Wednesday 29 June 2016

Beer Ageing and Flavour Change with Time

It's mid-week and it's time for some technical insight. Research in the 1970's into the stability of beer flavours led to this chart (attributed to Dalgliesh, 1977) which gives an indication of the beer ageing process. Bitterness drops off over time as the sweetness increases and oxidation starts having an effect after approximately 3 months, when the beer starts tasting stale and papery. There is a link between the temperature that beer is kept at and the rate of quality decline.  Refrigerated beer may be expected to last somewhere between 300-600 days before it starts tasting stale but this drops off exponentially with increasing temperature.  At 25 to 30 degC don't expect your beer to last much longer than a couple of weeks.

Beer is a delicate product and should be consumed as soon as possible after it has been produced. It should be handled with care and kept refrigerated (but not close to freezing temperatures) for improved longevity.  These are all exceptionally good reasons to support your local micro-brewery!




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