Popped open first bottle of first "semi-real" batch; some questions

Hi,

I was given a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas, which produced quite decent results, and inspired me to move a step further into brewing.

I bought a Brewer's Best Red Ale kit, and followed the directions reasonably well.

I moved it from primary to secondary after 6 days. ABV was exactly 5.0%.

I bottled it after two weeks in secondary. ABV was 5.24% (of course, I understand that that may just be measuring error).

It sat in a closet at 67°F for 23 days. I put one in the fridge, and drank it yesterday.

It was very good. Less "sweet" than I expected, but very, very good, with excellent color. Perfect carbonation, with good head.

My Mr. Beer batch improved with age in the fridge (I put the whole batch in the fridge after two weeks in bottles in a closet). Now I'm curious about what to expect from this batch of Brewer's Best. In particular, should I only refrigerate that which I'm going to use in the near future, or should I just load it all into the fridge?

Thanks; this is fun!

Mark

It's up to you. It will store longer if you keep it cool and in the fridge. I tend to just let mine sit in boxes in a spare bedroom closet until I need to chill a few. I keep maybe a six pack in the fridge of mixed beers at any given time and just replenish the stock as needed.

Leaving it at room temperature (as long as it's a reasonable temperature) will help condition the beer a bit more, so I'd suggest doing that and then putting them in the fridge as needed. If you can let them sit a week or so in the fridge, that will help them clear as some beers get what is called "chill haze"- that is a beer that is clear at room temperature gets hazy in the cold. Leaving the beer in the fridge longer helps that chill haze fall out.

It's not bad tasting, though, so I wouldn't sweat it if the cold beer is a little hazy.