The effect on carbonation of sticking bottled beer in the fridge - does it reverse at room temp?

[TomFromEnfield]

Hi All

I've got some bottles of stout that I bottled a couple of weeks ago using table sugar, they were bottled to 2.3 volumes of CO2 with boiled sugar added directly to the bottling bucket. Since bottling they've been stored at room temperature (about 20c).

I opened a couple yesterday (at room temp - I quite like a room temp stout) and when I opened the bottles that were a little foamy with some of the foam spilling over the top of the bottle. Then when poured the beer seemed a little flat.

I know if I stick them in the fridge the beer will absorb more of the CO2 and that I expect will stop the foaming. I was curious if that extra CO2 that gets absorbed into the beer in the fridge stays in the beer if I then took the beer out of the fridge and stored it back at room temperature? As it's in a pressurised bottle does the CO2 that gets into the beer when cold then remain in the beer even when brought back up to room temp? Or would bringing it back up to room temperature simply reverse the process and the CO2 gradually dissipate back into the headspace in the bottle?

The reason I'm asking is I don't want to drink all of this beer now but I could rotate the batch through the fridge and then put the beers back into storage at room temperature if I thought this would have a lasting effect on the amount of CO2 in the beer. Or should I just give the whole lot more time at room temperature and hope more of the CO2 gets absorbed into the beer?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[terrym]

It won't make any difference how you store your beer to the final result when you pour it, since the quantity of CO2 in the bottle is constant and the amount in the headspace is very small compared to that which is dissolved, so the bulk of the CO2 is dissolved in the beer and doesn't change by very much irrespective of temperature But if you serve cold it will be more reluctant to give up its CO2 compared to when served warm. And if beer foams at pouring you lose CO2 and so that much is lost as dissolved 'fizziness', so when things die down the beer will appear slightly flat. So if you want lots of fizziness in your beer but not much foam serve it cold, but the long term storage beforehand will make no difference at pouring time.
Hope this helps.

 

[TomFromEnfield]

Cheers Terry that's useful. I was assuming the temperature had a greater affect on the amount of dissolved CO2.

 

[terrym]

Cheers Terry that's useful. I was assuming the temperature had a greater affect on the amount of dissolved CO2.

In general terms your assumption is correct for a sealed system where the volume of the headspace is significant, but as that headspace decreases the effect is increasingly less significant until it gets to bottle size when doesn't play much part at all.
Well that's my take on it.

 

[Dutto]

The words "Stout" and "two weeks" rings a few bells; even though I don't particularly like Stout.

I normally use the 2+2+2 method and for a Stout (usually brewed for a mate) I add at least a week on to each of the last two stages. In other words, for me, from bottling to trying it out would be at least six weeks.

 

[phildo79]

The words "Stout" and "two weeks" rings a few bells; even though I don't particularly like Stout.

I normally use the 2+2+2 method and for a Stout (usually brewed for a mate) I add at least a week on to each of the last two stages. In other words, for me, from bottling to trying it out would be at least six weeks.

Wow, that's a long time. My beers, from yeast pitch to drinking, are lucky if they see 2 weeks in total. Of course, if I feel like they could do with a little longer, I leave them. But I guess that is another advantage of kegs. You can pour yourself a small sample. If all you have is bottles, you don't really want to be wasting them if they aren't ready.

 

[Dutto]

Wow, that's a long time. My beers, from yeast pitch to drinking, are lucky if they see 2 weeks in total. Of course, if I feel like they could do with a little longer, I leave them. But I guess that is another advantage of kegs. You can pour yourself a small sample. If all you have is bottles, you don't really want to be wasting them if they aren't ready.

Maybe you haven't yet reached "Critical Mass"? This is the time when you have so many brews conditioned and ready to drink that you can sit back and relax while you decide on your next brew.

The very worse thing to happen is to pour a brew and think "My God that was superb!" and then realise that it was the last bottle in the batch and they could have all tasted that good if only you had waited.

Brewing is a bit like ***. Hurrying the process and coming first doesn't always mean that you have won!

Enjoy!

 

[dad_of_jon]

[QUOTE="

Brewing is a bit like ***. Hurrying the process and coming first doesn't always mean that you have won!

Enjoy![/QUOTE]

 

[phildo79]

The very worse thing to happen is to pour a brew and think "My God that was superb!" and then realise that it was the last bottle in the batch and they could have all tasted that good if only you had waited.

I will quite happily leave them in the keg until I feel they are good enough to drink. It's just that after 2 weeks, they are normally more than good enough to drink.

I did make a sarsaparilla stout that took ages to peak. Must have been in the keg at least 3 months. It was very good but as I was getting near the end, it became excellent. But with an unusual beer like that, it's difficult to know how it will turn out over time. I actually found the last bottle of it a few weeks ago and tried it. It was 8 months old and the flavour had really faded. Now that really is annoying, when you let that happen to a batch...which I have done.

 

[An Ankoù]

The words "Stout" and "two weeks" rings a few bells; even though I don't particularly like Stout.

I normally use the 2+2+2 method and for a Stout (usually brewed for a mate) I add at least a week on to each of the last two stages. In other words, for me, from bottling to trying it out would be at least six weeks.

I agree with Dutto. Stout can often be more full bodied than other beers and some of this "body" can be fermented very slowly over time giving you a bit more carbonation. To return to your original question, and without contradicting what terrym has said, you note that the beer fizzes and foams over when you open it at room temperature and this means the gas is being lost to the atmosphere. Cooler beer will retain more of the gas in solution, but cooling it and warming it again won't make any difference- you'll have to drink it cool.
I recently made an oatmeal stout which is well-carbonated and pours with a nice head which immediately disappears. I'm beginning to suspect that it's some quality of the oats that is causing this.
What was your recipe, by the way?

 

[TomFromEnfield]

I agree with Dutto. Stout can often be more full bodied than other beers and some of this "body" can be fermented very slowly over time giving you a bit more carbonation. To return to your original question, and without contradicting what terrym has said, you note that the beer fizzes and foams over when you open it at room temperature and this means the gas is being lost to the atmosphere. Cooler beer will retain more of the gas in solution, but cooling it and warming it again won't make any difference- you'll have to drink it cool.
I recently made an oatmeal stout which is well-carbonated and pours with a nice head which immediately disappears. I'm beginning to suspect that it's some quality of the oats that is causing this.
What was your recipe, by the way?

Hi Anjou

Thanks for this. This was also an Oatmeal stout. I haven't got the exact recipe at hand but it was base Maris Otter, Oats and wheat in equal measure and some crystal.

 

[An Ankoù]

Hi Anjou

Thanks for this. This was also an Oatmeal stout. I haven't got the exact recipe at hand but it was base Maris Otter, Oats and wheat in equal measure and some crystal.

Sounds very much like mine!