homebrewers reckoned a day and a half at a degree or two warmer than final fermentation temp.

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[Fal]

Thanks guys, so what do you reckon about the stout at room temp?

[molc]

The flavours will change and since its warm, the process will happen faster. Cold conditioning gives better shelflife though, so kinda depends in how long you think the keg will last.

If your the experimenting type, try to bottle a few of you next beer Ro condition and jeep some I'm the fridge and others at room temp.

[Jonnycheech]

It depends what we're talking about, ales or lagers, warm conditioning or cold conditioning? The process is different for each.

Sounds like you're asking about cold conditioning. After carbonation a beer needs some time to mature, this is when all the flavours blend together, and this varies for different styles. You've probably heard people describe a beer as being a bit too green? This means it's too young and needs more time to develop, and probably what you're experiencing when you're drinking your beers two days after carbonation. You're likely also tasting some yeast that is still in suspension in the beer. As you said yourself, the beer tastes better a week or two into the process so give it some time. This maturation process happens quicker when the temperature is lowered, the colder the better, once it doesn't freeze.

All beers are different and have their own sweet point depending on the ingredients added. Ales will mature quicker than lagers, and if the ale is hoppy the point at where the beer matures and the hop character begins to deteriorate will probably be a month or so into maturation. This is why you've heard people say drink IPAs fresh, but a fresh IPA is usually within a few months of packaging, not straight from the fermentor .

I'm not sure if leaving a beer at room temp in the summer is ever a great idea, the beer will likely deteriorate, really warm temps are never good for beer. I'd imagine cellar temp may be more suitable for this process. Not sure on this though, as i wouldn't have much experience with big beers. Maybe someone else has this info?

[Fal]

I've re-measured my freezer and if I take out the fan and do a bit of manipulating I should get the stout keg in. Which will sort that problem out.

I think I have my dodgy IPA flavours sorted now too.

Thanks all

[Qs]

I think IPAs can taste great super fresh but quickly fall away and then come back. So when its just finished fermenting it can taste outstanding because the hops cover the lack of conditioning but thats a very small window of a few days. After that I'd agree with Johnnycheech that around a month in for hoppy ales is the sweet spot.

[Fal]

That sounds exactly like what was happening to mine.