Store Bottles Laying Down or Upright?

[Just-a-Guy]

Years ago I remember a friend of mine was home brewing and his basement walls were lined with shelves of beer laying sideways. I've been storing mine upright (new to this, I have four batches in bottles now, two more in fermenters). I could probably make better use of space laying them down and stacking them. And it occurred to me that this way there would be less chance of air leaking out the cap. Is that an issue?

I was thinking of storing them laying down for about three weeks, then putting them upright in the fridge for a few days for the final conditioning, thinking the sediment would fall down to the bottom of the bottle in that last stage.

Does this make sense? Would the sediment tend to stick to the sides anyway? And does it possibly add any advantage storing them sideways?

Thanks!

Mark

 

[cincydave]

I would think storing upright would give a tighter yeast cake on teh bottom of the bottle. unlike wine which is best stored sideways to keep cork moist

 

[amazinglarry]

Michael Jackson recommends that capped beer bottles always be stored upright in his book "Beer" although he doesn't specify why. Maybe its an oxidation issue? I know quite a few people who have beer cellars and they all store the bottles upright as does every beer distributor I've ever been in. This doesn't necessarily mean that you can't store bottles on their side but I would think there's got to be some reason why everyone doesn't.

As far as sediment goes, it shouldn't stick to the sides. All the sediment should settle to the bottom during cold conditioning.

 

[microbusbrewery]

upright

 

[RogerMcAllen]

Upright.

The liquid has a much smaller surface, so the beer is less likely to oxidize. Also, glass is inert. Cap liners can get scratched, which can let the beer interact with the metal.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Upright. Even corked beer should be kept upright.

 

[ericm007]

FWIW - The Coopers kit I brewed for my first batch last month said to condition the bottles in an upright position.

 

[Just-a-Guy]

Thanks for the replies, folks. Very helpful. Upright it is!