OhReally

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Hi all-

This may be a question more suited to the "General Beer Discussion" forum (or somewhere else, Mod's just let me know), but I'm wondering:

Does your beer taste better at cellar/basement/cool temperatures than it does after it's been in the fridge for a while?

I've done about a dozen extract brews so far (brewing since August '12) but I've noticed that if I crack one open straight out of the basement (ambient area temp 64ish) my beers are not only clearer (that's a chill-haze thing), but they also have far more character, aroma, taste, and better head retention as opposed to the same beer being refrigerated for a few days or weeks.

Has anyone else experienced this? Why would this be, and are there steps I can take to improve this?

Cheers

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Next up: Imperial Pale Ale
Bottled: Nae Foolish Wee Heavy, Devil's Milk barley wine
Drinking: Oatmeal Stout, Sandy Wheat, White House Honey Ale, Ex-Pat 1800 English IPA, Pumpkin Spice Porter, India Black Ale, Belgian Honey Wit

unionrdr

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Everything works if ya let it-Roady(meatloaf)

Calder

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I feel that about 50 F is about the right temperature for many beers (hoppy ales and Belgians). You get a lot more flavor than when really cold.

I'll often only put the bottle in the fridge for an hour or two.

OhReally

Recipes 

Bump

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

Primary: Wee Heavy #2
Secondary: Rye Pale Ale
Drinking: Belgian Honey Wit, Belgian Golden Strong Ale, Imperial Pale Ale, Nae Foolish Wee Heavy, Devil's Milk barley wine, Oatmeal Stout, Sandy Wheat, White House Honey Ale

biohaz7331

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True when it is very cold you cannot appreciate the quality and complexity as much in my opinion. This is what separates quality beer and cheap low quality beer.

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Secondary - Dead Ringer IPA
Primary 1 - John Q Adams Marblehead Lager
Keg 1- John Q Adams Marblehead Lager
Keg 2 - Dry Irish Stout

Beer since 1/6/13 - 25 Gallons
Cider since 3/3/13 - 5 gallons

OhReally

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I knew about the chill haze, but I wasn't aware of the effects on carbonation and head. Makes sense, though. Thanks!

gestyr

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I am lucky in that my basement stays about 50 deg year around. I only put lagers in the fridge and i let them warm a bit before drinking.

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WWCD: What Would Chthulu Do?

OhReally

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50 degrees sounds good to me. I've dealt entirely with ales so far (although I got a mini fridge for xmas, so I'm itching to get into lagers), and many of them are pretty big ales at that (i.e. 7% and above). The English IIPA (which uses 14 oz. of hops) has one of the most noticeable differences.

I just got a new apartment, though, so I'm losing the cool basement for storage.

OhReally

Recipes 

Bump

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

Primary: Wee Heavy #2
Secondary: Rye Pale Ale
Drinking: Belgian Honey Wit, Belgian Golden Strong Ale, Imperial Pale Ale, Nae Foolish Wee Heavy, Devil's Milk barley wine, Oatmeal Stout, Sandy Wheat, White House Honey Ale

jungatheart

Recipes 

I sometimes sip on one of my RIS's for 5-6 hours and the last swallow is the best, room temp.

Waiting for it to warm up is not my favorite thing to do though.