What tempature is OK to condition/store beers at?
I’ve stored my beers in the celler which has been cool since I’ve started brewing at the start of the year, but it’s now getting quite cold ( but not freezing) in there and I wondered if the beers will be OK to condition.
I have an old side-by-side fridge I condition in and serve from. The controller is set at 34 +/-1°F on the freezer ‘conditioning’ side. I condition clear beers there for several weeks until I need them.
For hazy beers, I condition in the refrigerator or ‘serving’ side. I don’t feel hazy beers need the cold conditioning that beers I want to clarify need.
I believe the beer only needs to be slowly lowered to 15°F or so below fermentation temp to encourage flocculation and condition.
Regardless, I simultaneously carbonate the beer under CO2 pressure as they slowly cool to draw CO2 vs air due to shrinkage.
I think it’s important to mention fermentation, maturation, and conditioning are three distinct events.
I bottle condition at 72°F for about 3 weeks. Then I crash the bottles to about 33° F for about a week.
I bottle condition at room temperature, which varies from 70 - 76 F depending on the season. But in the past I was conditioning in a closet that was 65F in the winter. It took about twice as long to carb up at that temperature.
I keg condition my beers in my basement, probably around 65F, for about a week then into my beer fridge at 48F for a couple of days before i start serving. I keep that same serving temp. My beer ends up at 50F in my glass