Storing Full Bottles

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Strange Dog

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I understand that temperature control is critical for your fermenter, so I am considering buying myself and old fridge and temp controller to put my fermenter in. But then I started to wonder about all the bottles I am going to end up storing. I aim to have my brews in the bottle for a minimum of two months before drinking which means I am going to have literally hundreds of stubbies and longneks in storage (I have actually crunched the numbers yet) so I suspect storing bottles ina fridge is not going to be practical. Do I need to be as obsessive about temperature once the beer is in the bottle? Is it going to be good enough to just stick all my bottles in my dark, damp garage ?

Also, has anyone considered making thier own crates? I am thinking of buying a buttload of MDF and making boxes for bottle storage. I am also considering just buying some plastic crates from a $2 shop and spray painting them black to keep light out. Any thoughts or suggestions ?

Not sure if this is the right forum, please move if necessary :)
 
Is it going to be good enough to just stick all my bottles in my dark, damp garage ?

Yes. In fact thats the best place for them to fully carb up. just make sure they are boxed or enclosed so IF you have any bottle bombs then the explosion is contained.

Don't want shards of glass flying everywhere.
 
I carb mine up and them they go into the beer fridge. Buy 2 fridges, problem solved.
 
The % of fermenting (priming sugar) once in the bottle compared to in the fermenter is minimal. As long as it is warm enough to ferment, without being stupidly hot you will be ok.

Before you spend too much money on fancy storage boxes etc, consider kegs. Kegs are sooo much easier, and make the dreaded bottling day fun.


QldKev


edit: I remember lining up virtually 60 tallies for bottling day, now it's just 2 kegs!
 
cough... search function.. Milk Crates are obtained (Legally) cheap and fit 14 to a crate.

That said, damp isnt great... dark is.. anywhere with a steady temp is ideal.. My garage cellar (car can live outside.. beer is more important) isnt the driest place(a problem that must get sorted) from an existing design fault with the house we bought.. but serves me just fine with the amount me and the good wife drink

I notice that bottles that Ive somehow collected but dont really drink, (assorted leftovers from guests etc) the caps on some of them are starting to 'wither' a bit.. as they will probably end up with the local bums I dont really give a shit..but.. long term and my own beer, I seem to rotate the bottles I have (a goodly number) well and truly before they get to that point.

but yes... you need space to be seriously brewing... if you consume a goodly portion, the space requirement goes up

:icon_drunk: ;)
 
try to get styrene foam broccoli boxes from the green-grocers, they hold 18 long necks and help maintan a stable temp after you have carbed your beer.
 
I scored some 2nd hand eskys at a good price. They hold 12 tallies each. I thought they would be perfect: regulate temp, contain any glass and liquid from bottle bombs (touch wood - haven't had any) and keep the light out. Unfortunatley, one thing I didn't consider was mould. After a couple of months storage, one had some spots appearing. Hmm, maybe too airtight.
 
I scored some 2nd hand eskys at a good price. They hold 12 tallies each. I thought they would be perfect: regulate temp, contain any glass and liquid from bottle bombs (touch wood - haven't had any) and keep the light out. Unfortunatley, one thing I didn't consider was mould. After a couple of months storage, one had some spots appearing. Hmm, maybe too airtight.

My bottles live on the cold tile floor in my pantry. They carbonate well there, it is dark and maintains a nice steady temp. It's the best I can do without a keg system or a fridge big enough for 100+ bottles. Has worked well thus far.

JD
 
The % of fermenting (priming sugar) once in the bottle compared to in the fermenter is minimal. As long as it is warm enough to ferment, without being stupidly hot you will be ok.

Before you spend too much money on fancy storage boxes etc, consider kegs. Kegs are sooo much easier, and make the dreaded bottling day fun.


QldKev


edit: I remember lining up virtually 60 tallies for bottling day, now it's just 2 kegs!
+1
the very reason i switched to kegs so i can store a few in my spare fridge and is a great way to condition , storing beer at 30+ deg in a shed just don't work, great for making vinegar though. in winter i'll knock up a few bottle batches.
 
