…but not a drop to drink!
As of last night, I racked the last beer into the keg. There are twenty gallons of fresh, malty, yummy beer and the urge to tap them early is hard to stop! I will say that as I racked all four, I took a hyrdometer reading and tasted them to ensure no batches were ruined. Now, I probably COULD have had one tiny sip of each, but they were so good I had a tad more. None is carbonated yet so I was tasting warm, flat beer and it was still good!!!
The only disappointing brew was the Scottish ale. It has lost the raw oaky character and is now very smooth, but it tastes too watery. Like a Michelob Ultra Amber: not offensively bland but still but blah. All kegs except for the Oatmeal Stout are force carbonating at room temperature. I had a heated argument (with a non-brewer I might add) regarding whether beer should be stored cold. I think I'll post on the forums to see if anyone knows.
If beer is supposed to be stored cold why is so much of it sold (and thus stored) warm? I’m not a brewer but even I can puzzle that.
Sold warm = cheaper. Cold beer is more expensive, thus less profit for the liquor store.
I know that… my whole point is that if it wasn’t ok to store beer warm, stores wouldn’t do it.
It’s not like you can buy warm milk. 🙂
Actually, milk is often sold warm in Europe. Most folks don’t buy three-week supplies of things in Europe, so it doesn’t need a long shelf life.
The argument was that I didn’t think storing my kegs cold was a bad thing. The other person thought that the cold ruined the beer. I still don’t know if there’s any truth to that.
Actually actually, about 95% of all milk sold in France is treated with the UHT and sterilizing methods. Think of it as the uber Pasteurization. Pasteurized milk lasts 4-7 days at chilled temps… UHT/sterilized last 6-9 months at room temperatures. So, their milk shelf lives are much much higher than ours. They are always prepared for Germany to go all elbowroomy again, at any time, so they can surrender, and still have enough milk to wait for their allies to come liberate them again. Shouldn’t take longer than 6-9 months!
As long as you aren’t forming any ice crystals, there is no way that cold ruins beer. No. Way. Trust chemistry and delta-entropy. Someone might prefer to drink warm beer… Just warm it up!