Newest Threads

brewmate76 · 04-02-2009, 07:04 PM

Hello everyone,

I've been reading this forum for awhile, but this is my first post. I've got a 5 gallon batch of a copper ale sitting in the primary. I'll be bottling in about 2 more weeks. I'll be using 22 oz glass bottles. My question is this ...

Since I only have room for about 12 of the 24 bottles of beer that I will bottle, is it okay to store bottles of beer at room temperature (65-75 degrees) for extended periods?

I'd love to get another batch of brew going, but I'm hesitant because I'm not sure if my beer will go bad before I drink it if it's sitting in bottles at room temperature.

Any thoughts?

MikeG · 04-02-2009, 07:06 PM

70F is a great temp to let it age for an ale, the longer the better. 65F-70F is preferable, 75F is a little on the high side. Just keep the light out. Welcome to HBT!

TheTower · 04-02-2009, 07:08 PM

You need to store bottles at room temp for at least 3 weeks for them to properly carbonate. After that, they can be kept at room temperature as long as you want. Once they're chilled, they need to stay chilled, but before they're chilled, leave em be.

steelerguy · 04-02-2009, 09:02 PM

Agree with this above. I have stored beer at room temperature for months and had it get better. Never had any sit around long enough to take a turn for the worse.

camiller · 04-02-2009, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheTower

...Once they're chilled, they need to stay chilled, ...

nah, if the wife needs some space in the beer fridge to store extra leftovers you can take some out. It'll be fine.

bdaddy · 04-03-2009, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camiller

nah, if the wife needs some space in the beer fridge to store extra leftovers you can take some out. It'll be fine.

I read that somewhere else as well. I was wondering why when you do this to commercial beer it tends to "skunk" it? (i.e. take it out of cold and leave it at room temp, then put it back to cold later.)

But back to the original question, I had a similar question as my house is > 75 degrees, but I have a fermentation chiller that I can easily set to < 70, although I don't want to keep replacing the frozen bottles forever to keep it at that temp.

So based on the above responses, if I ferment my ale at say 68% in my chiller, bottle it and store it in the chiller at that same temp for 3 weeks, after 3 weeks I can either put it at room temp (76 degrees) or stick it in my spare fridge? Is there a preference as to which or at that point it doesn't matter?

steelerguy · 04-03-2009, 03:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdaddy

I read that somewhere else as well. I was wondering why when you do this to commercial beer it tends to "skunk" it? (i.e. take it out of cold and leave it at room temp, then put it back to cold later.)

But back to the original question, I had a similar question as my house is > 75 degrees, but I have a fermentation chiller that I can easily set to < 70, although I don't want to keep replacing the frozen bottles forever to keep it at that temp.

So based on the above responses, if I ferment my ale at say 68% in my chiller, bottle it and store it in the chiller at that same temp for 3 weeks, after 3 weeks I can either put it at room temp (76 degrees) or stick it in my spare fridge? Is there a preference as to which or at that point it doesn't matter?

Light skunks beer, not temperature.

Ferment at 68 degrees and let your bottles sit at whatever temp your house is to carb and age. Keep a steady supply in your fridge so they have been in there for a day or two before drinking to allow the C02 to dissolve back into the beer.

bdaddy · 04-03-2009, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelerguy

Light skunks beer, not temperature.

Ferment at 68 degrees and let your bottles sit at whatever temp your house is to carb and age. Keep a steady supply in your fridge so they have been in there for a day or two before drinking to allow the C02 to dissolve back into the beer.

I know a fellow-Steeler fan will never steer me wrong, but I still have a question

It's ok to carb and age at a temp > 75 degrees? I had understood that it should carb at less than 70. My house is very hot (Texas summers) and averages around 76, but sometimes can get warmer than that even (78-79). Can I "carb" at those temps? Or better off letting it sit in my chiller for 3 weeks and let it "age" at room temps (or is carbing/aging the same thing?)

CBBaron · 04-03-2009, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdaddy

I know a fellow-Steeler fan will never steer me wrong, but I still have a question

It's ok to carb and age at a temp > 75 degrees? I had understood that it should carb at less than 70. My house is very hot (Texas summers) and averages around 76, but sometimes can get warmer than that even (78-79). Can I "carb" at those temps? Or better off letting it sit in my chiller for 3 weeks and let it "age" at room temps (or is carbing/aging the same thing?)

No real experience with those temps as my basement stays a nice low 60'sF but...
Yes you can carb in the upper 70's without much problem. The process will happen faster at those warm temps. In fact the aging process will happen considerably faster at those temps. Which means it will be ready to drink faster but will also start getting "old" faster. If those are your storage temps I would try to keep no more than a months supply ready to drink. If your average beers are sitting around too much longer they will no long taste as fresh as you would like. I'm lucky to have a nice cool basement and have beers from the last year available if I like. However even with the cool temps 6 months is a better target.

Craig

ajwillys · 04-03-2009, 05:57 PM

I tried a test where for a 3-week period, I had some beer in the fridge for two days and then out for two days. After the 3 weeks, I tested it against my control sample and they both tasted identically to me. I don't buy it that you can't warm it up once its been cooled, in fact I posted on my blog about the experience. The beer I tried this with was Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.