Van Dieman Brewing Refrigeration Tips

Optimal Beer Storage

Beer is at its best straight out of the tank in the brewery. Despite the quality of production and packaging, beer begins to deteriorate over time, causing its delicate flavors to fade.

The reason most beers have a best-before date of one year or less is not because the beer remains optimal for that duration, but because it often sits on the shelf for that long before purchase.

Immediate Refrigeration

Our shipping boxes aren't designed to keep your beer cold during shipment. Therefore, it's crucial to refrigerate your beer immediately upon arrival to maximize both its shelf life and your enjoyment.

Treat Your Beer Like Milk

Think of beer like milk – if you care about drinking it at its best. Without proper refrigeration, beer starts losing its delicate flavors within a month of production. By three months, there’s a noticeable change in flavor, and by six months, significant aging will have occurred. The beer will develop a papery, oxidized character, lose its hop aroma, and any production issues will become apparent.

This deterioration can be avoided if the beer is refrigerated throughout its entire journey – from the brewery to the retailer and to your home. Unfortunately, our logistics and freight systems across Australia can be inconsistent and costly, making constant refrigeration challenging.

Temperature Impact

Studies show that the aging effect of 300 days at 3°C occurs in just 30 days at 21°C and in only three days at 31°C. The classic Aussie image of a case of beer sitting in the back of a ute on a hot day is a nightmare for your beer.

Ensuring Brewery Freshness

We store our beer in our cool store at a consistent 2°C. However, once it leaves our doors, we lose control over its storage conditions. Here are some simple rules for purchasing beer:

  • Buy fresh, buy local, buy cold, and keep it cold.

  • Ensure the beer is refrigerated by the producer, distributor, delivery driver, and retailer.

  • Keep beer moving – don’t buy too much and don’t let it sit on the shelf for too long before selling.

If this sounds too complicated, remember we instinctively do it for milk – and milk doesn’t even contain alcohol.

Note

If you ever feel your box was compromised or delayed during shipping, please let our team know so they can help you out!

Thank you for choosing Van Dieman Brewing. Cheers!