Bottle Conditioning

[Satokad]

Good Evening Folks,

The first batch of beer that I brewed got bottled a few weeks back (a Chinook IPA). After two weeks, we sampled it and it was really good. I put half in the fridge and left the other half to age longer at room temperature. I just tried one that had aged for three weeks and it was better still.
My question is this: If I pull the refrigerated beer out and let it sit at room temperature longer, will it continue to improve or is it something where, once you refrigerate it, it's done improving?
Thanks.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

If you take it out of the fridge, the yeast will wake up again and should continue to work on the beer, but probably at a slower rate than then ones that weren't in the fridge (I'm only guessing though). There's no reason the beer should be worse (apparently repeated cooling/warming leads to stability and clarity issues, but once shouldn't matter). Three weeks ageing is definitely better than two for most beers!

 

[Epos7]

It depends on what aspects of it you like that you felt were improved. More time in bottle will allow for more oxidation, meaning hops character will fade, color will darken, and flavors will be muted. It can also develop a bit of sweetness due to oxidation which is what stands out most to me. Heat will accelerate all of these things. It's possible that it reaches a point where it's more in balance if it was too hops forward at first, or if it was too dry. All beer is oxidized to some degree and it's more noticeable to some than others.

Sometimes the fermentation that goes on in the natural carbonating process can produce undesirable compounds, and over time the yeast still present in the beer will clean these up. Generally storing in your fridge is going to stop the yeast from continuing to work.

Cooler temperatures in your fridge will slow oxidation and promote the settling of sediment. Less suspended sediment can make a crisper beer.

Just keep enjoying it and take note of how its changing. That's part of the fun

 

[Druman07]

I have seen improvement in most of my beers that are stored warm. I revisit in a couple of weeks and usually there is an improvement, even in the ones that didn't come out so great. I haven't experienced the opposite yet, where they have gotten worse, but i assume that is because the storage time is not significant for degradation.

 

[Nooner]

The only way to know if the temperature had an affect is if you did an A/B test (assuming you drank everything that was originally in the fridge and then replaced with what was not). It could be that it's just the additional time that made it better and not temp. Next time I would do the actual A/B test and put some in the fridge and some not, then keep at least one of the original cold ones to taste against the newly cold. That should answer your question. I'm also assuming that all fermentation in the bottle was completed within 2 weeks (I've always lived in warmer climates so bottle conditioning will definitely be done within 2 weeks time).

 

[Satokad]

The only way to know if the temperature had an affect is if you did an A/B test (assuming you drank everything that was originally in the fridge and then replaced with what was not). It could be that it's just the additional time that made it better and not temp. Next time I would do the actual A/B test and put some in the fridge and some not, then keep at least one of the original cold ones to taste against the newly cold. That should answer your question. I'm also assuming that all fermentation in the bottle was completed within 2 weeks (I've always lived in warmer climates so bottle conditioning will definitely be done within 2 weeks time).

Actually, it'll be more like an A/B/C test. We started with half in the fridge at two weeks. When we sampled one that sat out for another week, I then removed all the 2 week beer and replaced it with the 3 week beer. The two week beer is no sitting out to see if that will help it improve. When the 3 week beer is bout done, I will put the rest back in the fridge.
Curious to see how that will turn out.

 

[Nooner]

Actually, it'll be more like an A/B/C test. We started with half in the fridge at two weeks. When we sampled one that sat out for another week, I then removed all the 2 week beer and replaced it with the 3 week beer. The two week beer is no sitting out to see if that will help it improve. When the 3 week beer is bout done, I will put the rest back in the fridge.
Curious to see how that will turn out.

Love it. These kinds of tests are great for not only educating yourself on how to make what you like, but also to educate yourself on your own palate to identify what you like and what you don't. I'm not sure if you're doing this or not (thoroughly describing stuff on forums can be difficult), but it's always important to keep a control sample with everything you do, so with every variable you introduce there is still an A/B to evaluate. So when removing the very first batch you put in the fridge, there should be at least one of those left in there as a control, etc.