Expert: John Snyder - 10/2/2003

Question
Hi John
Every time we have a party my boss puts heaps of beer bottles in the fridge. And we have lots of leftovers. She insists that you can not take a bottle of beer out of the fridge to store it once it has been chilled. Is that true? Is that correct for both, bottles and cans? And is it bad to store beer bottles on the side?
Thank you so much!
Carla

Answer
There is no immediate problem with removing the beer from the fridge,and storing it,at room temp.Beer stored at room temperature,over a period of 3 months,begins to develop off flavors,that detract from the fresh taste,such as a winey,cardboardy,and bitter taste.These flavors are not harmful.Storing beer at 32 to 45 degress F,slows this aging process.Storing beer on it's side,at room temp also will have no immediate effect.Beer subjected to numerous cold to warm,then warm to cold termperatures that have been stored on its side will have a tendency to gush over when opened.In addition a beer haze will also form,again none of which is harmful.Hope this answers your questions