Keg maturation and oxidation

Get advice on making beer from raw ingredients (malt, hops, water and yeast)
Post Reply
Hoppopotamus

Keg maturation and oxidation

Post by Hoppopotamus » Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:37 pm

From what I have read, the standard advice when kegging beer is to leave it for 4 to 6 weeks after kegging to mature before drinking it.

I don't have the patience so I tend to start drinking after a week. What I have noticed is that the flavour of my beer tends to peak between 2 and 4 weeks after kegging. After this time the hop flavour seems to diminish and the beer feels "fatter" in the mouth. It doesn't taste that bad (still as good as most pub beer), but I prefer the taste when it is younger. Obviously this may just be my personal taste, but from what I read I may have problem with oxidation.

The beers I have brewed so far are relatively low strength (3.5 - 4.5% alcohol) so maybe they are meant to be drunk younger?

Also if I bottled some of each batch, would they stay in peak condition longer - If oxidation is the problem I assume there will be less oxygen to react in the neck of a bottle than in the top of a keg.

SiHoltye

Post by SiHoltye » Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:52 pm

For OG about 45 with bitters, I've noticed after about 4 weeks the hoppiness changes into a smoother hoppiness than in the early weeks. Dunno about after this 'cos they don't last!

RabMaxwell

Post by RabMaxwell » Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:17 pm

Hello Hoppopotamus this is not anything strange you are experiencing my beers are exactly the same especially when serving through my beer engines with tight sparkler .I tend to over compensate when designing my beer recipes by using slightly higher mash temperatures & over hopping.I am drinking a pint of Bluebird Bitter that i Dry Hopped with 150g Golding's for 110 Litre brew.I thought i had over done it but when i started drinking it at 2 months it was lovely & still lovely now it's about 4 months :roll: :)

Hoppopotamus

Post by Hoppopotamus » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:29 am

Thanks for the replies. I've just kegged a Bobek Stunner that I steeped with 125g of Bobek hops for an hour at the end of the boil. It tasted amazing straight out of the fermenter and definitely had a hell of a lot of hop aroma. Hopefully this will cause it to last longer before fading.

As a matter of interest, does anyone know if the hop aroma lasts longer if you bottle beers rather than kegging them?

Vossy1

Post by Vossy1 » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:58 am

I've found hop aroma and freshness last longer in a bottle than a keg.

User avatar
Aleman
It's definitely Lock In Time
Posts: 6132
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:56 am
Location: Mashing In Blackpool, Lancashire, UK

Post by Aleman » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:49 pm

One of the classic 'symptoms' of oxidation is a 'deadening' of the hop character, and this shows well before any of the more unpleasant compunds

Post Reply