Too cold to condition outside?

[lagerfeld]

Hi brewers.

I have recently bottled my Coopers stout into bottles and am nearly ready to move them outside into my shed.
This morning saw the first frost of the Autumn/Winter and made me wonder, can it get too cold in my shed for the beer to condition?

Do I need to insulate them?

I am not sure but I think water has frozen in there in previous years.

 

[JAK]

Hi brewers.

I have recently bottled my Coopers stout into bottles and am nearly ready to move them outside into my shed.
This morning saw the first frost of the Autumn/Winter and made me wonder, can it get too cold in my shed for the beer to condition?

Do I need to insulate them?

I am not sure but I think water has frozen in there in previous years.

Hey Lagerfeld,

You'd essentially be cold crashing your stout if you conditioned it just above freezing. Typically done for lighter beers to clear them up quickly, it'd just mean the yeast drops out of your beer much faster than normal and you'd have something drinkable much sooner than normal.

However... freezing your beer is obviously not very good!

 

[Joeyriles]

I would also be interested in the answer to this. I have noticed the first frost and ice in sunny Hampshire, today. Have over 100 bottles of various beer I want to condition!

 

[lagerfeld]

Thanks JAK

I think beer can freeze at around -2

What do others do to prevent this (assuming no cellar)?

 

[JAK]

Freezing temperature depends on OG and alcohol, your stout will probably get away with a bit lower than -2.. especially if its fairly strong. How cold is it getting in your shed overnight?

 

[johnnyboy1965]

It would have to be extremely cold over a long period to freeze a bottle of beer. Though not ideal a shed should be OK. The thing with bottled beer is that it doesn't like dramatic changes eg...big variations in temp over a short time..shaeds can get quite warm in winter and also quite cold. Try to keep the temp stable. Big boxes with small amounts of bottles. I know that this is sometimes unachievable.

 

[Hopping_Mad]

Don't forget, the remaining yeast in your primed bottles of beer need a similar temperature to primary fermentation for the yeast to work on your priming sugars. If you stick them straight outside they may stay slightly sweet and pretty flat as the yeast drops out and goes to sleep.

Some say two weeks warm before sticking in the cold. I haven't had beer freeze in my garage, even in the coldest bits of winter. Ask anybody on a night out in Newcastle on the coldest of nights - alcohol is great anti-freeze!!! ;-)

 

[lagerfeld]

Thanks for your answers guys, I think I should be safe from the sounds of it.

 

[buzzharvey22]

Don't forget, the remaining yeast in your primed bottles of beer need a similar temperature to primary fermentation for the yeast to work on your priming sugars. If you stick them straight outside they may stay slightly sweet and pretty flat as the yeast drops out and goes to sleep.

Some say two weeks warm before sticking in the cold. I haven't had beer freeze in my garage, even in the coldest bits of winter. Ask anybody on a night out in Newcastle on the coldest of nights - alcohol is great anti-freeze!!! ;-)

A fellow Geordie my friend.

We are actually experiencing a very mild and pleasant october and early november.

might not have to get me coat out at all this year

 

[Hopping_Mad]

A fellow Geordie my friend.

We are actually experiencing a very mild and pleasant october and early november.

might not have to get me coat out at all this year

I'm actually a Tyke, but my father-in-law is a Geordie.

Are you telling me you actually own a coat then?

:wink:

 

[Joeyriles]

Hrmmm, I bottled my Wherry a while back and kept it in the warm for about 2 weeks before putting in the shed. I cracked one last night (weekly Q.C) and it was very cold, and pretty flat (when swooshed around in the glass it achieved carbonation but nowhere near what I expected). Could the cold be having a detrimental effect?

 

[rats_eyes]

I keep my bottles in a shed in north east Scotland. They are sometimes a little flat if I open them straight way. If you let them warm up in the house a bit before opening they'll be great

 

[Hopping_Mad]

Ditto the above.

You can carbonate them a bit more then serve them cold (like that horrible feckin' Guiness Extra Cold!) or you can carbonate them less and let them warm up a bit indoors before you crack them open.