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Stupid Beer newbie questions

Bsneed51

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Feb 2, 2008
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I recently picked up a few 6 packs of HopSlam. Unfortunately they were all in the cooler at the beer store. I would like to let some of this age in my basement, just because I don't want to have to drink through it all this fast. My question is, once the beer has been in the cooler at the store will it be ruined if I sit in in the basement with my other beers and come back up to "room tempature" or do I need to leave it in the fridge? That brings me to my next question, if I have to leave it in the fridge, for how long can I leave it in there before I need to drink it?

I've tried finding these answers here and on BA, but I keep finding conflicting info. Thanks guys.
 
Raising or lowering the temperature of the beer will not change the taste. The thing that makes beer get skunked is the presence of light. Light interacts with the hops that are in the beer and it will get skunked if it is in the light too long. This is also why brown bottles are traditionally used to help prevent the light from penetrating into the beer.

That being said, hops also lose flavor over time and IPA's or very hoppy beers are not normally aged for an extended period of time. If you wanted to hold onto them for a couple months that is fine, but you don't want to age IPA's for years like they do some other beers. Hope you enjoy the beers and happy drinking! :thumbs:
 
Good question that I would like to know as well. I know I have heard that temperature swings are bad, but in the case of from cold, to warm, to cold once more before you drink it, I would like to know that as well. I wonder if it will be like a cello on or off debate.

Would your storage area be prone to seasonal temp swings?

I've recently started sort of collecting beer myself. The simple reason is there are a lot that I want to try. I usually have to get a 4 or 6 pack, and I am a light drinker. It builds up fast in my garage refrigerator. (Stop by anytime for a beer, Brent. :D )

One pretty consistent rule I keep seeing is that cool, dark, and dry is good, in any temps between 40 and 70 degrees.
The only other consistent information I have on storage so far is that "light struck" beer will cause what I know to be "Skunky" beer.
 
I think this is something we went over in this forum here awhile back, but since my daughter was born and my participation here has waned a touch, I see there are many new faces that may not have seen it the first go around. The whole idea of temperature swings being bad for beer is one of those persistent myths that never seems to die. I actually teach a "beer appreciation" seminar at a local college here, and without fail it is one of the questions I get asked most often. The first response had it right, beer only "skunks" when it gets exposed to light (commonly referred to as "light struck"). There is a chemical in hop resin that is photosensitive, and the byproduct of it's reaction with light smells almost exactly like a skunk (hence the term). As far as being able to take a refrigerated beer down to room temperature and then chilling it again; fear not. The example I always use in my class is the Coors Light commercials that advertise the beer as "cold brewed, cold filtered, and shipped cold"...then you go to your local liquor store/beer distributor/grocery chain and see stacks of the Silver Bullet sitting out at room temperature...no one thinks twice about buying it (other than the fact that it tastes like water), right? If temp swings like that ruined beer, you'd never be able to buy a room temp case of Coors. The only temperature swings you really need to worry about are severe (i.e., freezing or over 90 degrees...like the trunk of your car in summer).

As far as aging HopSlam goes, try it...YMMV. The first response is correct, though. Hops are something that fades in beer over time, so while the beer won't go "bad", per se, the "hoppiness" of an IPA/DIPA or other such hoppy beer will decrease over time, leaving a more malty beer than before. In the case of big DIPAs like HopSlam that have a huge grain bill to accommodate all the hops, it actually gets to be somewhat "sweet." I have a friend who really doesn't like hoppy beers at all, but her favorite DIPA is 1-year old HopSlam. Beers that you're going to age do so best at temps between 40-55 degrees. Anything colder than that will slow down the process; anything warmer will accelerate the breakdown of the flavor compounds, so it will "peak" and head south quicker. SO, if you want to keep a hoppy beer hoppy as long as possible (and aren't planning on drinking them quickly), leave them in the fridge...they'll last for quite awhile (though those types of beers are at their best when fresh...or at least how the brewer intended them to be). If you want it to age, pull it out and keep it at cellar temperatures. A beer kept in a fridge for a year will age considerably slower than one left at traditional cellar temps for that same amount of time.

Very few beers will truly go "bad," especially craft beers. They may oxidize over time (as the seal on the crown breaks down and allows air in), and the flavor may fade to nearly nothing, but unless you completely abuse the container, it won't spoil.

Good luck with your endeavors, and let us know how it goes!
 
Thanks for the help guys. I think I may have been misleading with my comment about aging the HopSlam. By keeping it for a while, I meant holding on to it until this summer when it gets warm outside. That is when I prefer a more hoppy IPA type beer. Right now I'm more enjoying bigger stouts, especially bourbon barrel stouts, and coffee beers. I don't plan on aging the HopSlam for years, just for a few months. I do have some beers down in the basement that I am going to hold for a while to see how they age. Stuff like Bourbon County Stout, Boulevard Smokestack Bourbon Barrel Quad, and Founders Breakfast Stout. I'm not necessarily new to craft beers, as I have been enjoying them over mass produced swill for a while, but I've just started getting into picking up some of the more limited release stuff that I wouldn't mind holding on to for a while to enjoy later, or share with friends. I've been reading and trying to learn as much as a can over the last month or so, but until I really start to understand it all I don't want to screw it up and ruin some of this delicious nectar.
 
Well, if you're just planning on holding on to it long enough until you're ready to drink it, my advice on the hop-forward beers would be to keep it in the fridge until you are ready to drink. That will keep it as fresh and hoppy as possible until the time comes to drink it.
 
Yep, if you're just wanting to keep it for the summer and aren't looking for the flavor profile to change, keep it as cold as you can without it freezing to preserve as much of the hop flavor as possible. That being said, Hopslam is notorious for the hops fading quickly from it.
 
Yep, if you're just wanting to keep it for the summer and aren't looking for the flavor profile to change, keep it as cold as you can without it freezing to preserve as much of the hop flavor as possible. That being said, Hopslam is notorious for the hops fading quickly from it.

Well darn, guess I'll just have to drink it all up then. Guess I better get busy. :laugh:

It won't be hard with this stuff. I think it's fantastic.
 
Yep, if you're just wanting to keep it for the summer and aren't looking for the flavor profile to change, keep it as cold as you can without it freezing to preserve as much of the hop flavor as possible. That being said, Hopslam is notorious for the hops fading quickly from it.

Well darn, guess I'll just have to drink it all up then. Guess I better get busy. :laugh:

It won't be hard with this stuff. I think it's fantastic.

Yeah, that's a great beer for sure. By this summer though, even kept in the fridge it will be a shell of what it was. Some people really like it aged, but it becomes a completely different beer.
 
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