Carboy vs Keg Conditioning

Northern Brewer General
1

I’m brewing my very first batch (Caribou Slobber) and hopefully I pose this question correctly…

Is there a difference between conditioning in the secondary carboy vs conditioning in a keg? I transferred to the secondary carboy about 1.5 weeks ago (3.5 weeks total now) and have had it sitting at 68 F (give or take). My thought is to lower the temperature of the fermenting fridge after I’ve hit 2 weeks in the secondary and let the beer condition at cold temperatures in the carboy. The reason I want to hold off on transferring it is that I’ve only got one CO2 tank/regulator and force carbing the keg will mean I can’t pour from the keg I currently have hooked up.

Also, if cold conditioning in the carboy is acceptable, how cold should I go? I was thinking 40 F.

Thanks!

2

You can condition the beer in either vessel just fine. I’m not sure if there is a huge difference between the two when it comes to conditioning an ale. As long as when you transferred from primary to secondary you left most of that trub behind. I personally use my kegs for lagering , but for most ales I just use Carboys. Cold crashing in the carboy is perfectly fine. I try to cold crash around 38-40 F. Cheers !

Congrats on already having a kegging system to go along with your first brew !

3

Great, thanks!

4

[quote=“dsmithgator”]I’m brewing my very first batch (Caribou Slobber) and hopefully I pose this question correctly…

Is there a difference between conditioning in the secondary carboy vs conditioning in a keg? I transferred to the secondary carboy about 1.5 weeks ago (3.5 weeks total now) and have had it sitting at 68 F (give or take). My thought is to lower the temperature of the fermenting fridge after I’ve hit 2 weeks in the secondary and let the beer condition at cold temperatures in the carboy. The reason I want to hold off on transferring it is that I’ve only got one CO2 tank/regulator and force carbing the keg will mean I can’t pour from the keg I currently have hooked up.

Also, if cold conditioning in the carboy is acceptable, how cold should I go? I was thinking 40 F.

Thanks![/quote]

You can still pour from a keg that has been disconnected from the CO2. Every glass you pour will reduce the pressure, but only by a small amount. After a few glasses you may want to give the keg a shot of CO2 to restore the pressure to the exact pressure you prefer. I carb at 30 psi for a couple of days - unless I forget and go longer, in which case I just bleed off the excess CO2 as necessary to get the carbonation level I want.

I condition in a keg because I can purge it of oxygen and because a keg fits in my freezer better than a carboy. The ability to carbonate the beer as it ages is an added benefit. I condition, carbonate, and serve at 34 F. For beers that taste better at higher temperatures (most) I pour into a heavy, warm stein or glass.

5

I would condition in the keg only because you can purge the keg easier of o2. Secondary isn’t necessary in almost every case.

6

Cold conditioning in the keg while carbing is the way to go. Get one of these.

[attachment=0]Wye-245x245-500x500.jpg[/attachment]

Split the CO2 line so you can carb and pour at the same time. I used to do this all the time. I now have one tank in my kegerator with a dual gauge regulator so I can control the PSI on each keg independently. Absolutely love that I have that ability I can also serve 2 kegs at different pressures.

I have a second CO2 tank with a splitter like in the picture. I can precard 2 kegs warm before a spot opens in the kegerator. Again, another awesome addition to my kegging system. Less waiting time.