How Do You Store Beer Properly?

What refreshes you more than a cold beer on a hot day? Beer is a natural product and therefore a bit demanding when it comes to storage. So that your beer retains its aroma and taste, and you can still fully enjoy it after a certain storage time, we give you a few tips here.

How long can beer keep?

When does beer expire? Don't worry beer has no expiry date - if it is stored correctly. A first clue is the best before date (best before date). This is usually between three and twelve months and also depends on the alcohol content and the filtering of the beer. But your experience and your senses can also help you assess the shelf life. Since you cannot tell from the best before the date when the beer was actually made in the brewery, beers with hoppy flavors should be drunk faster. It can happen that your beer loses its aroma or the taste changes, even if it is still "good". Dark beers with a malty character, i.e., bock beers, or strong beers can be "matured" if stored correctly and can even be enjoyed years after the expiry date.

How do you store beer at home?

How and how long beer can be properly stored at home depends on a number of factors. For example, it matters how high the alcohol content of the beer is or whether you want to store a top-fermented or a bottom-fermented beer. But the ingredients and the processing methods used in brewing are also factors that influence the shelf life.

A rule of thumb:

Store your beer cool, preferably in the cellar or in the mini fridge. The optimum temperature for this is about 5 ° C to 10 ° C. However, you don't have to go down to the cellar for every bottle. Beer can also be stored in the refrigerator for a shorter period of time. It is important that the temperature remains constant.

Make sure that it is not exposed to strong temperature fluctuations.

Store your beer in a dark place, protected from sun and light.

Store your beer upright, because this will reduce the oxidation surface and the yeast will stay in the bottle when you pour it out.

Which beers are suitable for storage?

Because of their ingredients, some types of beer are better suited to storage than others. Top-fermented beer such as Stout, Scotch, or Saison are fermented for about three days at 15 ° C to 20 ° C. The yeast then rises to the surface and provides a perfect breeding ground for bacteria that are not harmful but can spoil the taste of the beer. Therefore, top-fermented beer should not be stored for too long and should be drunk fresh. Bottom-fermented beer such as Pils, Export, or Lager, on the other hand, is fermented for about a week at 4 ° C to 9 ° C. The yeast sinks to the bottom and the beer can be kept for up to six months or longer. In addition, the following applies: dark beers are more storable than light beers.

Beers with a high alcohol content, around 6.5% to 7.5%, are almost self-preserving. These include strong beers and bock beers. It is also interesting which new taste variations arise from the many fermentation by-products during storage. Aromas of vanilla or sherry in particular increase, while the bitterness of hops decreases, and the alcoholic taste becomes stronger. But be careful: after three years of storage, the optimum taste is usually achieved. Then the beer should (finally) be enjoyed.

What role does the beer type play in storage?

The type of beer also plays a role in shelf life. The more hops are processed in the beer, the more sensitive it reacts to light and temperature fluctuations - these primarily affect the bitter substances. The difference between a fresh, properly stored beer and one that has stood in a warm supermarket and then goes into the refrigerator can be seen after just a few days. Craft beer also has special requirements for storage, where it is particularly important that the characteristic aroma is retained. The cold chain should not be interrupted here, and light also harms the beer. Beer bottles that are in the store at room temperature have already had their best days behind them.

With some types of beer, so-called bottle fermentation should take place after bottling. This is triggered by adding yeast and a source of carbohydrates, the food, to the green beer. The post-fermentation in the bottle binds the carbon dioxide more finely so that the beer becomes sparkling and sparkling. The taste is also fruity due to the added yeast, which later sinks to the bottom.

How do you store home-brewed beer?

Correct storage is particularly important for home-brewed beer. The unfiltered condition and the still-active yeast cells in the beer ensure that it is sensitive to heat. A bottle can burst here. Therefore, as a responsible brewer, you should be careful not to interrupt the cold chain. It's also best to store it in a dark, dry place in the basement at low temperatures.

And the same applies here: the fresher you drink it, the better it tastes. With an alcohol content of around 5%, you can store your home-brewed beer for around three to six months. If the alcohol content is around 8%, you can even let the beer mature. This experiment is particularly useful for types of beer with a high proportion of malt.

Even with a home-brewed beer in a brewing keg, the yeast is not filtered out and the beer is natural. That's why the beer doesn't last long. You can store the keg unopened in the refrigerator for up to four weeks before it should be drunk.

What do you have to consider when storing beer in the hospitality industry?

If you serve beer from bottles to your guests as a host, the same rules apply as described above: cool, dark, constantly low temperatures. In many restaurants, the beer is served from the barrel. This has advantages because draft beer usually comes straight from the brewery to the host and is therefore particularly fresh. Nevertheless, a beer keg should not be tapped for longer than a week before it is used up and should always be under controlled pressure. To ensure the best possible taste, pressure adjustment and maintenance by a specialist is recommended

As a guest, the tip for beer from the tap: In restaurants you do not know, it is best to drink the beer that is sold the most, as it is in is usually the freshest.

Chilling the beer quickly - what should I do?!

Of course, especially in summer, it can happen that your fresh crate of beer was warmed up a bit during transport. Maybe a cellar cool beer is too warm for you to enjoy, but you forgot to put it in the fridge. If you still want to enjoy a pleasantly cool beer quickly, here are a few tips:

• If you value unadulterated flavors, you shouldn't chill your beer in the freezer, even if that feels like the fastest. It is better to have a cooling sleeve ready in the freezer compartment. You can simply put this over the "warm" beer. After a few minutes, you can enjoy a cold beer like this.
• If you want to have a barbecue party by a lake or a river in the summer, you can cool the beer in the water. Running waters are ideal for this. In a lake, you should sink the box away from the warmer shore.
• Coldwater is also great for cooling beer in a bathtub, bucket, or bowl. You can add ice cubes and salt.
  Bury your beer.
• Work with evaporation energy. This also cools your drink down quickly

Beer is not a princess and pea, but it still needs a little attention when it comes to storage. With this information and tips, nothing stands in the way of enjoying your beer, even with longer storage times!