Milk crates are awesome, and stack really well. I think a stable, low-ish bottle storage temp is best. I've heard that for long term storage and ageing after initial carbonation, 10-13 degrees (ie, cellar temp) is best, but if you'll be drinking your beer within a few months, anywhere that's not too hot, and that isn't subject to sizeable temperature fluctuations will do...
 
I both keg and bottle and have stored my bottles in a series of folding crates stacked up in my garage. The crates, available at any place that retails storage solutions like Howards or maybe even some hardware stores, hold 24 king browns and I cover the bottles with two layers of old towels. Whilst the garage is west facing and can turn into the 'car oven' on a summer afternoon, I have found that low down on the concrete floor keep the bottles at the mid 20's as I have remote sensor from my weatherstation in one of the upper crates. In addition, when empty (which is a tragedy), the crates fold flat and out of the way. BTW, I sometime keep bottles stored like this for up to a year and they are still OK. The only explosions have been in the early days due to bottling too soon.
 
I've used cardboard wine boxes for years (decades), with no problems, as long as they are not on concrete, nor in direct sunlight.
Bottle shops are glad to be rid of them.
If I stack more than 3 high, I put a layer of timber between, for stability.
I just write the batch no. on the side for easy access.
An old wardrobe is an extra defense against light.
 
Does kegging speed up the aging process? I live in the pilbara western austraila in a town named karratha, gets bloody hot here at summer time( hovers at mid 40's for most of the season) so outside bottle storage is impractical so iv just purchased 2 pin lock kegs, I can age my beer in my house which sits roughly at 22deg yeah?? Good temp to age? But do I still have to age my beer for months and months before it becomes a decent drop?
 
Does kegging speed up the aging process? I live in the pilbara western austraila in a town named karratha, gets bloody hot here at summer time( hovers at mid 40's for most of the season) so outside bottle storage is impractical so iv just purchased 2 pin lock kegs, I can age my beer in my house which sits roughly at 22deg yeah?? Good temp to age? But do I still have to age my beer for months and months before it becomes a decent drop?
 
Does kegging speed up the aging process? I live in the pilbara western austraila in a town named karratha, gets bloody hot here at summer time( hovers at mid 40's for most of the season) so outside bottle storage is impractical so iv just purchased 2 pin lock kegs, I can age my beer in my house which sits roughly at 22deg yeah?? Good temp to age? But do I still have to age my beer for months and months before it becomes a decent drop?


If you are using CO2 to carb, and not trying to naturally carb using sugar in the keg, you don't suffer from that green beer taste as you do in bottling.

Force carb times will depend on the beer. Some beers like Wheat beers are best drunk as soon as possible, ie force carb and start drinking about 5mins after kegging it. I like most ales just a week or two after kegging, I find the hops best young. A big stout should be aged for months.

QldKev
 
So I can transfer my pilsner into my keg stright after fermentation and gas it then age for a week and then happy drinking?
 
Is this the reason for the helmet? .............. :lol:

.....Incoming!!!!...............Back in those early days it was safety glasses and welding gloves at 10 paces when moving some of my earlier creations...... :rolleyes:
 
Hi all,
This is my first post to this great forum from which I have learned a great deal. I have a great deal of respect for you guys (and girls) for sharing your knowledge and ideas. I have been home brewing for around 2 years now mostly just extract with extra hop additions and specialty grains. I am kegging my beers and whatever wont fit in the keg putting into primed bottles.
My question is this.
I have force carbed a keg with a summer beer (coopers mexican cerveza) but want to remove it from the kegerator & bottle the contents keg into non primed longnecks. (I don't feel like drinking this one in the colder weather as I have some nice darker beers ready). I was once told by a guy who owned a commercial Homebrew production factory where I used to make my home brew that once the beer in a force carbed keg was bottled, the bottles needed to stay in re-fridgeration. I understand that bottled conditioned brews can sit on a dark shelf for some time without spoiling, but am not sure that if I bottle this batch from the keg and store them in a cupboard will they last as long as the bottle conditioned ones or will they need to be re-fridgerated like the guy said. And/or can I just take the keg out and let it come back to room temp (Sydney) and will the beer still be good until the weather gets warmer. Sorry for the long winded question.
 
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