good thread on aging

[Gymrat]

This has always been my philosophy. I know the grain here is 4 weeks minimum but I find that is simply not true. I find that most of the time once a beer is carbonated it is good. And my beers are always carbonated in a week. I just sampled a 9% beer with friends that had only been in the bottle for 5 days and it was great.

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/ ... .msg241848

[swenocha]

A good rule of thumb in that thread... If you try one, and it tastes to your liking, then it's aged enough. Of course, I've had several that got much, much better with some months on them, and I regret that I drank most of the batch early, but for the most part, I agree with the assessment.

[Gymrat]

A good rule of thumb in that thread... If you try one, and it tastes to your liking, then it's aged enough. Of course, I've had several that got much, much better with some months on them, and I regret that I drank most of the batch early, but for the most part, I agree with the assessment.

I always try 1 a week after bottling. Last night I had friends over so I put a six pack in. Then 2 weeks out I put a 6 pack in my fridge. After that they kind of just sit waiting their turn. Ultimately most of my beers are a few months old before I ever reach the end. But I am going to be perfectly honest here. I have rarely ever been able to discern any difference between a 2 week old beer and a 4 week old beer. Now on SOME of my beers, after 3 or 4 months, that is a different story.

[John Sand]

And for the counterpoint: John Sand! What do you say John?
Well, I find that almost all of my brews require a month in the bottle. Bigger beers want three months or more. Some (Centennial Blonde and NB Holiday Red, for instance) are ready quicker than others. But I find most beers green after only a week or two carbing. Of course, if you like it, it's good. But I don't, and won't share them until I'm sure they're ready. As posted elsewhere on this board, I've recently tried several brews that have aged six months to a year. Most improved significantly.

[swenocha]

I have so many beers around these days that I rarely think about them until they've been in the bottle for a month or two. I used to pull a bottle a couple weeks in, but lately I tend to only do on new styles that I haven't brewed before.

[Gymrat]

Wheat beers and IPAs suck after 6 months. They are at their peak a week or two after bottling.
Stouts and most really high gravity beers improve over that time. I brewed my Wee Heavy to drink on my birthday in November. But it really is delicious now.
Beers in between, in my experience, are really better in between. My red ales are delicious at 2 weeks and really don't improve any after that. I could say the same for my brown ales and altbiers.

[woody]

I hear ya on the ageing of beers. some get better others don't. give me 50 more batches and I'll know witch ones of mine need time and witch ones don't .

[Gymrat]

I hear ya on the ageing of beers. some get better others don't. give me 50 more batches and I'll know witch ones of mine need time and witch ones don't .

If there was a like button I would hit it on this one! Rather than taking anybody's word, or going with the flow, check it out for yourself! I did.

[Inkleg]

Poured a glass of Conan's Porter tonight, I haven't had a glass in at least 2 months. Notes say I kegged it 6-18-13 and it just keeps getting better. I think I'll have a glass of my Stone VE 09-09-09 clone tomorrow, it was kegged 5-8-13. It's easy for me to be able to let the bigger beers sit. I'm brewing a RIS on National Home Brew day, May 3rd. Won't touch it till next winter. I'll enjoy my Ambers, Pales, IPAs and IIPAs till it's ready.

[jimjohson]

I got 3 bottles left of a collaboration with philm00x we call a dirty derby drank. it's been in the bottle since the end of last Aug. , and just keep getting better.

[mashani]

For me... generalizations....

dark especially roasty dark - wait longer.
hoppy - drink sooner.
low gravity wheat - drink sooner.
higher gravity wheat (weizenbock type) - wait longer, but not as long as dark roasty.
high gravity and not hoppy - wait longer. Beer will last for 2+ years and not degrade. Pipeline filler for sipping. That doesn't mean they are not good at 4-6 weeks. But they do not need to be consumed that young.

Sooner for me is around 3 weeks for 1.05-1.06ish beers. As little as 2 weeks for 1.04ish beers/milds/bitters.
Longer can be 4 weeks I try one and then I ignore the rest for a month unless my pipeline is thin. Subtract a week for bigger wheats. And then I just drink them as I feel like. Some bottles of high gravity stuff stick around for a year or more. Just threw a 2 year old bottle of Quad in the fridge.

I don't think all "IPAs Suck" with age, because there are different kinds of IPAs. If you are doing an AMERICAN IPA - hop forward - especially west coast style - then drink it as fast as you can. If you are doing a malty British IPA (bitter, but much more malty and noticeable crystal character and not hop forward) they can last a long time - that was the whole point of them back in the day and it's true now too. A more malty east coast style IPA fits somewhere in between.

So when I drink them just depends on what they are. I have a deep pipeline, so I can do that.

[jimjohson]

Things that make you go hummm. If high gravity low hop brews can last 2+ years, and a trip to india (via the cape of good hope) took around 6 months in a sailing vessel. Why did they need to invent IPAs? Surely England had high gravity, low hop beers to provide a "taste of home" .

[philm00x]

I'm certain it was in the packaging and sanitation, JJ. Back then, they didn't have cleaners and sanitizers that we do now, and the barrels that they put their beers in were surely laden with crazy amounts of bugs, so dumping the overload of hops into the barrels of beer made certain that the sanitizing properties of hop oils was enough to keep the beer from spoiling during the trip to India. We have cans and bottles and sealed kegs now that can keep all of that stuff out well enough on their own, and when they are washed and sanitized properly, they are practically impervious to infection.

[Rebel_B]

This has always been my philosophy. I know the grain here is 4 weeks minimum but I find that is simply not true. I find that most of the time once a beer is carbonated it is good. And my beers are always carbonated in a week. I just sampled a 9% beer with friends that had only been in the bottle for 5 days and it was great.

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/ ... .msg241848

Agreed! It is pretty rare for a beer to last 4 weeks at my house.

[swenocha]

I am pretty much in line with Mashani on my times. I have surprisingly uncovered some low gravity hefe that I didn't realize I had recently. In the bottle for a year or so, and it's awesome now. So, generalities they are... sometimes beers go against the grain. I can't drink it fast enough to drink my beers on the timeframe/schedule I'd like, so some just get to be aging experiments... I obviously need to get back into trading again, or host a party. I actually did host a party of non-beer people a week ago, however, and only moved 3 bottles of the hundred or so I put out. I was a bit disappointed, but some of the people who have helped my pipeline situation in the past were on a golf trip that weekend, so I was unable to move much product...