Bottled Beer - Hokey Cokey

[Liam Galt]

I've bottled my first brew (Cwtch) and it is currently in the garage fridge. I'm trying to get it to clear up a bit as it currently resembles pond water, but tastes great!

Last night, I put my second kit on (Mangrove Jacks Pink Grapefruit IPA) and am looking to use the garage fridge to regulate the fermenting temp. or to cold crash before bottling.

My question is, if I take the bottles out of the fridge and leave them in the garage (where they will warm up) and then refrigerate again before drinking, will this have any affect on the beer? Can I do this over and over?

I mean, if you bought a bottle in the supermarket, they're at room temp.

Thanks in advance

 

[Dutto]

Hmmm!

Two things:

1. Letting the bottles clear on the shelves at ambient temperature takes longer than cold crashing it in a fridge.
2. Subsequent chilling of a bottle that has cleared on the shelf may result in a "chill haze".

Neither of these situations significantly affect the taste of the beer.

I'm a great believer in letting a brew clear on the shelf as I find that "Gravity + Time = Clarity". I also don't like chilling a brew before drinking but at the moment, with a garage temperature that has hit 26*C twice in the last two afternoons, I tend to get it out of the garage early in the morning when it's cooler and then sit it in the kitchen (at the lower temperature of 20*C) until I want to drink it.

This is a bottle of Belgian Pale Ale that was bottled a bit early!

To reduce the liveliness and thereby cut down on the amount of foam, I stick it in the fridge for a couple of hours before opening it and then let it sit on the kitchen worktop for an hour or so before pouring it.

I love the heat but it can play havoc with a brew!

BTW, the stuff you buy from the supermarket is generally filtered so that there is little or no yeast present to cause a "chill haze". Also, as a confirmed cynic, I reckon that they also expect you to chill it before drinking, so that you can't taste it! :shock:

 

[JonBrew]

My question is, if I take the bottles out of the fridge and leave them in the garage (where they will warm up) and then refrigerate again before drinking, will this have any affect on the beer? Can I do this over and over?

What's the ambient temp of your garage? You want to be carefully not to 'bake' the beer. Might you have a room or cupboard in your house that might be a bit cooler?

Staling reactions in beer are accelerated by warmer temps and slowed by cooler temps. If you google staling reactions in beer and Dr Charlie Bamforth you'll find the science behind it. I recall hearing that 'cycling' the beer in and out of a hot/cold temp environment is the worst thing you can do as this will rapidly increase staling, i.e. moving the beer from the fridge to your garage, back and forth, back and forth.

So if you only have a warm environment to store the beer, keep it there until you're ready to drink it then put in your fridge. That's what I do.

 

[Liam Galt]

Thanks for the tips guys!

Decided to get another fridge.

 

[Dutto]

...............

Decided to get another fridge.

Whoa there and think on!!

Maybe down on the floor at the North end of the garage it is a lot cooler and a lot cheaper option than buying a limited sized fridge; that will be used for 80% of the time to "heat" your brews!

Today, I have the unenviable task of cleaning out 4 litres of Merlot wine from 10 litre PB because it has turned to vinegar over the last two days!!

I've brought back wine in PB's from France for many years without this happening but the temperature in the garage hit 26*C a couple of days ago so I was kind of expecting something to happen. I immediately checked the another 10 litre PB (which is on the floor at the other end of the garage) and discovered that it was at 18*C so I'm presuming that it will be okay.which hasn't been touched

BTW, the other afternoon when I clocked the 26*C temperature, I had noticed that the blind on the glass bit of the door had been lifted about 20cm to let the sun (and heat) into the brewing end of the garage. At last night's "inquest" I discovered that:

1. SWMBO had left the garage door open to allow the G-Granddaughter to "... play spinning on that old chair that you have in there, but it was only for a few minutes."
2. SWMBO asked me if I could use the Merlot red wine vinegar for cooking!

Are there grounds for divorce that don't include infidelity, violence or desertion?:UKflag::UKflag: