Storing Unprimed beer

[ash132]

Hi all,

Is it OK to store a beer which has reached FG in a large jerry can and leave it for a few months in the garage until a few weeks you are ready to drink and then prime/ bottle the batch for drinking?

 

[Cwrw666]

Well a few weeks is definitely ok - lots of us do this so you get a clearer beer for bottling.
I usually store it in an old budget pressure barrel that no longer holds pressure. I do prime it though, so that although it's not under pressure, at least the head space is full of CO2 rather than air.
Just make sure your container is food safe so you don't end up with plastic flavoured beer.
Stronger beers will store longer than weaker ones.

 

[Leon103]

Why would you want to do this?

 

[strange-steve]

Yes you can do this, but if you can flush with CO2 then do so. Really it's the same as bulk aging which I have done with high gravity beers like barley wine and Belgian quad, which I've left in secondary for a couple of months.

 

[IainM]

Why would you want to do this?

There could be many reasons, but I've wondered about whether this would be a good way to do an IIPA. Let it bulk condition first, then dry hop after a few months so you have both well conditioned strong beer and fresh hops.

 

[Covrich]

Yeah you can do like Steve says you will probably want to purge the tank first.. A lot of people knowing they are going to bulk age transfer to a secondary usually right towards the enf od fermentation (as the last bit of fermentation will create some co2)..

I may be wrong about this thought but some people would say it may be oxygen permable and a little more risky, but I am sure it would be okay.

 

[ash132]

Cheers guys and useful advice about creating some C02 to help keep out the air. Might just prime it a bit if i do.

I've done a few beer kits and running out of storage as well as not actually been able to drink everything i'm making (i'm more a weekend drinker)

Got 30 odd litre's of cider and beer to go through so in no rush to prime and bottle this current batch I've got on.

Problem is now that I've started home brewing i cant stop experimenting with different recipe's - Cerveza's, Lagers, Ciders - planning on a ginger beer next.

I just figured leaving my current batch to condition for a month or two in a jerry can, while i finish off all my other home brews would be a good way to avoid having 100 odd plastic bottles rolling around in the garage.

 

[ravey]

I got a bunch of 5l plastic jerry cans, about 12 quid delived for 10 of them. I use these to store/condition. Currently I put some in a 2l juice bottle and use a carbonation cap to add co2, but making a draught system to dispense from an easy keg.

 

[Personal91]

Cheers guys and useful advice about creating some C02 to help keep out the air. Might just prime it a bit if i do.

I've done a few beer kits and running out of storage as well as not actually been able to drink everything i'm making (i'm more a weekend drinker)

Got 30 odd litre's of cider and beer to go through so in no rush to prime and bottle this current batch I've got on.

Problem is now that I've started home brewing i cant stop experimenting with different recipe's - Cerveza's, Lagers, Ciders - planning on a ginger beer next.

I just figured leaving my current batch to condition for a month or two in a jerry can, while i finish off all my other home brews would be a good way to avoid having 100 odd plastic bottles rolling around in the garage.

Try the fiery ginger recipe on here :)

I highly recommend it :)

 

[Hoppyland]

Yeah you can do like Steve says you will probably want to purge the tank first.

Personally I wouldn't purge first. Only because it'll take a hell of a lot of CO2 & be much more expensive.
I fill my 25l plastic container with the beer first - very gently, no splashing. Then, I purge it with CO2 from a large cylinder. (At this stage, the beer will probably be saturated with CO2 anyway).
Bear in mind that, even though your beer might be at your anticipated FG, and that gravity hasn't changed for a while, you will still have a very slow fermentation taking place. So, you may need to have an airlock in your "cask", or vent it from time to time.
The longer you leave it, the fewer yeast cells will be in suspension. So, if you batch prime and bottle it after leaving it a few months, then it might take a very long time to carb up. You might think about batch-priming both with sugar and an active yeast suspension.