Question on beer in bottles maturing.

[Link45]

Hi all, i have a question on the beer maturing once its bottled.

Should i leave it in bottles for over 4 weeks 'outside' of refrigeration, or, will it mature whilst refrigerated?

Thanks for your responses.

 

[jschein]

Welcome to the forum. Keep them room temperature for 3 to 4 weeks then put one in fridge overnight then taste. If the carbonation is good drink away!

 

[Link45]

Welcome to the forum. Keep them room temperature for 3 to 4 weeks then put one in fridge overnight then taste. If the carbonation is good drink away!

thanks for the advice

 

[RM-MN]

Think of maturing as a chemical/biological process since you have the yeast in there as a biological agent. Both processes proceed faster at warmer temperatures and the yeast may quit working altogether at the refrigeration temperatures so you should keep it warmer if you want their input into the maturation. I leave my bottled beer at room temp until a day or so before I intend to drink it and see changes in it for the duration of its time of sitting. Not all changes are good. Pale ales get smoother but lose the hop aroma in about 3 months. Wheat beers don't seem to change much after the first 3 weeks. Stouts however change for a long time and I've found that I really like them best after about 2 years in the bottle.

 

[ZmannR2]

2 weeks it'll be carbonated tho

 

[Link45]

Think of maturing as a chemical/biological process since you have the yeast in there as a biological agent. Both processes proceed faster at warmer temperatures and the yeast may quit working altogether at the refrigeration temperatures so you should keep it warmer if you want their input into the maturation. I leave my bottled beer at room temp until a day or so before I intend to drink it and see changes in it for the duration of its time of sitting. Not all changes are good. Pale ales get smoother but lose the hop aroma in about 3 months. Wheat beers don't seem to change much after the first 3 weeks. Stouts however change for a long time and I've found that I really like them best after about 2 years in the bottle.

ok good, thanks. If i understand it correctly then, and this is the crux of my ?, the maturing of beer is only the yeasts continuing to feed on the sugars, nothing more? Once it goes in the fridge, i know the yeasts are made inactive, but are there elements within the beer that develop further, or nothing, its suspended and frozen?

I generally leave the primary 4 weeks, i bottle and leave the bottles 4 weeks, then put one in the fridge and taste, but i was wondering if i should leave them out longer for better taste development.

 

[RM-MN]

The yeast will have eaten all the sugar before you bottle the beer but there can still be some intermediate compounds that the yeast can work on. The rest of maturation is chemical, a very slow reaction. An analogy would be paint. It will be dry to the touch within a few hours but a couple days later you can still smell it as it cures out the rest of the way.

 

[Link45]

The yeast will have eaten all the sugar before you bottle the beer but there can still be some intermediate compounds that the yeast can work on. The rest of maturation is chemical, a very slow reaction. An analogy would be paint. It will be dry to the touch within a few hours but a couple days later you can still smell it as it cures out the rest of the way.

cheers RM thanks.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, bottle conditioning & fridge time are the last to important parts of the brewing process. The average gravity ale will condition & carbonate fully in 3 weeks, maybe four. But too many times, fridge time is cut short. It takes more than a couple hours or overnight to get an equilibrium between the Co2 in the head space & that in solution. Over & above giving any chill haze time to form & settle out. And getting the trub & yeast compacted on the bottom of the bottle. These things do not happen quickly, they take time. On average, for me, is 5-7 days fridge time. Or with my hybrid lagers, or maybe the bigger beers, two weeks fridge time. This is another reason that we say patience is a virtue in brewing, folks. This is not a quick process like commercial brewers. That's a whole different animal than the small scale brewing we do at home.