Storing beer that is ready to drink

[bigjock]

I thought that keeping beer in the fridge was the best place if I have space but a friend of mine said that it's too cool and now another source has started talking about "chill haze".

I have a lot of beers currently in my fridge...should I move them?

Thanks,

C

PS I'm aware about the importance of serving temp and remove higher strength beers from the fridge for 20mins or so before serving.

 

[RM-MN]

Homebrewed beers go through a maturing process. That process is a combination of chemical and biological action which works better at higher temperatures. Refrigerating the beer will either slow or stop this maturing.

Not all beers need much maturing so you can decide what beer you have and make adjustments to fit your particular beer. Light color beers with low alcohol don't need much time. Make yourself a session wheat ale and by the time it is carbonated it should be ready to drink. Make a dark beer with high alcoholic content and then wait a couple years for the flavor to peak. Usually your beers will fall somewhere in between these extremes. Your tastes and the tastes of your friends will be different too so choose how long to let your beer mature. I have my bottles of beer sitting at room temp and find that those that are dry hopped lose their aroma in about 3 months. To me, my robust porter wasn't robust until about 3 to 4 months.

If you have a lot of bottles in the fridge, you might want to move some of them out to let them mature. I usually only refrigerate the amount I expect to drink within a week. That week in refrigeration will allow the proteins that cause chill haze to clump up and settle out.

 

[bigjock]

Thanks for the reply. So the fridge is the best place when the beer is ready to drink? I'm not just referring to home-brew by the way. I've got a load of beer at home and no cupboard space so I've had to use the fridge.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the reply. So the fridge is the best place when the beer is ready to drink? I'm not just referring to home-brew by the way. I've got a load of beer at home and no cupboard space so I've had to use the fridge.

Yes. Cold temperatures slow down the aging process remarkably- meaning that if the beer is at its peak keeping it cold will help to maintain the peak flavor longer. Beer ages fastest at warm temperatures, and it will still age at cellar temperatures but more slowly. At fridge temperatures, it will maintain the level of conditioning better but still won't be at its peak indefinitely.

 

[brewcat]

Does anyone have a rule they follow with style and maturation? Or ABV and maturation? And when they transfer into the fridge?

I now suspect the reasoning of one bottled homebrew tasting different from the same batch could just be different rates of maturation within separate bottles. Sort of the idea of not being able to quite identify the changing flavor profile. One night your new recipe is awesome and the next a disappointment. Then after a few more weeks it is fine. Also a good reason to keep aging notes on your recipes.