How long do you refrigerate your beer?

Brewer's Friend 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
M

mcleanmj

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
156
Reaction score
43
Location
Halifax
I know they say to chill your beer at least 48 hours before you serve it, and that many folks advocate cold conditioning any beer, or to warm condition x amount of time then cold condition equally as long. Well I bottled a brown ale on January 15th, tried a couple bottles along the way because I was eager, and they were pretty green. Two nights ago I brought 2 bottles over to my buddies, stuck them in the fridge for about 3 hours before we drank them, and they tasted incredible, 2x better than the bottle I had just over a week before. Today I tasted one that had been refrigerated 48 hours and while still quite good it did not have the same mouthfeel and malty character that the 2 beers chilled only 3 hours had. Am I crazy? I also enjoy the amount of head and fizz you get from a slightly chilled beer myself.

Anyone else? Any rule of thumb time frames for your chilling?

:tank:
 
Optimal serving temps vary depending on style and even the specific beer. I only drink my mocha stout at cellar temps because it has the best chocolate character at that temp. Drinking beer too cold is just as bad as drinking it too warm in my opinion.
 
Well if it helps I just found a bottle of beer that my wife wanted to save in the fridge that was I think 3 months in the fridge.

Came out looking like a lager and tasted mighty fine
 
I fridge my bers when carbed & conditioned for at least 1 week for decent head & carbonation. Two weeks gives thicker head & longer lasting carbonation.
 
I like to refrigerate them for a long time, particularly my lighter ales. It's a bit like a lagering step and gives the bottle conditioned beers a really hard compact yeast cake at the bottom. Most of my beers are kegged, particularly the ones I want to drink fresh- those get refrigerated for 2 weeks while they carbonate.
 
The longer the better. I keg most of my beer but the results are the same. After two weeks of refrigeration the beer is still a touch green and depending on the flocculation character of the yeast it can still be a bit cloudy. After about 6 weeks the beer is sooo much clearer and the head is foamier and more dense.

It all really depends on patience though. Do I ever keg a beer and wait 6 weeks without touching it, never. I just drink it when I want it and eventually it's at the peak.
 
mcleanmj said:
I know they say to chill your beer at least 48 hours before you serve it, and that many folks advocate cold conditioning any beer, or to warm condition x amount of time then cold condition equally as long. Well I bottled a brown ale on January 15th, tried a couple bottles along the way because I was eager, and they were pretty green. Two nights ago I brought 2 bottles over to my buddies, stuck them in the fridge for about 3 hours before we drank them, and they tasted incredible, 2x better than the bottle I had just over a week before. Today I tasted one that had been refrigerated 48 hours and while still quite good it did not have the same mouthfeel and malty character that the 2 beers chilled only 3 hours had. Am I crazy? I also enjoy the amount of head and fizz you get from a slightly chilled beer myself.

Anyone else? Any rule of thumb time frames for your chilling?

:tank:
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. I always find that the beers I put in the freezer and drink 20 minutes later always seem better than the beers that spend days in the refrigerator. I have no idea why but you aren't crazy.
 
Is it because you aren't cooling them down all the way in just a few hours? A slightly warmer temp should express the malt better. Maybe you can take those that have been in the fridge a few days, and leave them out for 20 minutes before opening, and see if you get the same effect.
 
Puting them in the freezer gets them cold fast,but doesn't give time for chill haze to settle out,if any. Chill haze forms as the beer cools down,& has taken mine up to some 4-5 days to settle out. Plus carbonation in the head space doesn't absorb all that quickly. 1 or 2 weeks fridge time has proven best to me. 2 weeks gives thicker head & finer bubbled,longer lasting carbonation. Competitions,I understand, also judge fine bubbled carbonation & clarity among others. So I try to get used to achieving them,just in case I get that extraordinary batch.
 
daksin said:
It's a bit like a lagering step and gives the bottle conditioned beers a really hard compact yeast cake at the bottom.
Click to expand...

I noticed that too. My Oktoberfest has been in the fridge at 32-33 deg for months now. That yeast is very compact and I don't have to worry about saving that 1/4" of beer to prevent any yeast coming out, I just tip and pour till it stops.
 
A couple days is okay, a few weeks is better. I just sorta keep a bunch in the fridge and drink it first-in, first-out.
 
tennesseean_87 said:
Is it because you aren't cooling them down all the way in just a few hours? A slightly warmer temp should express the malt better. Maybe you can take those that have been in the fridge a few days, and leave them out for 20 minutes before opening, and see if you get the same effect.
Click to expand...

This was my first thought as well.
 
This clip from Swingers was my second thought ;)

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Longer is better for sure but in a pinch I will settle for a day or so. I tossed a sixer in the fridge last night that I will drink tonight. Will it be perfect...No but it will be tasty
 
If you chilled your hot wort down in 20 minutes or less,you won't get much if any chill haze at fridge time that you'll have to wait to settle out. If you primed properly & gave it the right amount of time to produce carbonation & condition well @ 70F or a little more,than the bottles can just start being ready @ 5 days fridge time. Otherwise,they can require at least 7 days to start getting decent carbonation into solution.
 

Similar threads

J
How do you clean your bottles?
Replies
34
Views
1K
ncbrewer
N
A
Fermenting Ginger Beer to Dry vs. Stopping Early
Replies
2
Views
986
DuncB
D
Clint Yeastwood
Prose from the Pros
Replies
6
Views
440
DBhomebrew
DBhomebrew
MaxStout
The "short & cool" dry hop method (Janish) - applied to bottle conditioning
Replies
7
Views
2K
minmaxx77
M
ZapperMike
How long is your brew day?
2
Replies
75
Views
3K
leedspointbrew
leedspointbrew
Brewer's Friend 300

Latest posts

Back
Top