Conditioning beer in Cornie kegs

[WelshPaul]

Is it just me or does beer seem to take much longer to condition and to develop flavour in kegs than it does in bottles? Most of my bottled beers are fine to drink after 1 month in the bottle and taste really good after 3. However, I have some kegged beers that have been in there since the end of 2012 and still taste extremely "green", even though some of the same batch that went into bottles is OK.
Has anyone else encountered this?

 

[rpt]

Don't have cornies so can't comment, but I thought beer conditioned better in bulk - certainly Graham Wheeler mentions that.

 

[fbsf]

I'm finding this - they seem to take a lot more time to clear than in bottle (a couple of months verses 3/4 weeks). That might also be that I'm not doing a secondary fermentation though, which I am with the bottled. I'm wondering if I'm better bunging it into a pressure barrel and priming it, then decanting to corny after a few weeks...

 

[Hawks]

I'm finding this - they seem to take a lot more time to clear than in bottle (a couple of months verses 3/4 weeks). That might also be that I'm not doing a secondary fermentation though, which I am with the bottled. I'm wondering if I'm better bunging it into a pressure barrel and priming it, then decanting to corny after a few weeks...

That part is because it has further to drop as much as anything else.. and of course once it does drop you'll probably find the first pint to be a bit cloudy as the tube takes from the bottom.

I have not noticed the much longer to condition - it tastes different to bottles certainly - and some people prefer kegs, some bottles

 

[bunkerbrewer]

The same beer with different levels of carbonation will taste different - I wonder if that's a factor in perceived difference in conditioning times?

 

[Jimmy321]

I'm wondering if I'm better bunging it into a pressure barrel and priming it, then decanting to corny after a few weeks...

This is something I plan on trying, I was building up a collection of cornies and was thinking about selling my KK's. But I'm going to use the KK's as holding tanks till a cornie becomes available I think it may be of benefit as the beer will clear in the keg rather than the cornie.

 

[WelshPaul]

I may experiment with batch priming my next beer and putting it into a Corny rather than force carbonating it. It doesn't matter too much if it goes cloudy since it's a wheat beer.

 

[carl_saint]

I don't tend to find this at all. My beers are always decent straight away in the cornie. I don't tend to bottle much but much prefer kegged beer!

 

[Hawks]

I don't tend to find this at all. My beers are always decent straight away in the cornie. I don't tend to bottle much but much prefer kegged beer!

Glad i'm not the only one..

 

[brizleciderarmy]

I may experiment with batch priming my next beer and putting it into a Corny rather than force carbonating it. It doesn't matter too much if it goes cloudy since it's a wheat beer.

I conditioned my past two kits in the corny with no problems. As it throws a slight sediment i barbarically hacksawed off 3/4inch from the end of the dip tube. That way it don't suck up any sediment. Clear corny-keg-conditioned beer. Loverly.

 

[springtime]

I don't tend to find this at all. My beers are always decent straight away in the cornie. I don't tend to bottle much but much prefer kegged beer!

I would agree with that but I must admit that I do use finings when I fill the cornie. The beer is usually clear within 2 days and can be drunk after that.
I would not agree that it tastes at all green.
Yes, I do find that it flavour improves after few weeks.

 

[robsan77]

If you use finings your beers will be drinkable from the cornie in just a couple of days.

 

[springtime]

Perhaps that's the way to go then.

 

[WelshPaul]

If you use finings your beers will be drinkable from the cornie in just a couple of days.

I always use finings, except for when making wheat beers, and although the beer in the Cornies is drinkable, it is definitely not enjoyable for an extremely long time. I usually make 25l batches, so end up with 1 full Cornie and around 10 bottles: the beer in the bottles is ALWAYS ready to drink long before the stuff in the keg is.

 

[Hawks]

If you use finings your beers will be drinkable from the cornie in just a couple of days.

I always use finings, except for when making wheat beers, and although the beer in the Cornies is drinkable, it is definitely not enjoyable for an extremely long time. I usually make 25l batches, so end up with 1 full Cornie and around 10 bottles: the beer in the bottles is ALWAYS ready to drink long before the stuff in the keg is.

What sort of pressure are you force carbing at ( or even better how many vols of CO2 ) ?

 

[springtime]

I force carb at 30psi for 10 minutes whilst shakiing the keg gently to ensure absorption.
I then disconnect the gas and leave until the beer is required usually a couple of days at least.