3 weeks in bottles-now what?

[Pelican521]

Hey all, I've had my first brew, an English Pale Ale, bottle conditioning for 3 weeks at 70º now and wondering what my next steps are?

I know I have to fridge them for a week or so to transfer the Co2 into the beer, but then what? I know, know, drink em!

But say I want to save some for a few months and not drink them all right up. I have a spare fridge in my garage so I can throw them in for a week, but I'd rather not waste my electricity for a longer period of time. Can I take them out to store them in a not so cold place like my garage (it's probably around 45º) or do they need to remain fridged?

Just wondering how to store them for over a few months...

Thx.

 

[Yooper]

Put one in the fridge now. Taste it this evening. If it's carbed up nicely, then you can store the bottles wherever you have room, but cellaring them will preserve them longer.

The cooler you can keep them (fridge is ideal), the longer they will remain fresh and at their peak, but if you can't do that you can keep them cool and that will help.

Pale ales don't last all that long- the hops aroma will fade fast and the beer will peak sooner rather than later.

 

[djonas]

That would be fine. Just keep them away from the light. Also, I have never bottle conditioned before, but do you really need to put them in the fridge? At 45 degrees Fahrenheit, wouldn't that have the same effect?

 

[Pelican521]

Oh, I should have clarified, it's a clone of Fullers ESB and doesn't really have a big hop aroma (more subtle if any). I've tried a couple, one on Friday night and one again last night. I think they both had about a day or so in the fridge but the one on Friday seemed more carbed. Very tasty though...

I took your advice on the whirlpool of wort into the priming sugar when I siphoned into my bottling bucket and even gave it a "gentle" stir at the end so I'm not sure why one seemed more carbed. Not a big deal though.

At this point has it been long enough in the 70º to condition and should I go ahead and move to a cooler place or should I leave it longer?

Thanks!

 

[Pelican521]

Oh, and thanks again Yooper for suggesting the 5 day dry hop instead of the kit's 7 day instruction. I think if I went the full 7 day it would have killed this beer...

 

[Calder]

Most of my beers spend only a few hours in the fridge. For ales, somewhere around 45 to 50 F is the right serving temperature, not 35 F.

Cooler storage is better in preserving flavors, but you need to make sure they are fully carbed before cool storage. I'd just leave them 6 to 10 weeks before storing cool to ensure they are all carbed properly.

Once they are properly carbed, treat them the same way you treat Commercial beers. They will probably store better than Commercial beers because they have live yeast in the bottle which is continually working on the beer.

 

[Pelican521]

Calder, not trying to disagree with you but I've read a bunch of times here that you should fridge for about a week after you condition in order to transfer the Co2 from the head space into the beer.

Can anyone elaborate?

 

[Calder]

Calder, not trying to disagree with you but I've read a bunch of times here that you should fridge for about a week after you condition in order to transfer the Co2 from the head space into the beer.

Can anyone elaborate?

Correct, at colder temperatures beer will absorb more CO2. I don't think you will find much difference between storing at 45 or storing at 35 F. It absorbs CO2 at room temperature too, but not as much. I get plenty of CO2 in my beers with only a few hours in the fridge.

The biggest advantage you will get with cold temperature storage is that it will help drop out haze. If you want to serve at 45, you can store at 45 to drop any haze.

 

[Pelican521]

Great, thanks for explaining! He's another odd thing I noticed, it's looks very clear when warm, but after a 12 or so hours in the fridge, it's pretty cloudy. I thought it would get clearer...

Is this typical? will it clear out more if chilled for a longer time?

Thx

 

[unionrdr]

Great, thanks for explaining! He's another odd thing I noticed, it's looks very clear when warm, but after a 12 or so hours in the fridge, it's pretty cloudy. I thought it would get clearer...

Is this typical? will it clear out more if chilled for a longer time?

Thx

That's chill haze from dissolved protiens in the beer. Let'em sit in the fridge for at least a week to settle the haze,& get more co2 into solution for better head & carbonation. sometimes it takes two weeks to settle serious chill haze. Or at least to get thicker head & longer lasting carbonation.
Chill haze forms as the beer first cools down to feridge temp. It can take at least a few days to settle out like a fog.