More time in the fridge = better beer than more time in the fermenter/bottle?

Wasn't sure where to post this so I figured here. Anyhow, in the years I've been brewing I've come to notice more time for my beer in the fridge seems to make the most difference in final product. In other words, I typically do, let's say on average, three weeks in the fermenter for ales. Then I do 3 weeks in the bottle before I put it in the fridge. I've noticed beers after being a week in the fridge still not "tasting up to prime". However, if they go another week in the fridge they come out absolutely perfect. However, if I let them sit in the bottles at room temperature even for many more weeks they still don't taste "up to prime" until they've been in the fridge close to two weeks. I've even tested letting beers only sit two weeks in the bottle, and so long as they have that extended time in the fridge they taste great. I could let them sit for several months in the bottle, but still... until they've been sitting cold in the fridge for close to two weeks they still don't have that "Oh yeah, I could enter this into a contest right now!" taste. As a result, I've come to think, or realize, that time in the fridge seems to be more important than time in the fermenter or bottle. I've even let some beers sit for longer lengths in the fermenter with the same results - still needs that time in the fridge.

So, I'm really now set on a kegerator being I simply don't have enough room in my fridge to house more than one case at a time. Doing 5G batches I can typically only put one case in at a time with the space I have. That often leads me to drinking about half of of my batches before prime. With a kegerator I can throw them all into a refrigerated environment and let them carb up and condition for 2 weeks rather than 3 weeks in the bottle and close to two weeks in the fridge.

Anyhow, my question is has anyone else noticed this - that more time in the fridge seems to make the most difference as opposed to more time in the fermenter/bottle-at-room-temperature?


Rev.

I've had a keezer for a year and a half now, my beer is best 2-3 weeks in the keezer vs. the 1st week. I did notice the same thing when I bottled.

I agree. It makes a big difference leaving it in there longer as well as clearing out the beer. I have heard that lower fermentation temperatures make a big difference too.

Sometime you should try either 6 weeks in the fermenter or 4 weeks followed by cold crashing for a couple days. What you are noticing in the flavor is suspended yeast and giving it more time to settle out or cold crashing it out will get rid of that. It isn't just refrigerator time that will do it.

Agree...more time in the fridge. Made a blonde ale using citra hops. One of the worst ales I ever made. Pawned as much as I could to my in-laws. 5 months later I found 3 or 4 bottles in my basement fridge. That beer went from one of my worst to one of the best I ever made. Tasted like some of the pilsners I had while stationed in Germany. Moral of the story: more time conditioning in fridge equals better beer and it's great to have in-laws to push your bad beer on!

how1 said:

Moral of the story: more time conditioning in fridge equals better beer and it's great to have in-laws to push your bad beer on!

Click to expand...

Unless you push your "bad beer" on the in-laws and then realize it actually became awesome later and now you have none left!


Being as I use my second fridge as a fermentation chamber with temp control I rarely get the chance to enjoy beers that have spent more than 7 days in the fridge. I am going to try to put more in our main fridge though and see what it does. I do prefer my IPA/APA fresh though, refrigeration takes out the hop aroma.

yeah, now I know bad beer can get better with time. No more free beer for the in-laws. I consider cold conditioning, in keg or bottles, as a form of lagering. Just have to make sure you have a pipeline going (and avoid the in-laws).

Hops do fade over time. I drink the bitter beers sooner rather than later.

I think it really depends on the beer. What you're probably experiencing is, like mentioned before, the yeast and other particles settling out, but also the beer absorbing more carbonation. Even though CO2 has been produced and there is some in solution, the time spent at colder temps allows the beer to absorb more of the gas that's sitting in the head space.

There are some beers that age very well if left at cool, but not refrigerator temps. Many Belgian Strongs, and some Imperial Stouts actually age better at temps slightly warmer than your fridge. I had two bottles of Sweetwater's 2011 Happy Ending (RIS), one aged for a year in the fridge, one aged in a closet. I then did a vertical taste test with the 2012 batch, and the one aged in the fridge tasted more like the fresh batch than the one in the closet. The one in the closet had smoothed out a lot, and had developed some new, more complex flavors that the one in the fridge hadn't. I guess beer can be like wine in that regard.

Also, hop aroma does fade with time (not bitterness) so things like IPAs will do better in the fridge, but are still best had young. I read somewhere that the material used to create the air-tight seal on bottle caps actually contributes to the degradation of hop aroma.