Expert: John Snyder - 6/17/2008

Question
John, a while back someone asked you about beer/ale storage and you replied "flavor,taste,and aroma begin to deteriorate in beer and ales as they age in the bottle.This is a normal process" Does this also apply to beer that has is being gassed
in the secondary process with its primary fermentation yeast ?
I.E, I've NOT removed the original yeast. I was actually under the impression that a good tasting beer takes at least 3 months in the secondary fermentation (packaging) stage. (after 2 weeks of natural gassing, of course) Thanks, Tony

Answer
Yes that is a normal aging process,for packaged beer.It also applies to beer that is being processed.

In the secondary process,the beer should be decanted off the yeast,prior to aging and gassing.One month is sufficient for the carbonation,"gassing"and maturation

Good beer transfer techniques,cleaning,sanitizing,bacterial control,all contribute to delaying that deteriorating process

           Hope this answers your questions

                    John