New guy to the home brew thing and bottled my first batch (Nut Brown Ale) about a week ago. I am doing my best to wait the 2 weeks for my first taste, but I have a question or two. How long will the beer stay 'good' in the bottle at room temp? What about in the fridge? Not that this will be a problem with my first batch, but if I start having a backlog I want to make sure the beer doesn't go bad. Also, 2 weeks seems to be the minimum wait before you start drinking, but is there an optimum time?
How long will beer keep?
- Thread starter BruDaddy
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
cweston
Well-Known Member
Most beers in the 1.045 - 1.065 range taste their best starting about 2 months after brew day, IMHO, although they may be perfectly good before that.
Lower gravity beers mature a little quicker, higher gravity beers may take a little longer.
Beers stored in reasonably stable temperatures below, say 70 F, will last a long time: easily 6 months to a year (probably much longer). Many beers will be past their prime at that point, though.
Refridgeration slows down the aging process considerably, which is why you shouldn't refridgerate ales for normal storage unless you want to store them a long time.
Lower gravity beers mature a little quicker, higher gravity beers may take a little longer.
Beers stored in reasonably stable temperatures below, say 70 F, will last a long time: easily 6 months to a year (probably much longer). Many beers will be past their prime at that point, though.
Refridgeration slows down the aging process considerably, which is why you shouldn't refridgerate ales for normal storage unless you want to store them a long time.
