Serving and storage temperature

Hey all,

I have a kind of cheap setup. I bought a very old Cornellius mini-refrigerator (and Cornellius keg) and installed a tap/facet in the door. The fridge is really old, but it seems to work and keeps the keg reasonably cool, but not nearly the 42 deg F that a lot of sites recommend. It is more like 50 deg F, at best. Maybe more like 53.

I used this setup last year with mix results. I would have intermittent problems with foaming, but mostly it was OK. I am wondering if this has to do with temperature in the fridge.

How important is it to keep beer at 42 or less degrees? I've read where people say NEVER let it get above 43 or it will spoil, DANGER DANGER! But I just can't see why that woudl happen. I mean, don't you normally age beer (ales) at or just below room temp? Wouldn't they spoil if temperature was so important? I have had bottles that sit for months aging and the are fine. Is there something about kegging tht suddenly makes beer (ales in my case) so much less stable?

What's the deal? If am OK with drinking the beer at 50 deg F and I can manage to pour with about the right amount of foam, should there really be any problem storing it that way? I mean, I'm not going to keep it for more than a few months. And I don't recall it ever spoiling. But then, I do tend to have hoppy beers. So maybe the hops are stabling the beer at high temps?

It does have to do with the temperature of the fridge. Colder liquid will retain more CO2 in dilution. If you are not able to get your fridge down below 50 degrees it is probably running constantly and wasting a ton of energy. Spending $50 or $60 on a fridge off of craigslist would probably pay for itself in 6 months. Buying a new fridge would be even more energy efficient but much more money.

Well I did get it off craigslist. And it doesn't run constantly. So it seems like I could theoretically get more cooling out of it but I can't find an adjustment.

As as far as cooler liquid retaining more CO2, that wouldn't necessarily explain why ALL the CO2 woudl burst out at once when serving.

I have noticed that when bottling, I have to refrigerate the beer at least once to "set" carbonation or else they will explode all over the place when opened. But I don't necessarily have to KEEP them refrigerated. I just have to get them cold once and then they are safe to open.

I could try that with the keg. Submerge the keg in ice water to "set" the carbonation and then maybe it will serve better.

So other than the possible foaming issues, should I be worried about the beer spoiling?

As far as the foaming, you should be able to find a balance point between resistance and co2 pressure at your serving temp. If you foam more than you would like increase the resistance by lengthening the hose or by placing a flow restrictor in the diptube. (Search epoxy stirrer) "Setting your carbonation" the way you mention is probably more imagined than a fact. Don't bother with that.

As far as spoilage once proper sanitation has been achieved then temp should not be a factor at all. Nasties should not be able to travel into a keg that is properly sanitized.

Bottom line: You are fine if you are happy with the serving temp and you balance the system properly. I like most of my beers cooler but I do like malty beers around 50

If you are properly sanitized you shouldn't have to worry about spoilage at 50 degrees. You should also re-balance your system for the higher temperature as your lines are probably balanced for a 42 degree kegerator. Having too much foam is an indication of too short of a beer line. Here is a page that will help you balance your system for any temperature/CO2 level. Draft system line balancing

Also, if you think the freezer is capable of getting colder but the thermostat is just broken consider replacing it with a RANCO controller. You can buy one on eBay for around $50 plus shipping and it will work great!


ETA: I started replying and got sidetracked onto another project and didn't see that dontman gave much the same answer.

dantodd said:

If you are properly sanitized you shouldn't have to worry about spoilage at 50 degrees. You should also re-balance your system for the higher temperature as your lines are probably balanced for a 42 degree kegerator. Having too much foam is an indication of too short of a beer line. Here is a page that will help you balance your system for any temperature/CO2 level. Draft system line balancing

Click to expand...

Ugh, now I'm confused. I read another balancing formula here:

Troubleshooting Draft Beer Systems for Line Balance Troubles.

that had me calculating the serving pressures, not the length of the beer line.

It makes sense that I should keep the beer at the pressure needed to maintain the desired carbonation levels, but that would mean serving at about 20 PSI. That doesn't seem right.

Im no pro at line balancing however I had the same question about beer spoiling if I didnt keep it cold a while back. I only have a 2 keg kegerator and usually have more kegs filled so i wanted to know how long they would keep if they were warm.

The result that I came across that everyone seemed to agree with is that as long as the equip was sanitized well and kept under pressure there is no reason that it should spoil at room temp for at least a year. Some people have had kegs for multiple years and they still tasted fine even when kept at room temp. What I do is basically give each keg a hit of CO2 once or twice a week, mine keep pressure really well so it seems to work fine.

My cellar is getting colder and colder here during winter in Michigan. It's around 60 F now and it's dropped like 5 degrees from summer.

I've got all my bottled beer stored there. It seems like the temperature should be fine but could it get too low to store in?

Thanks.

There is no problem drinking beer at that temp, if that's what you like.
Unfortunately you will encounter some problems. In order to hold your co2 in, you will require co2 pressure somewhere in the mid to upper teens(depending on the style), resulting in some foaming problems.

My opinion is to serve a little on the colder side (around 42f) it's easier to pour and balance the system. If i need to depending on the style, i'll pour one and let it sit for a minute before drinking.

As far as spoiling that's not a problem. People "cellar" beers in the 50'ss for extended periods all the time.