diff --git a/pkg/storage/wal/manager.go b/pkg/storage/wal/manager.go
index 196d02296b5f..d5d8fff893f0 100644
--- a/pkg/storage/wal/manager.go
+++ b/pkg/storage/wal/manager.go
@@ -13,25 +13,19 @@ import (
 )
 
 const (
-	// DefaultMaxAge is the default value for the maximum amount of time a
-	// segment can can be buffered in memory before it should be flushed.
-	DefaultMaxAge = 500 * time.Millisecond
-	// DefaultMaxSegments is the default value for the maximum number of
-	// segments that can be buffered in memory, including segments waiting to
-	// be flushed.
-	DefaultMaxSegments = 10
-	// DefaultMaxSegmentSize is the default value for the maximum segment size
-	// (uncompressed).
+	DefaultMaxAge         = 500 * time.Millisecond
+	DefaultMaxSegments    = 10
 	DefaultMaxSegmentSize = 8 * 1024 * 1024 // 8MB.
 )
 
 var (
-	// ErrClosed is returned when the WAL is closed.
+	// ErrClosed is returned when the WAL is closed. It is a permanent error
+	// as once closed, a WAL cannot be re-opened.
 	ErrClosed = errors.New("WAL is closed")
 
-	// ErrFull is returned when an append fails because the WAL is full. This
+	// ErrFull is returned when the WAL is full. It is a transient error that
 	// happens when all segments are either in the pending list waiting to be
-	// flushed, or in the process of being flushed.
+	// flushed or in the process of being flushed.
 	ErrFull = errors.New("WAL is full")
 )
 
@@ -42,19 +36,20 @@ type AppendRequest struct {
 	Entries   []*logproto.Entry
 }
 
+// AppendResult contains the result of an AppendRequest.
 type AppendResult struct {
 	done chan struct{}
 	err  error
 }
 
-// Done returns a channel that is closed when the result of an append is
-// available. Err() should be called to check if the operation was successful.
+// Done returns a channel that is closed when the result for the AppendRequest
+// is available. Use Err() to check if the request succeeded or failed.
 func (p *AppendResult) Done() <-chan struct{} {
 	return p.done
 }
 
-// Err returns a non-nil error if the operation failed, and nil if it was
-// successful. It should not be called until Done() is closed to avoid data
+// Err returns a non-nil error if the append request failed, and nil if it
+// succeeded. It should not be called until Done() is closed to avoid data
 // races.
 func (p *AppendResult) Err() error {
 	return p.err
@@ -69,55 +64,58 @@ func (p *AppendResult) SetDone(err error) {
 type Config struct {
 	// MaxAge is the maximum amount of time a segment can be buffered in memory
 	// before it is moved to the pending list to be flushed. Increasing MaxAge
-	// allows more time for a segment to grow to MaxSegmentSize, but may increase
-	// latency if the write volume is too small.
+	// allows more time for a segment to grow to MaxSegmentSize, but may
+	// increase latency if appends cannot fill segments quickly enough.
 	MaxAge time.Duration
 
 	// MaxSegments is the maximum number of segments that can be buffered in
-	// memory. Increasing MaxSegments allows for large bursts of writes to be
-	// buffered in memory, but may increase latency if the write volume exceeds
-	// the rate at which segments can be flushed.
+	// memory. Increasing MaxSegments allows more data to be buffered, but may
+	// increase latency if the incoming volume of data exceeds the rate at
+	// which segments can be flushed.
 	MaxSegments int64
 
-	// MaxSegmentSize is the maximum size (uncompressed) of a segment. It is
-	// not a strict limit, and segments can exceed the maximum size when
+	// MaxSegmentSize is the maximum size of an uncompressed segment in bytes.
+	// It is not a strict limit, and segments can exceed the maximum size when
 	// individual appends are larger than the remaining capacity.
 	MaxSegmentSize int64
 }
 
