What should beer be stored at

Keep your beer upright to keep yeast in its place. Definitely not. A beer bottle with a hinge and a cork is trendy right now, and it may seal out air better than a standard bottle cap, but they should also be stored upright.

In addition to the yeast issue discussed above, placing a corked beer on its side also brings the beer in contact with the cork itself. That can lead to off flavors as the beer soaks up the taste of the cork. The bottom line? Keep your beers standing up for best long-term storage results. Most beers will last about six to eight months when kept in a cool, dark environment, though micro brews and home brews often have a shorter shelf life when it comes to optimal flavor.

The best you can do is to keep your favorite beers under the best conditions you can to help it last as long as possible. To do this, make sure that you:. Does Beer Go Bad? Does Beer Freeze? Crafter brewers have taken the beer world by storm, and there are at least four times as Read More. Dual Zone Wine Fridges. Light has a huge impact on the quality of beer over time and is responsible for what is known as skunked beer. Skunky beer or light struck beer , is where a sulphur off-flavour exists, which is very similar in character to that of a skunk's natural defence hence the name.

Skunked beer occurs when light-sensitive hops , which are the main preserving ingredient in beer, are exposed to too much light. During the research lasers were fired at three isohumulones; the molecules responsible for light sensitivity in hops. The compounds created from the process were then measured. In the real world, beer is affected by light which is between nanometers nm in wavelength the blue end of the spectrum , and ultraviolet light, which has a wavelength of less than nm.

When it comes to glass, brown bottles are able to minimise the effects of light strike by blocking out light under nm. Green bottles in contrast can only block light below nm ultraviolet light , while clear bottles have no protection against light strike.

It is for this reason that craft brewers use brown bottles as their bottle of choice during brewing, and why you may have encountered skunked beer when you have enjoyed a Corona or Heineken in the past. Light strike is such a potent compound that even parts-per-trillion can be detected and potentially ruin a beer. It has been said that clear bottled beer can become light-struck in less than one minute in bright sun, after a few hours in diffuse daylight, and in a few days under normal fluorescent lighting.

This could be an intentional flavour characteristic of that style of beer. There are a couple of different techniques that are used to skunk-proof beer in clear glass. One such method is to use a special glass that has been modified to block most of the light from reaching the beer.

Another is to use a hop extract, called tetra-hops, which has light-resistant isomerized alpha acids, in place of hop flowers to bitter the beer. This hop extract is used by a number of large international breweries which sell their beer in clear glass. The last method, which is more marketing than prevention, is used by Corona.

They encourage customers to add a wedge of lemon or lime to their beer, and for the beer to be consumed directly from the narrow mouth of the bottle, thereby hiding any potential skunked aromas.

If you are interested in learning more about skunked beer, try the following test. Take your craft beer and pour part of it into a glass, then leave the glass in direct sunlight for fifteen to thirty minutes. Smell the beer in the glass, and compare this to the beer in the bottle that has not been exposed to light. You should notice a difference. If you want to avoid the effects of light-strike altogether, however, there is one vessel that can do so: the wonderful can aka the tinny.

When beer undergoes the brewing process it is a living product, with yeast which is responsible for creating fermenting beer, active. Once the final product is created, the yeast has typically died off except for wild ales , normally through bottle conditioning, or pasteurisation. With the fermentation process complete there are now no, or few, molecules active in the beer. Essentially it is in a state where the beer will only degrade over time.

Temperature now starts to become a factor. Heat will accelerate the chemical reaction, making the natural breakdown of large molecules into small molecules occur more rapidly. For beer, this simply means in hotter conditions, it will age faster. The production of dimethyl sulfide DMS , which occurs at higher temperatures.

Light beers freeze at a slightly higher temperature of 31 degrees Fahrenheit or Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1. Once bottled beer is put on ice for an event, should any leftovers stay on ice, or can you store it at room temperature? Not Helpful 2 Helpful 2. Yes, for health and safety. By storing it above the floor, there is less change of bacteria on the bottles when serving and less chance of breakages.

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0. Yes, but not for any longer than a week. It needs to be upright for the best texture when drinking. Can bottle beer and canned beer be kept in a wine cooler? Also, the wine cooler set at 15 and It certainly can be. Just be aware that some beer is better if it's served warmer than that e. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Beer with high alcohol content should be stored at warmer temperatures, while beer with less alcohol should be stored at cooler temperatures.

Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. No matter what you do, some brands will simply age better than others and you will just have to learn this as you go. However, you can also benefit a great deal by checking out what others have stored and what they have to say about the taste after aging particular brands; do online searches for such discussions. If you intend on storing beer all the time, get a second refrigerator or a cellar space to free up the main refrigerator. You won't be in the good books if beer keeps rolling out with the daily food.

Home brew should also be kept upright, cold and out of the light. It probably shouldn't be kept too long though, unless you know what you're doing! Keep long-term stored beers more than 6 months in a cellar, not the refrigerator. Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Avoid storage extremes - both extreme heat and extreme cold will destroy the flavor of the beer. Moreover, extremes increase the risk of the beverage container exploding.

Helpful 5 Not Helpful 2. A good beer fridge will also protect the bottles from damaging UV rays. You probably keep your living room at around 72 degrees.

To allow for a longer sipping session, it makes sense to pour it on the colder end of your preferred range so you can enjoy it as it slowly warms. Real beer geeks will note the changes in flavor as this happens.

And if you take notes, you can adjust your storage temperature to keep any beer at your preferred temperature. To get the full experience, you need to have the right balance of cool refreshment and the warmth that brings out the delicate balance of flavors and aromas. Freezing your tongue with an over-iced beer will kill your ability to enjoy it as it was meant to be tasted.

This is easily managed by adjusting the temperatures on your beer fridge based on the style of beer you keep in it. One of our favorite beer fridges is the NewAir Beverage Cooler.