bottle ageing

According to Cicerone.org bottled beer if refrigerated will last up to six months, Unrefrigerated only three months and then off flavors can start to occur. I'm bottle conditioning imperial stout with an ABV of 8.5% in my closet which varies from 60-64 degrees. I plan on leaving it in there for at least six months. Should I have them refrigerated for conditioning? I hope I can upgrade$ to kegging in the very near future. When I condition my Beer in a Keg the same question I pose to my brethren, Should the conditioning kegs be refrigerated as well?

I am by no means an expert but I believe that foe higher alcohol brews such as your imperial stout aging will do them fine and I believe most cellaring occurs at 55 to 65 degree range. Again I am not really in the know but personally I think you will be fine letting them sit out and saving the fridge space.

Refrigeration slows aging.
Keg or bottle doesn't matter.
Some styles are best fresh.
Some are better aged.
I am drinking a stout now that I bottled 10 months ago and it is so much better than it was 5 months ago.
I had a 5 year old RIS that was AMAZING!

Depends what type of beer it is. If its a hoppy PA, 3 months tops before it needs to go in the refrigerator. Bigger beers will last (and improve) with time eg. IIPA's and IRS, barley wines etc. leave those un-refrigerated for at least 6 months

I've read every 10 degrees C half's the life of the beer. So getting it colder would really be best. Letting it cold condition would be the best but 60 is not terribly hot

Grimstad13 said:

According to Cicerone.org bottled beer if refrigerated will last up to six months, Unrefrigerated only three months and then off flavors can start to occur. I'm bottle conditioning imperial stout with an ABV of 8.5% in my closet which varies from 60-64 degrees. I plan on leaving it in there for at least six months. Should I have them refrigerated for conditioning? I hope I can upgrade$ to kegging in the very near future. When I condition my Beer in a Keg the same question I pose to my brethren, Should the conditioning kegs be refrigerated as well?

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Yeah cicerone.org should lose its right to "certify" anyone for saying some bs like that.

Thanks for the input, I'm gonna leave them bottles nice and cozy with the dust mites for the next handful of months. Amazing, that you could spend several hundred dollars to be certified by cicerone with improper information, When all the while, all the real life experiences are right here for Free!!!! Gotta love this medium.

buzbey said:

I've read every 10 degrees C half's the life of the beer. So getting it colder would really be best. Letting it cold condition would be the best but 60 is not terribly hot

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Where in Zeus' butthole did you hear that?!!

Here's some anecdotal evidence for you.

Beer #1: Brown ale, 5.25% ABV. Bottled in January of 2012. Beer has a little less "pop" than it did some time ago (flavors seem a tad muted to me)... but is still not only drinkable, but quite good.

Beer #2: Imperial nut brown ale, ~8.5% ABV. Bottled in April 2012. Beer didn't hit its peak until the end of 2012. Is as good now as it has ever been.

Beer #3: Belgian blonde ale, ~8% ABV. Bottled in April 2012. Beer hit its peak in summer 2012. Is as good now as it has ever been.


All beers stored at unregulated basement temps, which peak at ~65 degrees F in the summer and go as low as ~55 degrees F in the winter.


I say that Cicerone is full of caca. Some styles (Belgian strong dark ale, Baryleywine, Imperial stout) don't reach their peak for months (years?) after the supposed decay timeframe given by the OP.

tyzippers said:

Where in Zeus' butthole did you hear that?!!

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http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/475

buzbey said:

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/475

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I call BS on this.

The 10°C thing is a misunderstanding. On average chemical reactions double in speed for every 10°C.

I don't know, he could be wrong, but he is a beer scientist and ill listen to what he has to say over someone on the internet that makes beer for a hobby.

If someone on here has a link to a page that contradicts what he says or on beer aging in general I would love to read it!

buzbey said:

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/475

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When I click on this, I get a story about hot side aeration.

Ya its mostly about hot side aeration, but late in the show he talks about bottle temps

Here's a good primer for storing and cellaring beer. Kind of sums it up. These are the general guidelines I use. I remember reading another website about aging beer, but that was years ago and I, for the life of me, can't remember what it was called. Either way, I think the general idea is that you really don't want really high storage temps, but at the same time, style dependent, you don't want really cold temps. Of course this is a highly debated topic, so I give my opinion. If you agree with it, cool! If not, we can certainly agree to disagree and both be happy in our own methods if they work to our individual expectations!:rockin:

Cheers!