-// Manager buffers segments in memory, and keeps track of which segments are
-// available and which are waiting to be flushed. The maximum number of
-// segments that can be buffered in memory, and their maximum age and maximum
-// size before being flushed are configured when creating the Manager.
+// Manager is a pool of in-memory segments. It keeps track of which segments
+// are accepting writes and which are waiting to be flushed using two doubly
+// linked lists called the available and pending lists.
 //
-// By buffering segments in memory, the WAL can tolerate bursts of append
-// requests that arrive faster than can be flushed. The amount of data that can
-// be buffered is configured using MaxSegments and MaxSegmentSize. You must use
-// caution when configuring these to avoid excessive latency.
+// By buffering segments in memory, the WAL can tolerate bursts of writes that
+// arrive faster than can be flushed. The amount of data that can be buffered
+// is configured using MaxSegments and MaxSegmentSize. You must use caution
+// when configuring these to avoid excessive latency.
 //
-// The WAL is full when all segments are waiting to be flushed or in the process
-// of being flushed. When the WAL is full, subsequent appends fail with ErrFull.
-// It is not permitted to append more data until another segment has been flushed
-// and returned to the available list. This allows the manager to apply back-pressure
-// and avoid congestion collapse due to excessive timeouts and retries.
+// The WAL is full when all segments are waiting to be flushed or in the
+// process of being flushed. When the WAL is full, subsequent appends fail with
+// the transient error ErrFull, and will not succeed until one or more other
+// segments have been flushed and returned to the available list. Callers
+// should back off and retry at a later time.
+//
+// On shutdown, the WAL must be closed to avoid losing data. This prevents
+// additional appends to the WAL and allows all remaining segments to be
+// flushed.
 type Manager struct {
-	cfg     Config
-	metrics *ManagerMetrics
-
-	// available is a list of segments that are available and accepting data.
-	// All segments other than the segment at the front of the list are empty,
-	// and only the segment at the front of the list is written to. When this
-	// segment has exceeded its maximum age or maximum size it is moved to the
-	// pending list to be flushed, and the next segment in the available list
-	// takes its place.
+	cfg       Config
+	metrics   *ManagerMetrics
 	available *list.List
 
 	// pending is a list of segments that are waiting to be flushed. Once
 	// flushed, the segment is reset and moved to the back of the available
 	// list to accept writes again.
 	pending *list.List
-	closed  bool
-	mu      sync.Mutex
+
+	// firstAppend is the time of the first append to the segment at the
+	// front of the available list. It is used to know when the segment has
+	// exceeded the maximum age and should be moved to the pending list.
+	// It is reset each time this happens.
+	firstAppend time.Time
+
+	closed bool
+	mu     sync.Mutex
 
 	// Used in tests.
 	clock quartz.Clock
@@ -125,15 +123,11 @@ type Manager struct {
 
 // item is similar to PendingItem, but it is an internal struct used in the
 // available and pending lists. It contains a single-use result that is returned
-// to callers of Manager.Append() and a re-usable segment that is reset after
+// to callers appending to the WAL and a re-usable segment that is reset after
 // each flush.
 type item struct {
 	r *AppendResult
 	w *SegmentWriter
-	// firstAppendedAt is the time of the first append to the segment, and is
-	// used to know when the segment has exceeded the maximum age and should
-	// be moved to the pending list. It is reset after each flush.
-	firstAppendedAt time.Time
 }
 
