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Storage help! She made me do it.

Posted: Wednesday Nov 08, 2006 9:50 am
by brad mercer
My bulk storage of bottled brews have been forcefully moved in to the garage. :x Therefore not the best temp for storage in the summer months I wouldn't believe.
Are they going to be ruined by high temps.. And what constitutes "high" temps? If anyone has been in this situation what have you done to combat the effect of high temps during storage?

Posted: Wednesday Nov 08, 2006 10:04 am
by rwh
How about those polystyrene boxes with lids from markets?

Posted: Wednesday Nov 08, 2006 10:10 am
by scblack
Mine live in the garage also - in a hot part of Sydney, with the garage door getting ALL the afternoon sun.

I keep my brewed bottles in the boxes copy paper comes in. The boxes that hold about four reams. They hold nine longneck bottles each, let no light in, keep them at a decent temperature, look nice and tidy, and are FREE. I work in an office, so get them when chucking out, and ensure I get the lids also.

I also write on the side of the box what number brew is sitting inside, so I know whats in there.

Posted: Wednesday Nov 08, 2006 11:06 am
by Chris
I like the WCPenfolds archive boxes- they hold 20 longnecks perfectly.

Posted: Wednesday Nov 08, 2006 11:07 am
by Chris
And I recon heat reduces the storage life of beer.

Posted: Wednesday Nov 08, 2006 11:12 am
by Aussie Claret
Brad,
To be perfectly honest, excessive temperature will spoil the beer in a relavtively short period of time, I have had the misfortune of this happening when I first started brewing.

I used to keep my beer in the polystyrene boxes as RWH mentioned, but the temperature in my garage in summer gets above 40c, it's bloody boiling in there. Anyway I found that the boxes didn't really help that much, they will help to prevent huge temperature fluctuations but thats about it, if the ambient temperature is 40c then you'll need to find a cooler spot. There's nothing worse than lovingly making a batch of beer, leaving it to mature to eventually have to tip it out.

I would seriously think about getting a big second hand fridge to store all your conditioned beers, and that way they will last.

Cheers
AC

Posted: Wednesday Nov 08, 2006 11:14 am
by Biggles
You could get rid of the missus and store them where you like but . . . . :shock:
:wink:

I guess Im lucky being the boss, I am storing the bulk of my beer at work, in a concrete walled interior room, that rarely gets above 24 or below 20.

Posted: Wednesday Nov 08, 2006 11:38 am
by brad mercer
Thanks gents... The easiest probably would be to move the wife into the shed :lol: . I have thought about the fridge option but I currently have well over 200 Stubbies and king browns to store. Losing some is better than losing them all I guess.... At present all stored in milk create, if I was to drape damp sheets over them do you think that would help?

AC you bring up another interesting dilemma I have. I'm proud of my brews and believe they taste pretty good, so do my mates, unfortunately they believe as my beers are cheep to brew its a free for all. The non brewing fraternity just don't understand the patience and love that goes into every bottle.... Just venting my spleen......

Cheers,
Brad.

Posted: Wednesday Nov 08, 2006 11:42 am
by rwh
The solution is to do a few batches of free-for-all beer. I use Coopers Bitter, 1kg BE2 and 17g Cascade @ 3 mins. Very tasty, and very easy. And everyone seems to like it.

I'd hate to see any of my batches of all-grain beer get plundered. When I add up the amount of time spent brewing them they're suddenly not so cheap any more. :lol:

Kit and kilo just seems like a cinch now though.

Posted: Wednesday Nov 08, 2006 11:59 am
by Chris
I do two cheapies- a Coopers PA, and a Coopers Real Ale with amarillo and cascade.

hey

Posted: Friday Nov 10, 2006 4:55 am
by 501
Well with damp towels there would have to be breeze to do much combatting of the WA heat down there mate.

Or if you work hard you could drink most of them by just after xmas ?
and start again making stocks to keep over the cooler months. hehe

Chris what's this real ale recipe you mention ?

Cheers
501
8)

Posted: Friday Nov 10, 2006 2:05 pm
by The Proud Anselmo
brad mercer wrote:unfortunately they believe as my beers are cheep to brew its a free for all.
I know your pain with that one. I've been trying to get my friends to chip in for what they drink, but tend to only get about $1 for every 10 they drink :evil: :evil:

This is the problem with homebrew, people either assume your brew is crap and think less of you, or they love it and drink it all! :evil: :evil:

Posted: Friday Nov 10, 2006 11:27 pm
by Tipsy
Aussie Claret wrote:Brad,
I would seriously think about getting a big second hand fridge to store all your conditioned beers, and that way they will last.

Cheers
AC
I've got an old fridge I gutted and layed on its back, works very well

Storage help,she made me do it.

Posted: Saturday Nov 11, 2006 5:29 pm
by mark68
I use my pantry for beer storage,but then again i don't have a missus.The tinned food goes into a cupboard in a spare room and the sachets and other things in my wall cabinet in the lounge.By doing this ,i have gotten enough space for 5 brews to mature at a nice comfortable 22 degrees. :D

Posted: Saturday Nov 11, 2006 11:22 pm
by brad mercer
Thank you gentlemen.. I have been able to score a beer fridge and the rest are in the laundry and bathroom cupboards and thanks to the mild start to our summer the urgency isn’t there. As for the “mates” brew, I’m trying a Canadian blonde with BE1 and 500g LDM (its all I had in the brew cupboard).
Once again, thanks for the input.
Cheers, Brad. ….