What exactly does refrigerating a homebrew do?

[lolcats]

Hi guys,

So here's my 2nd try at a NE IPA with Wyeast 1318 (hopped with Galaxy, Mosaic and Falconers Flight). About 10 days in the bottle i decided to give one a try.

Put one in the fridge for a few hours so it would get down to about 45/50F.
And it was simply amazing, color, flavor, and carbonation everything was spot on. Juicy explosive hop flavors, creamy mouthfeel, soft carbonation.

Since it was exactly what I wanted, i decided to put a few in the fridge hoping it would "freeze the current state of the beer".

However, after a few days, I took one out of the fridge/warmed it up to 45/50F and it was completely different (didn't taste as fresh and hop flavor was faded).

The only difference was a few days in the fridge. So whats the issue besides the RDWHAHB? What exactly could the fridge have done to change the flavor? In any case i'm waiting, just wanted to understand the chemistry...

 

[Turkeyshot]

I would say the fridge did nothing to your beer. I have a had a couple of homebrews that were the same way. They tasted amazing but in about a week the hop freshness had faded. It just means you need more late hop additions or a lot of dry hopping to keep that hop freshness up. But even commercial brews that have a lot of hop freshness start to fade in 2 or 3 months time.

 

[McGarnigle]

Refrigerating will slow down the changes in a beer over time. It helps dissolve Co2. If you drink it cold, it will numb the tongue a bit and mute flavors.

Is it possible that there were other factors involved, maybe something you'd eaten before drinking the beer? I can't see refrigeration being the issue. Maybe someone else has a theory.

 

[lolcats]

Refrigerating will slow down the changes in a beer over time. It helps dissolve Co2. If you drink it cold, it will numb the tongue a bit and mute flavors.

Is it possible that there were other factors involved, maybe something you'd eaten before drinking the beer? I can't see refrigeration being the issue. Maybe someone else has a theory.

Thanks for your input, that was my initial thought, since I had a Trillium IPA a couple hours before having my 2 home brew the second time. Could be that.

Can hop flavor fade so quickly? Oxidation? Could be, but that's really fast. Can dissolving the Co2 induce some oxigination if there's some oxygen in the headspace?

Or could be inconsistent bottles. I hate bottle conditioning.

 

[McGarnigle]

I wouldn't expect hop flavor to fade that quickly, nor oxidation kick in just like that.

The Co2 thing: you mention "soft carbonation" which could be unfinished carbing. It takes some times for the Co2 to dissolve, so most people leave the bottles in the fridge overnight or longer.

Personally, I like light carbonation. Co2 can get in the way of other flavors as well.

 

[lolcats]

I wouldn't expect hop flavor to fade that quickly, nor oxidation kick in just like that.

The Co2 thing: you mention "soft carbonation" which could be unfinished carbing. It takes some times for the Co2 to dissolve, so most people leave the bottles in the fridge overnight or longer.

Personally, I like light carbonation. Co2 can get in the way of other flavors as well.

Me too to increase the creamy mouthfeel. I went for 2.1 vol of Co2. So the carbonation is consistent with that.

 

[Soyben]

My guess it has more to do with that Trillium you had just drank.

 

[h22lude]

My guess it has more to do with that Trillium you had just drank.

I would think so too. Especially if it was one of their bigger hopped beers. Sort of like drinking a very strong coffee than trying a very light coffee. The light coffee will taste close to water just because your tongue was used to the darker roast first.

I couldn't see the hop flavor fading that quickly. I have made a few NEIPAs similar to the grain bill and hop schedule of Trillium. The hop flavor faded much quicker than other IPAs that I have made but not in 2 days. I'd say a few weeks.

 

[ericbw]

I'm going to be a curmudgeon for a minute...

Guys! He drank a Trillium a couple of *hours* before trying this beer. You think he was conditioned to expect something stronger and more flavorful? What about when he had the first one - what did he drink 2 hours before that? (End of curmudgeon rant)

The first one wasn't fully conditioned because it was in the fridge a few hours. It takes at *least* a day to get the CO2 absorbed so it tastes right, but a couple of days or a week is more like where it stabilizes. Likely the aroma was stronger because the beer wasn't "holding" it. The second one was "better" conditioned and held the aroma - not as strong, but might last through the drinking of the beer.

I have the opposite problem - my favorite recipe doesn't taste quite right when it is first carbed. It takes 2 weeks to carb, and then 1-2 weeks to really hit its stride. So the first glass is always lackluster. It also needs to be warmer than the keg, so after 4 weeks, pour a glass and let it sit for 10 minutes, and it's awesome.

But maybe you like your beer greener than others.

Oxidation and hop flavor fading in a few days? Seems a little odd.