To keg or not to keg? That is the question...

[Vossy1]

but when kegging in a corni which one is it?

Depends on how your priming Danielski, and what YOU want to do

As a rule of thumb maturing your beer will produce a better flavoured ale.

If your priming with sugar in the corny then you have to leave it for, say 4 weeks, for the beer to carbonate.

If your force priming, like I do, I can carbonate a corny in less than a week.

I'm quite impatient so I usually tap at between 4-7days.

That's why I moved to bigger brew lengths, so hopefully I can brew more than I consume so my beer can mature for longer

I have tried bottle matured samples of my quickly tapped corny's and there is a difference. Beers can develope totally different tastes when they are allowed to mature.

Harsh tastes usually mellow, tastes not present initially can develope when maturing and other tastes can dissapear altogether

Try priming some with sugar and force priming others, maturing v not maturing and make your own mind up

Hope some of that helps

[danielski]

Ah yes, great help from all, thanks.

It seems there are no hard and fast rules to this brewing thing, and a lot boils down to trial and error with a big slice of personal taste thrown in for good measure.

I'll have a pint after a week in the keg, then one after 2 weeks, and so on until its so good I can't resist not to have another, then I guess it'll be ready

[Orfy]

Sounds right to me. But if you can manage a week between samples you're s better man than me.

[Scooby]

Listen to all with one ear.

Listen to Daab with both

[Vossy1]

It seems there are no hard and fast rules to this brewing thing, and a lot boils down to trial and error with a big slice of personal taste thrown in for good measure.

I personally think this is one of the best quotes on the forum to date.....very true

[danielski]

Well it's been in the corny 3 weeks now and we had friends over for lunch yesterday so we tucked in.
It's not bad, and pretty strong - I was definitely feeling it after a couple of pints!

I probably need to work on clarity (it was farily clear but no way as bright as some of the beers you lot make) plus the head disappeared fairly swiftly, but all in all its definitely drinkable.

[SteveD]

It seems there are no hard and fast rules to this brewing thing, and a lot boils down to trial and error with a big slice of personal taste thrown in for good measure.

I personally think this is one of the best quotes on the forum to date.....very true

Amen! Was it Clive LaPensee who said 'Ask 10 brewers you'll get 11 opinions'

That's the joy of it. There are many 'right' ways to brew.

Vossy, another way to hang onto the beer long enough to mature is to brew more of it! You get to an equilibrium where the kegs you're tapping are a few weeks old, becasue you couldn't drink your way there any quicker

Maturing beer...as has been excellently pointed out, the flavours evolve over time. Depends what you like. A lot of fine ales in pubs only have a week or two, such is the need for turnover and profit, and yet taste great. On the other hand, Durden Park's 'Original IPA' brewed by James McCrorie was quite simply the best beer I've ever had. Mindblowingly stunningly good....matured for 14 months. He reckoned 18 would have been ideal.

Low gravity bitters and pale ales I think benefit from being drunk young while they still taste hoppy and fresh, the hop being the entire point of such beers. Stronger stuff benefits from maturation so the flavours meld. Opinion 1/11