Advice on storing bottles?

[cashmeregrenade]

So I have a my first beer I ever made, a double IPA that turned out perfectly, bottled and everything. My brother is in Afghanistan right now and probably will be until around Christmas. I want to save a few of them to drink with him when he gets home, because we wanted to get into brewing together, but he's been in the military for 4 years or so. Is there anything I can do to make sure they're still good in another six months? Should I refrigerate them or not? I know lots of light is probably bad as well as higher temps, but anything else?

 

[Wakadaka]

How long have they been in bottles for? I think the best way to store bottles for a long period of time is in cooler temperatures, but not necessarily refrigerated. I think I have heard the 50s is a good temperature for them, but I could be wrong. My guess would be that they are fine in the fridge or at room temperature (below 75) as well.

You will probably lose some hop aroma storing them that long, but if its your first batch, my guess would be that you will have a lot of beer saved up for him around Christmas time, and a lot of fresher beer as well.

And always avoid direct sunlight for your beer. I remember seeing that artificial light also isn't that good for beer, but its several orders of magnitude less than sunlight.

 

[cashmeregrenade]

They've been in the bottle for about 6 weeks. And, already I've noticed a slight drop in hop aroma, probably because they've been at room temp until I chill them for drinking. I just read a little about keeping hoppy beers chilled for aging because some of the hop oils can begin to oxidize with warm temps. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Wakadaka]

I would probably go a bit longer at room temperature, maybe another 3-4 weeks just to make sure all carbonation is there, and then cool them down. The longest beer I have stored was about 3-4 months, and I just did it at room temperature for most of the time, because I don't have the fridge space, or a basement to help keep them cooler.

 

[kpr121]

Being a double IPA, I would keep them in the fridge, or at least as cold as possible. Hops flavors will age away faster the higher the temperature.