Age Vs Maintain

Yes, storing beers at a lower temperatures slows the aging process, relative to storing at a higher temperature.

 

Has anyone ever had two beers side by side cellared at different temperatures? Would keeping beer at 34 deg F. possibly ruin beer over time?

 

I wouldn't think it could ruin the beer--just slow the aging process to a crawl. If it's a corked beer, long-term refrigeration may cause problems, I read. Beyond that, I can't think of any concerns that aren't also present in aging at cellar temps.

 

My guess is there's something that happens with the tannins and esters at a certain temperature, or something chemically that happens at a certain threshold of heat.

 

People enjoy how certain beers change over time. For IPAs, obviously, these changes from aging are not desirable. So, most BAs would recommend storing these beers cold and consuming them as soon as possible. For beers such as lambics, imperial stouts, or barleywines, many BAs prefer the beer after some of the changes have occurred. So, they will store the beer between 55 and 60 (really probably 70 haha) and enjoy the beer later. They often have one fresh and one aged to compare how flavors change. If they enjoy the cellared beer, they age more of it! If they aged these beers in the fridge, it would take a lot longer for the desired flavor changes to develop.

 

That's an interesting question, but one I am entirely unable to guess at.

 

keep it in the fridge if you want it to change as little as possible over time

 

Yup, if you want it truly age, you stick it in a cellar or cool/dark closet. If you want it to have close to its current characteristics when you drink it, put it in the fridge and don`t wait that long to enjoy it.

 

I guess the idea is that not all beers "fall off" as they age. Certain beers get better for some period of time. If you expect a beer to get better, then you'd like it to happen more quickly, so you store it at cellar temperatures. If you do not expect a beer to get better with age, then you store it in the fridge.

 

similar to how you bake a pizza at 425 f to get a crispier crust and at 400 f to get a softer one, aging at 34 f vs. 55 f is going to make a big difference in which characteristics change and dominate over others. it's going to be a matter of preference, assuming there aren't things like bottle variation skewing the results from the beginning.

 

Are you sure you're not mixing up "aging" with "storing"? I only ask because if it were true that colder is better for aging, everyone would just keep their beer in the fridge.

 

My final thoughts: 1. No one really ages this way, so there's no certain way to tell. Even anecdotal evidence is hard to come by (as seen in this thread). 2. Aging at these low temperatures would take much longer than aging at traditional cellar temperatures (no, I do not have a time conversion estimate). So, it would be very difficult to compare the two processes--how old of a fridge stored bottle would you compare with a one year old cellared bottle? No one could advise you to that.

All I can say for certain is: 1. The traditionally cellared bottle would evolve faster, reaching its peak at some time that you may be able to determine from reading reviews and cellaring threads. 2. The fridge stored bottle would take longer to "fall off," but it would be harder to keep the bottle to reach its peak (due to discipline in not drinking, but more importantly no idea about how quickly the aging process will evolve).

There is a lot of guess work in cellaring, but some general guidelines/best practices have evolved over the years. By fridge storing, you rob yourself of that knowledge and enter the great unknown.

 

I've always understood it as the colder it is the longer the beer will remain the same, so if you are looking for changes in your beer over time you cellar at higher temperatures (compared to refrigeration).