How long can I store at room temp?

[pirate252]

I would like to know how long its ok to store bottled beer at room temp. We just bottled some Cream Stout about a month ago and for the first 2 or 3 weeks of it being ready it tasted great, now its lost most of its flavors, and tastes weird. The other (older) beers seem to be ok so far but they are lighter ales and IPA's.

Just wondering how long I can store at room temp before it starts to spoil, the yeast starts to rot, and other bad things.... Because as you can see from my sig) I have WAYYYYY more than I can fit into a fridge, we kinda went crazy brewing there for a while...

Thanks

 

[z987k]

Good question, and while I have no complete answer for you, I have some beer from at least 4 months ago and it still tastes fine, however the vanilla porter has lost most of it's vanilla.

 

[Vagrant]

In my experience with stouts, there seems to be a sweet spot where you throw them all in the fridge. I had one that started off tasting like soy sauce (seriously) but after 4 weeks, everyone that tried it, myself included, loved it. Back then I occasionally left a few out to see how aging would affect it and it started a downward slope after 2 months or so.

Also, large beers like imperial anythings or belgians with a high ABV you can "cellar". The high alcohol + high IBUs preserve it from nasties.

 

[TheJadedDog]

It really depends on what you mean by room temp. I store all my bottles beer at 65 degrees for long periods of time with no ill effects. Anything over 70 degrees though and you may run into spoilage.

As others have noted, some styles benefit from being stored cooler.

 

[Danny013]

What recipe did you use for the SA Cream Stout clone? I've been looking to do one, just wondering how yours came out? Did it come close to the regular? Thanks!

 

[homebrewer_99]

Barring that your brew was done fermenting prior to bottling and you didn't over-prime your brew can sit on the shelf a long time without fear of bottle grenades.

Now with that said, I can tell you that (at times) I have not refrigerated many of my beers until I want them cold, Weizens being the exception. You want a cerrtain amount of carbonation and a slight chill to them. I have a few beers (bock and a trippel) that are over 1 year old that taste fine.

Incidently, (I read a long time ago) Chimay is in the bottle for 18 months before it's ready for sale.

 

[pirate252]

Yeah I only have noticed any effects on the cream stout so far, it lost most of its goodness, the chocolate and coffee notes are almost completely gone. I just wanted to know if it was also going to happen to my ales.

Luckily most of my ales, besides the hefs, are strong in the hops and alc department so they should last a while.

Thanks for the responses.

What recipe did you use for the SA Cream Stout clone? I've been looking to do one, just wondering how yours came out? Did it come close to the regular? Thanks!

The clone was a kit from Austin Homebrew, it came out AWESOME tastes just like it, except better because, well, its homebrew. But after about 2-3 weeks in the bottle it went downhill fast, my suggestion is as SOON as its tastes good, refrigerate ALL of it.

Heres a link to the kit:

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_452_43_262&products_id=1782

I used the Wyeast yeast, and got the partial mash kit, came out perfectly.

 

[Fogareu Br]

I would like to contribute telling on an article that I read of a Ph.D. of Waukesha, U.S.A.. Everything indicated the studies they were done with a beer in matter, no mentioned in the document. Therefore I understand as a reference.
The readings revealed me that a base used for the calculation consider that 1 day to 20°C = 1 day of shelf-life, and if the temperature that was kept goes lower we would have a proportional life, for instance 1 day to 15°C = 0,47 day of shelf-life, or in larger temperature for 1 day to 35°C = 9,38 day of shelf-life and 1 day to 40°C = 19,77 day of shelf-life. Therefore the degradation will be slower in smaller temperatures, without the freezing.
More precisely:
1 day at 59°F = 0.47 days at 68°F = 0.47 shelf-life days
1 day at 68°F = 1.00 days at 68°F = 1.00 shelf-life days (per definition)
1 day at 77°F = 2.11 days at 68°F = 2.11 shelf-life days
1 day at 86°F = 4.45 days at 68°F = 4.45 shelf-life days
1 day at 95°F = 9.38 days at 68°F = 9.38 shelf-life days
1 day at 104°F = 19.77 days at 68°F = 19.77 shelf-life days
Particularly, I drank a good beer after 3 months of production, however kept 3 °C.
Another example is that same refrigerated 3 °C after 4 months my Stout was not so good.

 

[pirate252]

Yeah seems to affect the stouts more, even in my experience...