Your main concerns here are heat and sunlight, both of which are bad for your beer. Heat can cause oxidation, which results in a stale, cardboard-like taste. If your house does not have air conditioning, we suggest storing your beer on the floor of your basement during the summer months, or in the refrigerator.

Most people keep their house at around 68 °F, which is fine for storing ales. Just keep it out of direct sunlight. You may also store your brew in the refrigerator, if you have the space, ideally between 34 and 40 °F. As a happy medium, 50-55 °F is a good long-term storage temperature range for your ales.

Lagers, as opposed to ales, should always be refrigerated if possible. For the first two weeks after bottling, they should be kept at the same temperature you had it at for primary fermentation, so that the carbonation can take place. After that, the colder the better, so long as it’s above freezing. It's a good idea to keep your beer at constant storage temperature, so as not to take your beer through a roller coaster ride of extreme temperatures.