Berkshire Brewing Co - Russian Imperial Stout

Discussion in 'New England' started by Gmr75, Jan 4, 2013.

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  1. Gmr75

    Gmr75 Zealot (652) Apr 30, 2002 Connecticut
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    I've become quite a fan, esp. for the price $5.99 for a 22oz.

    My question is, since BBC requires their beer to be cold in-store, and say on the label to keep refrigerated, can this still be aged for a bit in the cellar without issue?

    I'd love to see if it rounds out a bit with some age...
     
    NHhomebrewguy likes this.
  2. slangtruth

    slangtruth Initiate (0) Jan 8, 2012 Kentucky

    Berkshire is not pasteurized. There's a reason why you only see it in stores which keep it under refrigeration, that's the only stores they'll sell it to. I don't do the beer aging bit myself, but I suspect this is not a good candidate for storing unrefrigerated for any length of time.
     
  3. rowingbrewer

    rowingbrewer Maven (1,396) May 28, 2010 Massachusetts
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    I have stored it at cellar temp for 2 years with wonderful results. do not worry about refrigeration
     
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  4. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    The vast majority (of brands, not total volume) of "craft beer" in the US isn't pasteurized. Indeed, some (but hardly all) people feel that unpasteurized bottle-conditioned beers are the best candidates for cellaring.
     
    Gosox8787 likes this.
  5. beercules101

    beercules101 Initiate (0) Dec 3, 2012 British Indian Ocean Territory

    I actually emailed them many moons ago with this very question. Aging is fine and the head brewer actually has a stash of Holidales going back a few years.

    What jesskidden said. 99% of craft beer is unpasteurized.
     
  6. naloxone

    naloxone Initiate (0) Aug 7, 2010 Connecticut

    I've got a couple with a year on them, they are drinking delicious and I haven't noticed any il--braaaaaaains.

    You'll be fiiiiiiiiine.
     
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  7. beerinmaine

    beerinmaine Initiate (0) Jun 20, 2009 Maine

    I routinely buy it off the shelf, not refrigerated, when I visit stores in MA. Nearly all craft beer is unpasteurized, it's irrelevant to aging.

    I have multiple Hollidales aging in the cellar. Don't worry.
     
    Gosox8787 likes this.
  8. Gmr75

    Gmr75 Zealot (652) Apr 30, 2002 Connecticut
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    Being a homebrewer of 15 or so years, and aging a lot of my big beers, and also assuming most commercial craft beer isnt pasteurized, I should have come to the conclusion that it isn't an issue for non-pasteurized beer to be cellared.

    Prob. should have thought about it for 2 min before posting the initial question!

    Perhaps it's my brain getting eaten away from drinking all those cellared beers...

    thanks guys for the info!
     
  9. rowingbrewer

    rowingbrewer Maven (1,396) May 28, 2010 Massachusetts
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    Isn't all beer by default pasteurized when it is made? Boiling for roughly an hour is probably killing any and all bacteria and wild yeast...
     
  10. Gmr75

    Gmr75 Zealot (652) Apr 30, 2002 Connecticut
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    but then it sits in fermenters for days/weeks and eventually through a bottling system, and is susceptible to potential infections throughout that period. I don't know for sure, but I imagine beer pasteurization happens post bottling (?)
     
  11. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    There are two main methods of pasteurizing beer. Bottles and cans can go through a Tunnel Pasteurizer - basically hot and then cold water sprayed on them to bring them quickly up to pastueirzing temperature and then down again.

    And kegs, as well as some bottled and canned beers, can undergo "Flash Pasteurization" before packaging.

    In addition, some large brewers use the micro-filtering/sterile fill method (best known by Miller's "Cold Filtered" terminology), pioneered by Millipore - page down to "Cold Sterile Filtration". Not really "pasteurization" as such.
     
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  12. BleepBloopBlap

    BleepBloopBlap Initiate (0) Aug 19, 2011 Massachusetts

    Unfortunately, as much as BBC would like this to be true, it's just not. I will say that the better beer stores keep BBC refrigerated. All that said, I've never had a problem with a BBC beer, refrigerated or not.
     
  13. WkndatBernardus

    WkndatBernardus Initiate (0) Feb 7, 2009 Massachusetts

    Come to think of it, almost every store I go to has BBC in the cold box. They must sell considerably more beer because of that. Talk about a successful marketing ploy.
     
  14. slangtruth

    slangtruth Initiate (0) Jan 8, 2012 Kentucky

    I rarely get to eastern MA and maybe it's different there, but in Western MA, Central CT, lower VT etc. I have never seen BBC sold off the shelf unrefrigerated. I see their delivery trucks on the highway often, and they all look like refrigerated trucks.
     
  15. Jwale73

    Jwale73 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,942) Aug 15, 2007 Rhode Island
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    BBC RIS is solid for the price point. Try it as a half and half with Drayman's Porter. Had this on tap and it was awesome.
     
  16. omniscientcause

    omniscientcause Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2010 District of Columbia

    Some in boston that is on shelves...but for the most part I have only seen BBC in the fridge.
     
  17. Patrick

    Patrick Initiate (0) Aug 13, 2007 Massachusetts
    Deactivated

    Probably what helps them more is that the beers are great, and they are the cheapest bombers around.
     
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  18. Pahn

    Pahn Initiate (0) Dec 2, 2009 New York

    yeah. as long as people are learning to appreciate good beer (and especially if they care about price), BBC will get business. their whole line-up is great, especially when it's a subtle lager or pale ale (always ends up with a surprising amount of flavor and character). RIS is awesome too.
     
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