Maturation advice please

[Vossy1]

Never having been in a position where I've had 8 cornies full I need some reassurance with regards to storage.

I read the relevent chapters in The Big Book of Brewing, Home Brewing (Wheeler) and The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (Papazian) and I've looked at 22 pages of search returns on the forum all to no avail.

I have racked to cornies and purged with copious quantities of co2 (sorry environment ) but will the kegs be alright at RT, whatever that may be

Also, I have no choice but to store my secondary at RT. As primary is over, will this lead to any detrimental effects on the beer

I have had oil slick type appearance on the top of secondaried brews at rt.
They all tasted great and bottles verions which were stored for much longer than the corny lasted, and have also proved fine

Any help much appreciated

[BigEd]

I think you will be OK, Vossy. There might be some slight extra attenuation after a long time at RT but as long as the Cornies were clean and the CO2 head is steady the beer should be fine. Perhaps that little slick is some oils from the hops. Cheers!

[Vossy1]

Thanks BigEd

[Scooby]

Perhaps that little slick is some oils from the hops. Cheers!

All my brews have an 'oil slick' appearance and I have come to the same conclusion as BigEd.

I also keep my beers at room temp through the whole process, obviously taking steps to keep the temp to a minimum and stable in the hotter times, and I don't think it has had a detrimental effect, that would be about 2.5 months max from pitching the yeast to finishing the cornie

[Soup]

Don't forget that at liquor stores, package stores, groceries, they store the beers at RT on the shelves.

I have witnessed the oilslick myself and was under the impression this was just residual hop oils?

[Vossy1]

Nice and simple there DaaB...love it

Cheers for the info Scooby

[J_P]

My tip for maturation would be don't drink it after a week in secondary

What's that growing in the pot behind your cornies Daab?

[Vossy1]

My tip for maturation would be don't drink it after a week in secondary

What's that growing in the pot behind your cornies Daab?

[J_P]

Upon first inspection it looked like some of them Jamaican Goldings they don't seem to stock them down the Hop and Grape though!

[Garth]

Daab, is it a Japanese maple?

At first glance I thought it would something else mind you....

Anyway, never mind the plants, this man has TWO sheds!

[J_P]

You're not going to go all Python now are you Garth?

[DRB]

DAAB Out of interest what temp does those 3 ice packs keep everything at and how long before you need to replace them.

[Ianb]

Never having been in a position where I've had 8 cornies full I need some reassurance with regards to storage.

Any help much appreciated

The simple solution is this. Bring the eight full cornies over here, and exchange thm for eight empty ones. You will no longer require re-assurance, and believe me, the beer won't last long enough to go off!!!

You see, we're all here to help!

[Vossy1]

You gonna withold my cornies if I don't

I'll find you

Did you get my e-mail

[Chiltern Brewer]

I'd aim to store below 20oC - try a garage or spare room on the north side of your house?

One of the incentives for me of moving to cornies was the hope that they'd be easier/better for bulk storage at lower temperatures and allow me to use an outbuilding. Plastic 30L barrels are so bulky to move, and stainless steel seems to keep a more constant temperature. It's also easier to wrap a blanket or duvet around a pair of cornies.

I'm thinking that I'll get some sort of box and use some freezer packs like DaaB (minus the water) for warm weather and use insulation for cold. At the moment the outside my cornies is at about 20oC so I guess the inside will be a degree or so lower? That's fine for warm conditioning, but I'd like to ideally get nearer cellar temperatures.