Back in August I set aside a Belgian style golden ale to age on some plums and Roselare yeast/bugs. I made a move from my parents' place (where the beer resides) to about an hour away. With winter coming, I'm worried that the basement temp (~65 deg F) will be too low. I'd like to move it to my current location to keep a close eye on it but don't know how to go about it. I was thinking of purging the remaining headspace with CO2, plugging the carboy, and driving carefully. Anyone have any suggestions on how to transport conditioning beer? Or, am I better off leaving it where it is and letting it age for a longer time to compensate for the period of low temps? Any ideas/suggestions/comments would be appreciated.
A lot of breweries temperature control their barrel rooms in the low 60s, so no worries there. I’d just leave it until you are ready to bottle. Before I had a basement of my own, I drove a couple carboys of sour beer to/from my parents' house (~500 miles) without issue. Technically you are driving with an open container, so the best idea would be to put the beer into a purged keg and then into your trunk. Otherwise, inserting a solid bung and duct taping it on would work. Purging the head space with CO2 isn’t a bad idea, but probably isn’t necessary. Cover the carboy with a towel just in case you get pulled over.
I think you're fine letting it sit in the 60s as well. With most bugs you don't want temperature swings, and you don't want excessive temperatures either. As long as the environment stays somewhat cool and steady, I'd let it sit there until completion. RDWHAHB, and let it finish. The more you do with this one, the worse off you'll be. Wait for that pellicle to form and see when it drops, and you'll be happy you waited and let it do it's thing.
Thanks for the good info! I'd prefer to let the beer do it's thing with as little interference from me as possible, so in my parents' basement it shall remain.
