Bitter commercial beer

Greetings HBT!

I have a small beer fridge in my basement and have noticed recently that my beer is tasting gradually more bitter. I'm a big fan of IPAs and bitter beer, but this is different. Even some of the Wheats, Nut Browns, and sweeter beers are beginning to taste bitter....kindof like a fountain drink with too much soda water.

I've had this fridge set up for quite some time and the basement is pretty temperature-stable. So I'm at a loss as to whats going on.

Any thoughts??

Maybe you're having a reverse lupulin shift? Your analogy to soda water makes me think of carbonic bite, but I would think most commercial breweries do not have overcarbing problems with their beer. Perhaps it's something temperature related?

Would a fridge that's too cold cause this? The cooling element has a good buildup of ice on it and needs to be defrosted.

WoodHokie4 said:

Would a fridge that's too cold cause this? The cooling element has a good buildup of ice on it and needs to be defrosted.

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I find drinking beer at too cold a temperature accentuates the bitterness and not much else. Do you let your bottles warm up a bit before you drink them? If not you should give that a try and see if that helps improve the flavor.

I turned my fridge a couple degrees higher and it seems to have cleared up. Frost is gone too!

Thanks for the support!