The Tall Ship Ale Company produces bottle conditioned ales or beer "On Lees" (On yeast). Since our products finish conditioning in the bottle, the beer has a built-in shelf life. It can be stored at room temperature (10--23 degrees C. / 50--74 degrees F.) and will continue to slowly ferment in the bottle, like a fine wine, for several years.

Beer Carbonation & Aging

Modern Brewing

Advances in brewing science have allowed brewers to reduce the time required to produce beer. Most breweries filter and carbonate their beer,  bottling under pressure. This is known as forced carbonation, when CO2 is actually injected into the beer. This allows it to be consumed as soon as it's packaged. Because no live yeast is left in the beer the quality begins to fade within months. It is not uncommon for manufacturers (or their representiatives) to rotate stock and remove old beer since it usually goes off in flavour within three months

A more time-intensive process known as krausening is another way to carbonate beer. By adding yeast and new beer to finished beer, a refermentation occurs in the bottle. The yeast sediment acts as a preservative and the beer continues to age and mature. This is also known as "bottle-conditioning".  The Tall Ship Ale Company uses the krausening technique to create bottle-conditioned products. The beers we create will be made to last quite well in the bottle, and some of our beers will be collectable the way wine is, coming into its own in 2 to 10 years. We build shelf life into every bottle of beer we make.

Over time, the yeast interacts with the beer, consuming residual sugars and changing the beer's ``personality''.   It changes quite a bit in the first six months, the richness of the hops fusing and blending with the malt flavors to mellow the overall taste profile. Then the real secret ingredient, time, is applied. The longer the maturing, the more fine and mellow the flavour.

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