My first batch after summer recess went into shed yesterday. I would think around Christmas before I get around to drinking. As the year progresses so will the time in the shed, at the moment drinking beer started in January even odd bottle started last year. Heat can kill yeast but cold only makes it dormant so in shed it just takes longer to condition. Going to pub now and drinking local cask ales I now recognise the taste of a green beer. I now prefer conditioned beer but as a new brewer you will likely find the green beer quite palatable as that's what we drink in the Pub. If the beer got too hot while fermenting you get a bitter taste, however this reduces as the beer conditions, it will continue to condition even a year after bottling so if it does not taste as wanted just leave it longer.
What we have to remember is we use tap water or at least I do. So it is never completely clear of infection, so the fermenting has to be quick to beat any other organisms forget lager temperatures with tap water, and there is a limit to how long it will keep dependent on alcohol level the higher the longer it will keep. A year in the shed seems to be no problem but would be wary of three year old beer.
