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Is there any problems with storing bottles on their side once you have bottled a brew? I've got an old wine rack with 36 vacant holes that I thought I'd use but the book that came with my Coopers kit says to store the bottles standing up.

as long as you dont mind the sediment through your beer when you pour as standing them up to open will more than likely mix it in, im not sure if there is any issues apart from this as ive never heard of anyone doing it, but i would suggest against it

surely you can store them sideways hot & just put them vertical in the fridge - by the time they are cooled won't the yeast have settled?

the longer they sit standing up the more the yeast will stick together at the bottom, thats my theory anyway

Standing up is my vote for two reasons.

1) the yeast compacting on the bottom.

2) it takes up less space!

Standing up for sure. If you lay them on their sides and put them in the fridge hoping the yeast will all go to the bottom then you are in for a rude shock. Most of it will, but quite a bit will stay stuck to the side. Even some of my lagers that have always been standing have minute traces that you can see stuck to the side. I fix this problem by gently spinning them to disturb the yeast that has stuck to what ever tiny crevises in the glass it's found. Works a treat.

when would my lagers reach thier peak? tasted a couple that were 3years old with rusty tops,tasted a bit like a weird champagne

standing up is definately the way to go if you have the space...milk crates seem to be the way to go for storage, will hold 25 stubbies or a dozen long necks and they stack great.

Beerdrinker32 wrote:when would my lagers reach thier peak? tasted a couple that were 3years old with rusty tops,tasted a bit like a weird champagne

I wouldnt leave mine for any longer than two years, ( thats if any of them ever make it that far ) Ive heard in glass they are fine for years but in PET apparently the are only good for a max of 2 years, i have also been told in the past that homebrew has a shelf life of only 2- 2 1/2 years. i guess it depends on who you believe but obviously 3 years was to long for your beers

slightly off topic but the other day I tried a crown lager my friend found in his shed. Judging by the old style label it was probabbly over 5 years old and it was great. Still fully carbonated but it had almost a citrusy lime taste to it. Not exactly what I was expecting but it was quite good!

lethaldog wrote:

Beerdrinker32 wrote:when would my lagers reach thier peak? tasted a couple that were 3years old with rusty tops,tasted a bit like a weird champagne

I wouldnt leave mine for any longer than two years, ( thats if any of them ever make it that far ) Ive heard in glass they are fine for years but in PET apparently the are only good for a max of 2 years, i have also been told in the past that homebrew has a shelf life of only 2- 2 1/2 years. i guess it depends on who you believe but obviously 3 years was to long for your beers

I've been buying bottles off net and out of the ads in paper and some blokes have had some beer left in them .

They were generally 5 years old and all tasted like rusty water.
I've had some at 13 Months and they were fantastic

Also just one final time Emo .......Stand your bottles up, less shite in them and the yeast sticks to bottom after a while.

I've cleared off some crap on the shelves in the garage and I've moved the beer there.

In addition to putting on a good quality Xmas party for the guys at work each year, we also buy a couple of cartons of XXXX, one heavy & one Gold, to enjoy (?) after finishing work last day before Xmas.

A six pack of XXXX heavy purchased Dec 04 survived in staff room fridge until Dec 05. Transport industry - we don't normally drink until we get home!

So, last day before Xmas 05, one of the guys, thinking he was doing the right thing, distributed the 04 stubbies amongst the heavy beer drinkers.

Absolutely revolting! And all the heavy beer drinkers concurred!

XXXX is revolting at the best of times, but most Qlders love it! But not this 12 month old brew! Didn't note the Best Before date, but from memory it was newly brewed when purchased in 04, and was kept refrigerated.

Oops! Had to edit this! Was rererring to "heavy beer drinkers" as "heavy drinkers". That may have created the wrong impression.

Earlier this year a mate found some old home brew bottles (full) in his garage. The caps were dated with months in either 1997 and 1999. Still great drinking - a dark ale and something like a real ale. Is that a record?

Homebrew lasts much longer than commercial beer due to the live yeast and, if kept out of light and with stable temps, should last for years. In fact, you really can treat it much like wine in this respect.

The yeast continue to condition the beer, removing more of the undesirables, and converting them into nice tasting things as well as a little more alcohol. They consume any oxygen that enters the bottle, preventing spoilage. In contrast, commercial beer (with the exception of Coopers et al) are best on the day they come out of the brewery.

How long you should keep your beer for ideal taste is a matter of opinion, and also varies with the style of beer. Generally speaking, the stronger the beer, the longer it should last, and in fact the longer until it tastes best. For example, check out Oliver and Geoff's Millenium Ale Project.