storing uncarbed beer

[robbhud121]

So i made a batch of oatmeal stout that came in around 6% 9 months ago. I filled 2 Tap a draft 6 liter bottles with the beer uncarbonated with the intention of rigging up a paintball tank to the tap a draft system and carbing it. Well i never got around to it and the beer has been sitting uncarbonated in a closet with temps around 68-74 degrees. Just curious to see if anyone had thoughts on how long uncarbed beer can be stored in such conditions, would it be a bad idea to carb it up and drink it?

 

[Wolfbrau]

The enemies of beer are light, heat and oxidation. So the questions are: Did it get too hot? Did it get any sunlight? Was the container flushed or was there air in it?

Even uncarbonated beer has a certain amount of CO2 in solution due to the fermentation process. If you flushed the headspace and/or capped on foam it should be fine, as long as it didnt get too hot or lightstruck.

Edit: Note that even if there's not a huge excursion, room temp will eventually cause spoilage through natural processes. There's a whole world of commercial brewing science dedicated to "shelf stability." However, from personal experience I can tell you that oatmeal stouts stored in a reasonable environment should last at least 6 months, even at very low levels of carbonation.

 

[robbhud121]

it was in a closet that is air conditioned and rarely opened, so i don't think heat/light would be much of a factor here. I just realized I actually primed one of the tap a draft bottles because i intended to test the taste difference between natural and force carbing. So perhaps the carbed bottle will still be good? I opened the cap and smelled the uncarbed bottle and it smells fine, i'm going to force carb it and give it a try, i'll post the results if i survive

 

[Keith_O]

Good Luck!



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[duboman]

Sounds basically like you bulk conditioned the beer like if it was simply sitting in a secondary.

The concerns stated above would still hold true, oxidation from too much headspace being the big one, if the answer to those concerns was no then it should be fine


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