Pressure barrel temperatures

[frederick]

Hi all... having just syphuned my brew from the bin to the keg I have paced a heating device around the keg. How long should I leave the heater around the keg for before allowing the temp. to drop to ambient and then leave for about 4 weeks.

Help appreciated..... Frederick

[OldSpeckledBadger]

About a week should do it.

[stevezx7r]

I would suggest leaving it at ambient temp (18-25C) for a week or two before putting it somewhere cooler i.e a fridge at about 12ish C. Given the weather conditions at the moment I'm surprised you need a beer belt

[techtone]

Does anyone have any practical experience of "cold" conditioning in a garage during the summer? Looks like my garage gets a bit warmer than I imagined. Has already hit 20 C (in April!) but around 12 C at night. It will be wrapped up so an "average" of about 16 C should be ok. But if it climbs upwards to around 25 C on a sunny summers day will this ruin the beer? Also will I lose too much co2 at these temps. or will it be ok?

I know a fridge would be wonderful but I'm tring to avoid this if possible.

I am referring to real ales in a keg.

[Lillywhite]

I am referring to real ales in a keg.

Ideally, real ale should be stored in the temperature range 10-14C so you need to find somewhere on the north side of your house out of the sun if possible. You could try and insulate them with a Celotex PIR foil backed rigid board insulation made box enclosure, which works in reverse in the summer keeping the beer cool, if the garage is your only option. Standing the kegs on a concrete floor would also help.