Beer is a very sensitive product. Even if you use mostly water to brew it, beer is still extremely sensitive to temperature fluctuations. For that reason, it’s better to have a clear idea about the right temperature range you should preserve beer.
When in the brewery, your beer is in controlled conditions; however, when bottled or canned, the beer leaves that protected area. Logistics can ruin beer when they don’t respect the right freight conditions.
We will elaborate more on the temperature the beer should have during transportation from the brewery to the supermarkets or liquor stores.
It’s not about the ideal temperature but the maximum heat that your beer will retain all the basic ingredients.
To offer a high-quality beer, it’s necessary to respect these rules and ensure you have the best possible beer. That’s the only way to drink beer with all the aromas and flavors you would expect.
What is the Maximum Time Beer Can Sit in Heat?
Beer should always be kept below 39 degrees Celsius or 90F. However, you may have issues with your refrigerator or simply live in extremely hot countries like the Arabian ones or the Sub-Saharan nations.
Generally, beer will retain its qualities if left no more than three days to such extreme temperatures.
For more than four days, the beer will start dissociating, and its proteins will dissolve in the water solution. That means you will have a funny taste in your mouth when you try it.
If you are lucky, you may not have such a sensitive nose or tongue, and your beer could be ok to drink. Most of the time, temperatures over 39C will ruin your beer right away, reduce the foam creation and affect the alcohol concentration.
What Temperature will Ruin Beer?
Every temperature that goes beyond 90F will ruin your beer in a matter of hours. People who have forgotten their beer cans in their trunk during summer concur that they can’t drink their beer after three days.
For that reason, it’s important to keep the beer in the best possible place and have a refrigerator close.
If you can’t have a refrigerator to keep your beer inside, it’s necessary to keep them in a dark place that has no more than 25 degrees in temperature.
Supermarkets and liquor stores keep the beers deep in their stores where there is no direct connection to the sunshine or any other heating source.
During summer, they prefer to place them where they have air conditioners. That’s the only way to preserve the beer and let it have the right taste when you finally drink it.
Is there any Issue If Beer Sits in the Sun?
There is a big issue with the beer’s taste and quality when you let it sit in the sun for multiple hours. Consumers who have been drinking beer on the beach could agree with that statement.
Leaving your beer can or bottle in the sunshine could be destructive to your beer quality.
Sun rays pass through the glass bottle and start warming your beer. As the internal temperature rises, the beer hops dissociate and attain a bad flavor.
That’s why it’s not a good idea to drink beer and leave your bottle directly under the sunshine.
The same applies to supermarkets that get their beer pallets and leave them outdoors under the sunshine. It could ruin the beer, and people may think it’s the factory and not the retailer.
Why do we Refrigerate Beer?
First, beer gets refrigerated mainly because people like to drink it cold. A chilled beer bottle is always more tempting than any other bottle of beer of upper temperature. Warm beer is something nobody likes.
Another great reason people refrigerate beer is to preserve it for a lot more months. Beer hops remain active even after the pasteurization process. That’s why refrigeration can keep them alive until you finally consume your beer.
After all, beer is not just another beverage with water. You need to ensure that you taste all the beer hops and grains inside the beer.
Refrigeration is the only way to ensure that the brewed beer will reach your mouth having the same quality as the first time brewers produced it.
Can You Keep Beer in the Shadow Even if the Temperature is Excessive?
The best way to keep beer in the right condition is not to place it in refrigerators. That wouldn’t be possible for big-scale beer productions since pallets cannot be moved with refrigerated containers or stored in large refrigerators.
The shadow is the best place to keep beer bottles and cans. Especially when you have a regulated temperature for the storage place, you may expect that shadow will keep the beer alive for as many months as the expiry date on the bottom of the bottle dictates.
Most brewers request that their retailers keep the beers in the shadow; otherwise, they will not entertain any new orders they have from them.
How Can you Tell your Beer is Ruined By Heat?
The easiest way to tell that would be to taste the beer. If you like to drink beer from the bottle or the can, you will know the beer is bad from its color.
Beer ruined from heat has a yellow color and is not the blonde one that you expected. It also looks a lot more blurry than the usual transparent beer solution.
When you taste it, the beer takes a funny taste. That’s why you will assume that the beer is ruined by heat and you should waste it before it gives you nausea or any other health issue.
Final Words
Beer is sensitive and can be ruined in a matter of days. That’s why you need to be careful where you place your beer and the optimal temperature and shadow conditions to have it.
Following these simple storage rules will allow you to enjoy the best quality beer you’ve ever had.
