I brewed an Imperial Stout. Fermented at 67 degrees according to the recipe. Fermentation has completed. Now the recipe instructions call for maturing for 6 months. What temp should I store it at while it matures? I have the carboy in my garage, which has been and will remain around 55 degrees. Is that an ok temp for this ale to mature at?
Maturing temp
- Thread starter Bartolo
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Freelancer
Member
from what i've read (i'm pretty new here) i think the general idea is 'warmish' (fementing temp?) for a couple of weeks for carbing then cold for long-term storage
WBC
Well-Known Member
As freelancer said you don't want too cold for conditioning so the yeast will not go dormant.
histo320
Well-Known Member
YOu don't want it to cold or the yeast will go dorment. Depending on the strain you will need to see at what temp it becomes dorment. The important part is that it is at a constant temp.
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There is one very important consideration here. Are you going to bottle or keg? More to the point, are you going to force carbonate or naturally carbonate?
If you are going to force carbonate in a keg, bulk conditioning in the carboy at 55 degrees for six months is fine. At the end of the six months, cold crash it at just above freezing for a few days and then move it to your keg.
If you plan to bottle and the beer has reach final gravity you don’t want to wait too long. After more then a couple of months the yeast may not be up to the chore of carbonating. After about a month in the carboy you should bottle it and keep the bottles at room temperature (70-72) for a few weeks. After that it will be fine to do the remainder of the aging at 55 degrees. Refrigerate it for a week or so before drinking.
Edit:
After your beer has been in the bottle for three weeks, check one to see that it's carbonated before moving it to conditioning temperatures.