 // PendingItem contains a result and the segment to be flushed.
@@ -150,6 +144,7 @@ func NewManager(cfg Config, metrics *Metrics) (*Manager, error) {
 		pending:   list.New(),
 		clock:     quartz.NewReal(),
 	}
+	m.metrics.NumAvailable.Set(0)
 	m.metrics.NumPending.Set(0)
 	m.metrics.NumFlushing.Set(0)
 	for i := int64(0); i < cfg.MaxSegments; i++ {
@@ -172,25 +167,22 @@ func (m *Manager) Append(r AppendRequest) (*AppendResult, error) {
 	if m.closed {
 		return nil, ErrClosed
 	}
-	if m.available.Len() == 0 {
+	el := m.available.Front()
+	if el == nil {
 		return nil, ErrFull
 	}
-	el := m.available.Front()
 	it := el.Value.(*item)
-	if it.firstAppendedAt.IsZero() {
+	if m.firstAppend.IsZero() {
 		// This is the first append to the segment. This time will be used in
 		// know when the segment has exceeded its maximum age and should be
 		// moved to the pending list.
-		it.firstAppendedAt = m.clock.Now()
+		m.firstAppend = m.clock.Now()
 	}
 	it.w.Append(r.TenantID, r.LabelsStr, r.Labels, r.Entries)
 	// If the segment exceeded the maximum age or the maximum size, move it to
 	// the closed list to be flushed.
-	if m.clock.Since(it.firstAppendedAt) >= m.cfg.MaxAge || it.w.InputSize() >= m.cfg.MaxSegmentSize {
-		m.pending.PushBack(it)
-		m.metrics.NumPending.Inc()
-		m.available.Remove(el)
-		m.metrics.NumAvailable.Dec()
+	if m.clock.Since(m.firstAppend) >= m.cfg.MaxAge || it.w.InputSize() >= m.cfg.MaxSegmentSize {
+		m.move(el, it)
 	}
 	return it.r, nil
 }
@@ -198,44 +190,27 @@ func (m *Manager) Append(r AppendRequest) (*AppendResult, error) {
 func (m *Manager) Close() {
 	m.mu.Lock()
 	defer m.mu.Unlock()
-	m.closed = true
-	if m.available.Len() > 0 {
-		el := m.available.Front()
+	if el := m.available.Front(); el != nil {
 		it := el.Value.(*item)
 		if it.w.InputSize() > 0 {
-			m.pending.PushBack(it)
-			m.metrics.NumPending.Inc()
-			m.available.Remove(el)
-			m.metrics.NumAvailable.Dec()
+			m.move(el, it)
 		}
 	}
+	m.closed = true
 }
 
-// NextPending returns the next segment to be flushed. It returns nil if the
-// pending list is empty, and ErrClosed if the WAL is closed.
+// NextPending returns the next segment to be flushed from the pending list.
+// It returns nil if there are no segments waiting to be flushed. If the WAL
+// is closed it returns all remaining segments from the pending list and then
+// ErrClosed.
 func (m *Manager) NextPending() (*PendingItem, error) {
 	m.mu.Lock()
 	defer m.mu.Unlock()
-	if m.pending.Len() == 0 {
-		if m.available.Len() > 0 {
-			// Check if the current segment has exceeded its maximum age and
-			// should be moved to the pending list.
-			el := m.available.Front()
-			it := el.Value.(*item)
-			if !it.firstAppendedAt.IsZero() && m.clock.Since(it.firstAppendedAt) >= m.cfg.MaxAge {
-				m.pending.PushBack(it)
-				m.metrics.NumPending.Inc()
-				m.available.Remove(el)
-				m.metrics.NumAvailable.Dec()
-			}
-		}
-		// If the pending list is still empty return nil.
-		if m.pending.Len() == 0 {
-			if m.closed {
-				return nil, ErrClosed
-			}
-			return nil, nil
+	if m.pending.Len() == 0 && !m.moveFrontIfExpired() {
+		if m.closed {
+			return nil, ErrClosed
 		}
+		return nil, nil
 	}
 	el := m.pending.Front()
 	it := el.Value.(*item)
@@ -248,9 +223,9 @@ func (m *Manager) NextPending() (*PendingItem, error) {
 // Put resets the segment and puts it back in the available list to accept
 // writes. A PendingItem should not be put back until it has been flushed.
 func (m *Manager) Put(it *PendingItem) {
+	it.Writer.Reset()
 	m.mu.Lock()
 	defer m.mu.Unlock()
-	it.Writer.Reset()
 	m.metrics.NumFlushing.Dec()
 	m.metrics.NumAvailable.Inc()
 	m.available.PushBack(&item{
@@ -258,3 +233,27 @@ func (m *Manager) Put(it *PendingItem) {
 		w: it.Writer,
 	})
 }
+
+// move the element from the available list to the pending list and sets the
+// relevant metrics.
+func (m *Manager) move(el *list.Element, it *item) {
+	m.pending.PushBack(it)
+	m.metrics.NumPending.Inc()
+	m.available.Remove(el)
+	m.metrics.NumAvailable.Dec()
+	m.firstAppend = time.Time{}
+}
+
+// moveFrontIfExpired moves the element from the front of the available list to
+// the pending list if the segment has exceeded its maximum age and sets the
+// relevant metrics.
+func (m *Manager) moveFrontIfExpired() bool {
+	if el := m.available.Front(); el != nil {
+		it := el.Value.(*item)
+		if !m.firstAppend.IsZero() && m.clock.Since(m.firstAppend) >= m.cfg.MaxAge {
+			m.move(el, it)
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}