Is it essential to chill bottled beer for 24+ hours before drinking?

[Nkliph]

I made a porter. After two weeks or so, I was disappointed. The head and retention was like soda, it fizzled away in about 30 seconds.

I was taking a bottle from ambient room temp and throwing in fridge or even freezer for a short time, then drinking.

I left one bottle in the fridge for the past 2-3 weeks, and just drank it. It was so much better. More robust, and most importantly, maintained a nice head like a normal beer (insert head is good joke here).

So, my dilemma is that I want to drink more asap, but none has yet been chilled. My question is, was this likely due to the chilling, or the extra few days of aging in the bottle? If i chill some at this point for a few hours, will they be as good? If chilling for 24+ hours is the answer, it's something I overlooked in the books I've read.

 

[BigFloyd]

I haven't any science to back it up, but I prefer to give mine at least 3 days in the fridge before popping the top. The results have been consistently good.

 

[Sailingeric]

I have not noticed much about head retention, but I have one beer that the yeast on the bottom of the bottle does a lot better staying in the bottle after a few day in the fridge

 

[1977Brewer]

I have not noticed much about head retention, but I have one beer that the yeast on the bottom of the bottle does a lot better staying in the bottle after a few day in the fridge

Same here. Carb and head retention seem fairly consistent, does wonders for clarity and keeping sediment in check.

 

[TallDan]

I've even had this experience with commercial beer. Threw a warm six pack in the fridge in the morning, opened one in the evening (12h later) and it just wasn't great. Another beer from the same six pack a few days later was much better. Appearance and taste were both impacted.

 

[brewshki]

Co2 comes out of solution when it is warm. That means when your beer is at room temperature the stuff that will make your beer fizzy is actually not in the liquid. It is in the head space between the liquid and the cap. Putting it into the refrigerator makes the Co2 dissolve into the beer.

 

[unionrdr]

After sufficient time carbing & conditioning at room temp, I give'em at least a week fridge time. Sometimes 2 weeks or more, like lagers, hybrid lagers, & some of my German beers with WL029 yeast to give'em a sort of lagering period. Generally though, a week is good for the average beer to let any chill haze develope & settle out like a fog. Also to get more Co2 into solution till the beer reaches an equilibrium between the head space & the gas in solution. The result is longer lasting carbonation & thicker head in my experiences.