Warm - Cold - Warm - Cold = Bad beer?

hopvine · 06-23-2009, 11:57 AM

Hey guys,

Multiple times over my (relatively short) homebrewing career, I've had people ask whether or not it's true that beer goes bad if it transitions from warm to cold more than once (i.e. purchased from an uncooled shelf at the store, placed in the fridge, removed from the fridge a few days later, and then placed back into the fridge after the beer has come down to room temp).

I can't come up with a reason that this would cause the beer to go bad, unless the CO2 is coming out of solution and then reabsorbing multiple times which somehow has a negative effect on the beer. I also have never experienced beer going bad because of this, however I can't remember a specific time that I removed/replaced beer from the fridge.

Thoughts?

wester101 · 06-23-2009, 12:11 PM

I am just a new guy take it for what it's worth but it's not warm cold that is the problem it is usally the light. However warm cold will effect it if it is extreme warm or extreme cold or if it happens a ton of times. Just my experience

yeasty · 06-23-2009, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wester101

However warm cold will effect it if it is extreme warm or extreme cold or if it happens a ton of times. Just my experience

this is correct.

**IrregularPulse** · 06-23-2009, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yeasty

this is correct.

Right this si what we've all been told since highschool. But why?

There are lots of common facts on this forum that get proved to not be facts at all. I think this will be one of them once the egg heads step in. Chemists? Physicists? Generally smart people on the subject?

**Yambor44** · 06-23-2009, 01:22 PM

I wonder how many times it goes from hot to cold before you even buy it......

yeasty · 06-23-2009, 01:27 PM

the proteins in the beer can start to break down if the temp swings too much is what i have been told by my beer distributor.

ajwillys · 06-23-2009, 01:29 PM

I tested this on my blog with some Sierra Nevada and found it to be a myth as far as I could tell...

It’s a myth! « Simmering Brews

Since then, I've found that some say the rules are different for un-pasteurized beer.

**Brewmasters Warehouse** · 06-23-2009, 02:13 PM

I think the rules are different for un-pasteurized beer. I have had warm cold warm cold happen before with home brew without effect. Now if you do that with a Coors Light then the beer would be awful. Oh wait Coors Light is awful even during the cold filtering. Nevermind

hopvine · 06-23-2009, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brewmasters Warehouse

I think the rules are different for un-pasteurized beer. I have had warm cold warm cold happen before with home brew without effect. Now if you do that with a Coors Light then the beer would be awful. Oh wait Coors Light is awful even during the cold filtering. Nevermind

Interesting. Can anyone comment on why that might be the case?

ajwillys · 06-23-2009, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brewmasters Warehouse

I think the rules are different for un-pasteurized beer. I have had warm cold warm cold happen before with home brew without effect. Now if you do that with a Coors Light then the beer would be awful. Oh wait Coors Light is awful even during the cold filtering. Nevermind

I heard it was worse for un-pasteurized. Not sure why, the only difference is that there are living things in there. I can understand why hot or even not refrigerated makes a difference, but not why it specifically matters for warming and cooling.