pressure keg

[snap]

hi all im new to home brew and have made quite a few brews all drinkable i bottle them at the mo but was wondering how long can a brew last in a pressured keg thanks snap :

 

[mackem brewer]

I'm not that sure but when I brew beer I tend to bottle about 5-10 litres and drink the rest from the keg, at the minute I have about ten litre of **** bitter in a keg thats been their for about a month and it still tastes safe lol

personally I drink from the keg till it starts to go flat and then I drink it faster :drink:
but if you plan on keeping it longer bottle it cause I'm not that sure how long it would safely last in a keg

 

[crisparmour]

I've had beer in a keg for two months now and it's still fine. I think that the key is to keep Oxygen away from the beer. After priming the keg you can "purge" the oxygen from the keg by opening the lid to allow the excess gas to escape. Oxygen is lighter than CO2, so after standing for a bit the top layer of gas will have all the O2 in it and all that remains will be CO2.

Do this a day or two after the carbonation starts so that you have gas to blow out and the process can continue afterwards. You'll then have a keg full of CO2 and no Oxygen to spoil the beer. If the beer goes flat you can add more gas from a bulb. If you let air in it will start to spoil the beer.

 

[mackem brewer]

sound advice :thumb:
my brews only normally last about a month lol

does air not get in through the tap after a while though?
I always wondered about that :hmm:

 

[pjbiker]

I reckon it's OK up to about 3 months so long as you keep it under CO2, mine has never got past about 2months (because I drink it). Had some ABV 4.5% I made for my brother last week (Tuesday) that was brewed 19January 11 and it was absolutely fine IMO.
Allow the keg to take in air from the atmosphere and it will be sour within a week.
If it tastes OK drink it, if it doesn't, make some more. :thumb:

 

[crisparmour]

does air not get in through the tap after a while though?
I always wondered about that :hmm:

The only way air can get in is if the pressure drops. As you draw beer off the remaining gas in the void, sorry, the ullage, will drop in pressure until it equals atmospheric pressure. When it does, the remaining beer will only leave the barrel if replaced with air. If you try to serve the beer a dribble will start and air will glug into the barrel through the open tap. This is where spoilage can begin.

To avoid this you can add more CO2 from a bulb or cylinder. Alternatively you can re-prime and purge as explained above but you'll have to be patient while the beer settles and referments. A third option might be to loosen the lid on the barrel [to allow the beer to flow out without the glugging] and bottle the rest, priming the bottles of course. I'd imagine the beer would have some condition remaining at this point - you could taste it to see - so a reduced amount of sugar might be a good idea.