Aging beer

[chungking]

Noob question, but is it better to age bottled beer in a fridge or out of one in temps in the mid 70's. Or does it matter?

And does it prolong the life of the beer any?

 

[Gixxer]

I age my beer at room temp. After it is aged however long I want to then in the fridge it goes. Cold helps it keep longer if I do not drink it first.

 

[mrkrausen]

From what I've read after you've done your initial carbonation conditioning you want to keep your beers colder, something like cellar temps or just below. The longer they sit out at say the 70degrees you mentioned, the quicker they will stale. Darker higher gravity beers handle aging better but I would still think they would do better at colder temps. I just had an oatmeal stout that was just over 6 months old that I kept in the fridge that tasted much better than I remembered. I'm sure it could have been it just reached its peak but I think keeping it in the fridge helped.

 

[kwingert]

Colder is better, but a steady temp is the most important thing. If I had the choice between a steady 70*f or temp swings between 33*f and 45*f, I'd take the 70*f.

 

[Susurro]

I'd prefer to age my bottled beer cold, but with limited fridge space, that's not really an option. I've had no problem with aging at room temperature, but if you can get it in a fridge or in the basement after carbonation, go for it.

 

[chungking]

So most people are saying, let it carb up for a few weeks, then put them in the fridge. Ok thanks!

 

[KISS Brew]

So most people are saying, let it carb up for a few weeks, then put them in the fridge. Ok thanks!

If you have this luxury, yes. If this will impact the amount of food you can keep in the fridge, don't stress.

I have a few beers that have spent some time in the 75-80F range for a couple of months with no ill effects, provided I pop them in the fridge 48 hours before drinking. Not ideal, but necessary right now.

 

[KoedBrew]

I actually had a chance to try this...I was deployed for 7 months and when I came back I had a few of my beers still sitting in the fridge and the rest were in the basement 65-69 degree average and I honestly could not taste the difference at all.

Now maybe if it were 2 - 4 years there would be a difference but there aren't many people that have fridge space for that long. I age my sours and strong beers in the basement and they seem great after a couple years.

I do agree with the steady temps though and a basement would be fine if you have one, if not use a closet on an interior wall

 

[billl]

The majority of beer styles don't need to be "aged" for any significant amount of time. And frankly, I'd be 99% of homebrew is consumed before storage temps become an issue. If you are just starting out, I wouldn't be worrying about the longevity of your beer at all. As long as you don't expose the brew to high temps, it will taste great for many months.

If you do have a style that you want to age, oxidation is a bigger concern than room temp vs cellar temp. High alcohol beers that have been handled properly will age fine at a range of temps eg room temp, basement, etc. Beers that were splashed around aren't going to age well at any temp.