How long to bottle condition?

Greetings. I'm a noob at homebrewing, but I'm having fun at it so far.

I've started doing partial mash ales in the last month or so and I have a question about how long to leave bottles at room temperature. I know that they should condition for a couple of weeks, but after that period should I continue to leave them at room temperature or should I refrigerate?

after a couple of weeks at "room temp" (a relative term) stick them somewhere cool for storage like a basement. I say room temp is relative because for example, way up north here where I am in a drafty old 100+ year house room temp is about 57-63 °F in winter. In which case I leave them to condtion about 3-4 weeks before moving to the cellar. If you like your beer cold, pop a few in the fridge when you want them, otherwise just cool 55-57°F is fine for storage.

I have some homebrews which were bottled in the fall of last year, brewed for a new year's party. We still have some, stored at room temp since then, and the ones we tried a month ago were still fine. Previous to our trying them in January, they'd been in hot summer apartments, cold closets in winter, a friend's unheated apartment, just about everywhere.

I was told once that beer had a 3 year shelf life, however, I've seen some sold which are aged past 10.

I would say, after the 2-3 week bottle conditioning time period, they're mostly good to go anywhere you'd like to keep them. Save a few for over time. It's nice to learn how a beer ages.

kvh

The best location is probably somewhere cool and dark, but not in the fridge. Refridgerating them will greatly slow down the aging process, which, unless they're already fully aged, you probably don't want to do.

kvh said:

I was told once that beer had a 3 year shelf life, however, I've seen some sold which are aged past 10.
kvh

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Aging of beer is dependent on many factors from what I understand. The higher the abv % the longer the shelflife. Actually, bigger beers need aging to mellow many of them out. Hop rate can play into it also as hops are a preservative. Although you can also have a big hoppy beer (or any beer) that goes bad quickly if you have any contamination, oxidation, etc. occur in the brewing process. Yes, you can store beer at room temp as long as you want. Yes, temp. fluctuations won't kill it. However, it is best to store it in a stable cool dark place for the best aging. You spent time and effort making your beer, take care of it. Most of my beer does not last very long so I do not have much empirical evidence!

I only said put a few in the fridge when you want to drink them because some folks like their beer ice cold. Me, I drink them cool straight from my basement 53-57 F. I live in a cool climate though, so not everyone has as cool a basement as mine I suppose.

Seems like most beers, other than barley wines and maybe imperial stouts or ales get better for up to six months. Pretty much the longer the better up to that date. You should also monitor the taste. If you notice it degrading stick the rest in the fridge.

Imperials can age longer and Barley wines for a really long time.