Beer Storage Question, is 30 Degrees too cold?

Discussion in 'Home Bar' started by bigbadwanger, Oct 6, 2015.

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  1. bigbadwanger

    bigbadwanger Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2015 Iowa

    Hello, I read that the ideal temperature for storage of beer is around 45-50 degrees and freezing point of beer is around 29 degrees.
    I just recently purchased a beverage center and unfortunately, the beverage center seems to have a pretty significant disparity in temperature range depending on where it is on the shelf, the bottom shelf reaching around 30 degrees (no freezing of beer so far, especially when the compressor is running).
    My question is for storage of beer, is 30 degrees (without the beer freezing) too cold for storage and would it damage the beer (assuming no freezing)?
    My initial thought is no, as the cold temperature slows down the degradation of hops more than if it was stored 50 degrees.

    Would love to hear people's thoughts on this as I'm trying to determine whether to keep the beverage cooler (4.6 Frigidaire beverage center) Thanks.
     
    #1 bigbadwanger, Oct 6, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2015
  2. Jacobier10

    Jacobier10 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,102) Feb 23, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah

    Your high ABV beers will probably be ok in there, but I would be concerned about any low ABV beers (< 6%) at 29-30 deg for an extended period of time. They may last a day or two in there without freezing but no guarantees. To be honest, I'd be concerned about storing any beer at those temps, but that's just me.

    http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/ethanol-water-d_989.html
     
    #2 Jacobier10, Oct 6, 2015
  3. pat61

    pat61 Initiate (0) Dec 29, 2010 Minnesota

    Go to a home brew shop or try Northern Brewer on line. They often have controllers for increasing the temperature of a freezer of a cooler to ranges that work for lagering pilsners. One of those contraptions would allow you to increase the temp into the 40 degree range. At 30 you are probably not hurting much unless the beer freezes. the main problem is popping the cap or breaking the bottle when things freeze.

    You can also buy one of those timers to plug the thing into and just turn it on and off every few hours.
     
    #3 pat61, Oct 6, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2015
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  4. bigbadwanger

    bigbadwanger Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2015 Iowa

    Thank you very much, I'm a newbie regarding storage of beer etc.
    Do you have any temperature controllers that you recommend or brands that's solid and not very expensive? My understanding is, that I plug my beverage center outlet directly into the temperature controller and the controller is plugged into the outlet and controls the temperature of my fridge. There are many different price ranges and brands on amazon, since this unit will be directly controlling my fridge obviously I don't want something that would fail.

    inkbird $40 and willhi $30 and johnson control $80 are some that popped up.

    This question may sound kind of dumb, but since I am running the temperature probe and wire into the fridge, will this impact the overall temperature seal of the beverage center.

    Thanks Much for the info.
     
    #4 bigbadwanger, Oct 6, 2015
  5. pat61

    pat61 Initiate (0) Dec 29, 2010 Minnesota

    I really appreciate the amount of thought you are putting into this. No question is dumb. Don't over think it. I had an uninsulated crawl space. I poked a hole in the wall, ran a duct from the crawlspace int my storage area and it kept temperatures fairly cool. I have also stored beer for years in insulated boxes and it worked out fine. You may lose some nuances but very few people will be able to tell what nuances you lost. Get Patrick Dawson's book Vintage Beer. He has a lot of good advice. No matter what you do, you aren't going to screw things up too much. Good luck. You are on a good path and it will work out well.
     
    #5 pat61, Oct 6, 2015
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  6. SILVER

    SILVER Zealot (668) Jan 3, 2007 Florida

    If you have a proper probe, the wire is so thin that it wouldn't really affect the seal that much. Not enough to worry about it, IMO.
     
    #6 SILVER, Oct 6, 2015
  7. Zorro

    Zorro Grand Pooh-Bah (3,258) Dec 25, 2003 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Keep it like a food fridge.

    33 to 40 Degrees.

    Personally I set mine to 33-34.
     
    #7 Zorro, Oct 6, 2015
  8. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    I like mine around 35 or so, if it's a stout it can warm a bit. I use a seperate thermometer too.
     
    #8 nc41, Oct 6, 2015
  9. prost2hefeweizen

    prost2hefeweizen Initiate (0) Aug 6, 2015 Oklahoma

    35-40 degrees
    in my opinion, if you keep your beer 32 below you're gonna numb the flavor
     
    #9 prost2hefeweizen, Oct 6, 2015
  10. HammsMeASAP

    HammsMeASAP Pundit (931) Jun 14, 2012 Minnesota

    Cold beer is good beer
     
    #10 HammsMeASAP, Oct 6, 2015
  11. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    #11 PapaGoose03, Oct 6, 2015
  12. bigbadwanger

    bigbadwanger Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2015 Iowa

    Yep, however there's a huge disparity in temperature from the bottom shelf to the top, difference being around 15 degrees. If i set the meter at 45 degrees it'll read around 30 at the bottom, which is scary. The fridge is not getting uniform temperature I'm assuming due to no fan to circulate the compressor fridge. The stock thermometer is reading the temperature of the top shelf and is thus hugely inaccurate.
     
    #12 bigbadwanger, Oct 6, 2015
  13. bigbadwanger

    bigbadwanger Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2015 Iowa

    Thanks
     
    #13 bigbadwanger, Oct 6, 2015
  14. bigbadwanger

    bigbadwanger Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2015 Iowa

    thank you very much for the recommendation i will definitely get the book. Im going to get a probe and see how that works out, just not sure if the cheaper ones are a big liability.
     
    #14 bigbadwanger, Oct 6, 2015
  15. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Instead of messing around with an external thermometer, I'd just dial that sucker up about 5 degrees and consider it good. That'll get you into a 35-50 degree range and that's good.

    Edit: Another cheap alternative is to keep opening and closing that door, i.e. drink, drink, drink. That will circulate the air in there. :wink:
     
    #15 PapaGoose03, Oct 6, 2015
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  16. bigbadwanger

    bigbadwanger Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2015 Iowa

    btw, i live in apartment, on some rare occasions, the power will go out before going back on due to snow storm or what not, does the temperature controller save the temperature settings even if it gets restarted?
     
    #16 bigbadwanger, Oct 6, 2015
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