Fridge vs. room temp

How long?

 

I am doing the same dark closet, 72* looking for the first year of a multiyear storage

 

1-3 months should be fine for most beers. As you increase the hops, you increase the need for refrigeration. The fridge will keep beer more "preserved" based on most accounts, but if you're looking to cellar anything, it should be above that temp (how far? depends on who you ask) to allow for developmental reactions to occur.

On the Huna - drink it. Don't age it IMO.

 

The fridge is way better to preserve the integrity of the beers.

I'd find a reason to drink the Huna sooner rather than later, I and many others don't think that one ages well.

 

Fridge is much better. It keeps a constant temperature and dispite what some people say aging beers at colder temperatures isn't a bad thing. My fridge is around 40-43 all the time and mine are aging like champs. I was finally able to test my theory with an avery rumpkin (i put mine in the fridge and my buddy had his in his basement). We both liked the one in the fridge better. The flavors seemed to have blended better. I can't wait to see if it holds true on a longer aging than 6ish months.

 

I would put them in the fridge, and I would drink that Hunahpu soon.

 

To add to this question (hopefully I am not highjacking the thread), I wonder if I am doing my beers justice by storing them in my minifridge set to the highest temp I can get (48 degrees). I have a basement that will fluctuate from 63 to 75 degrees over the course of a year. Currently, all I have in the fridge is a 120, some bigfoot and some '12 parabola. I'd like to hear from anyone who has a thought on the whether to pull out of the fridge or not. I would like to have something available for future trade, as well as for vertical tasting in the future. I don't know whether I should "store" them or "cellar" them. Thanks for anyone with experience willing to share.

 

See my post above...fridge is best

 

Here is my 2 pesos:
Fridge- beer and wine will mature slower
Room(ish) temp- beer and wine will mature faster

As for the Hunah, I opened one with Barleywinefiend that was a year old- I was kicking myself for aging it, as it lacked what I liked so much about it fresh, but your experience may vary.

 

I've got beers aging in a cellar, a fridge, and a wine fridge, and have had no problem with any of them. That being said, I am deliberate with what I age. The fridge will slow down aging significantly, so with anything hop forward, that's what you want to do in most cases. But for 1-3 months, anything is fine. Even a double IPA stored at room temp will taste decent after 90 days. I wouldn't really consider that aging though. More just holding it until you drink it!

If you plan on storing for 10+ years, then a fridge may be the way to go. I recently had a 22yr vert of Anchor Christmas that was all kept cold from the day it was bought, and even the '89 still had some legs!

 

Sounds like you bought too many beers too soon.

 

I actually let high ABV stouts and DFH 120 sit around outside of my wine cooler just so they DO age. Three months isn't much, unless you're dealing with excess heat or rapid heating and cooling issues.

 

The other key element to point out, other than temperature, is humidity. A fridge is meant to dry things out and if the beer is corked could ruin the cork over an extended time.

 

That's what she said.

 

If she had to ask, you're doing it wrong.

Oh, and to address the OP: fridge. Better yet, get a second fridge, put a thermostat on it, and hold it at 50-55F.

 

I think I saw an article in Brew Your Own that showed that temp fluctuations caused the most degradation in flavour. By beer more often in small amounts and stick it in your fridge.

 

Are you living in my basement, drinking my stash? Stay away from my Westys! I seem to have similar temp fluctuations (59 in winter 75 in summer), same mini fridge, same dilemma. I have considered putting a timer with half-hour cycles on the mini fridge to keep an average temp of 60-ish in the summer, but the posts about temperature swings has me thinking that's not a good move. Anyone had experiences good or bad with using a timer to keep a good cellar temp in their fridge?

 

A cold fridge is good for sours and IPA's, but if you toss a stout into a <38 degree fridge, the heavier proteins begin to precipitate out, or congeal with other molecules, etc. Some stouts are affected worse than others obviously. I've ruined more than a few beers by leaving them in the fridge overnight.
Note: this is from personal experience, not scientific research. I'm totally speculating about the precipitation. I may have read it in an article at some point, but don't recall. Sorry.