Letting Cold Beer Get Warm

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by kmello69, Apr 26, 2012.

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  1. maltmaster420

    maltmaster420 Initiate (0) Aug 17, 2005 Oregon

    That issue has been addressed. They noticed that the first batch of cans had too much live yeast and/or sugar in them, and if left at room temp they would continue fermenting and cause the cans to bulge. They pulled everything from the distributor warehouse from that batch, and yanked everything they could out of stores/bars. They ran tests on random samples of the new batch, and after 72 hours at warm conditions they are apparently good, so it started shipping out again today.

    As for availability, it's in Oregon as well as Washington. The amount of phone calls and emails we've been getting about this beer has been approaching PtE levels, which just goes to show how effective marketing and packaging can be.
     
  2. maltmaster420

    maltmaster420 Initiate (0) Aug 17, 2005 Oregon

    Meh, that's more of a "CYA" thing than actual need for refrigeration. I'd wager that the vast majority of craft beers are unpasteurized and/or bottle conditioned, and as long as it's done right there's absolutely no reason it has to be kept cold. It'll certainly extend the shelf life on the slower moving varieties if you keep it cool and dark, but that's about it.

    When you think about it, the whole "Live beer, keep cold!" spiel that's printed on so many craft beers is kind of an oxymoron. Yeast doesn't do it's thing at refrigerator temperatures, so if you actually want to keep the beer "alive" you'd want it at cellar temp or slightly higher rather than kept at 38 degrees.
     
  3. Orca

    Orca Grand Pooh-Bah (4,441) Sep 18, 2010 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Interesting. I haven't heard/seen much buzz at all about this beer, clearly there are a lot more hipsters in Portland. I admit, I bought a can for the sheer novelty of it—and I thought the beer was pretty decent for what it is (I may be in the minority, my rDev is currently a +22%)—but I doubt I'll be buying any more.
     
  4. jchoffman

    jchoffman Devotee (387) Jan 28, 2012 Georgia

    The funny thing is that I see Sweetwater at the package store kept warm as well, and correct that Sweetwater is non-pasteurized.
     
  5. hopfenunmaltz

    hopfenunmaltz Pooh-Bah (2,611) Jun 8, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah Society

    If the beer was carbonated the yeast used up all of the sugar. The conditioning room for a breweries bottling line is about 70F to insure the yeast consume the priming sugar. The gushing on highly carbonated beers is due to the pressure increasing with temperature. PV=nRT if the temp goes up so does the pressure.
     
  6. emannths

    emannths Initiate (0) Sep 21, 2007 Massachusetts

    Not really--gushing of warm beers is caused by the inverse relationship between temperature and the solubility of CO2 in water. PV=nRT may play a tiny role, but it's a negligible contributor.
     
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  7. hopfenunmaltz

    hopfenunmaltz Pooh-Bah (2,611) Jun 8, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah Society

    That is true also, yuo are probably right, but it is not another fermentation.
     
  8. maltmaster420

    maltmaster420 Initiate (0) Aug 17, 2005 Oregon

    There's the understatement of the day :wink:

    As for the beer, I thought it was a decent lawnmower beer, but at $9-10/6pk I'd be more likely to grab a 12pk of Session or some pint cans of Bitburger if I'm going somewhere that doesn't allow glass.
     
  9. stevecarp6

    stevecarp6 Initiate (0) Jan 2, 2009 New York

     
  10. stevecarp6

    stevecarp6 Initiate (0) Jan 2, 2009 New York

    hey, my big thing w/ my distributers is that they should keep the ipa's and pale ales in the fridge and the stouts and what have you on the shelfs.
     
  11. TheJollyHop

    TheJollyHop Initiate (0) Sep 2, 2009 California

    I'd be more concerned with beer kept at a consistently warm temperature suddenly being put in the cooler. The cold beer might fool someone into thinking that the beer was kept cool and that oxidative damage was likely not present. This could lead to the false belief that the beer was a miss, as opposed to the handling practices of the merchant were poor.
     
  12. RKPStogie

    RKPStogie Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2011 Minnesota

    I didn't think BMC beers could get any worse
     
  13. Derranged

    Derranged Initiate (0) Mar 7, 2010 New York

    How wrong you are, chief.

    I'm curious myself. I plan on buying beer from a place that keeps everything pretty cold and was wondering if it were safe to let it get to room temp then chill it again.
     
    RobertColianni likes this.
  14. OddNotion

    OddNotion Pooh-Bah (1,853) Nov 1, 2009 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Think about this, how often does the beer change temperatures during transit? Brewer to truck (possibly sitting overnight or during the day (could get really hot or really cold), truck to distributor, distributor floor, distributor to truck, truck to shelves. So many opportunities for temperature swings. I do not think moving from the fridge to the floor will make much of a difference. I would be more worried about the effect of light on the bottles in a place that keeps their beers near the windows or by bright lights.
     
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  15. bennetj17

    bennetj17 Initiate (0) Oct 30, 2005 Arizona

    Used to worry about this, but I've done it so many times I can tell you it isn't a problem.
     
    5thOhio likes this.
  16. BryanAnthMorgan

    BryanAnthMorgan Initiate (0) Jul 3, 2013 Kansas

    It's not an issue unless it happens often and/or with exposure extreme temperatures. Light however is a huge factor in the degradation of both beer and wine which plays a role in the use of colored glass for bottling.

    My girlfriend brought this up so I did some research and that was the general consensus as well as fitting with my own personal experience.
     
  17. Ri0

    Ri0 Initiate (0) Jul 1, 2012 Wisconsin

    So how do you think the temperature fluctuates from the time it is bottled to the time it is shipped from the brewery to the distributors warehouse, then to the store? I think we should only worry about frozen beer or beer that is hot to the touch. It has been in through a bunch of temp changes before it even gets to the shelf.
     
  18. RochefortChris

    RochefortChris Grand Pooh-Bah (3,017) Oct 2, 2012 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    People where I work can't get through their head that if beer warms up it won't go bad. I tell them it won't go bad and they pitch a fit and it drives me nuts.
     
    Lemke10 likes this.
  19. beerme411

    beerme411 Initiate (0) Sep 28, 2010 California

    Why did you revive a year old thread when similar threads have been popping up the past few weeks?
     
  20. xShoWTeKx

    xShoWTeKx Pundit (970) Jan 21, 2013 South Carolina
    Trader

    as long as it doesn't freeze or go too hot it does not matter I really don't know where all this shit comes from its not a big deal I do this all the time.
     
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