OK, now I know I probably shouldn't be sampling a beer only a week after bottling it, but I usually open one at this point to see how it's getting along - both for carb levels and flavour. The most recent batch does seem to be carbed up, but the flavours aren't quite there. I did use hops I've not tried before (pacific gem and motueka) so I'm wondering whether they've added flavours I wasn't expecting, but the main thing I notice is that for a beer with over 2lb of crystal/caramel malt and 9oz of melanoidin, it's not as malty as I was expecting. How long would you usually allow for a beer to reach it's "normal" flavour zone and how would you describe the "green" beer flavour?
I may have been panicking a bit yesterday when I posted this. I've opened up another bottle just to triple-check and it's much closer to what I was expecting - huge head, big malt flavour, hops flavours in sync etc... Probably just got a slow bottle last time. I promise to leave well alone now until next weekend.
Hehe, probably a good idea. I always leave my bottles at least 3 weeks before opening. Even then, I still think the flavors aren't really "mature" until after conditioning at least 4 weeks.
I've always noticed that Ales taste best after 45 days from when the batch was started. If they ferment for an average of 14 days, that is about 4-5 weeks of time in the bottle. I do the same thing in terms of opening 1 or 2 bottles early! Seems like I do that no matter how much beer is on hand, and I always get that green taste.
I like this way of viewing it. In my case this batch was actually a 21 day primary ferment, so I've already knocked a week off.
That lines up exactly with my timeline too. 10 days primary + 14 days secondary + 3 weeks conditioning = 45 days
I think it's really beer dependent. For example, tonight I transferred, from a primary, a beer that was 12 days old. It was a 1.042 American Wheat. FG of 1.007. I tasted the test jar and will serve this as soon as I can get it carbed up. That should be no more than 3 days. So 15 days from grain to glass. I've done it in less, but I brewed this for a competition and had plenty of time. This may have been ready 3 or 4 days ago, but this was the first chance I had time to move it. The main thing to remember is to take care of the yeast and the fermentation. Pitch enough healthy yeast and keep the fermentation temperature stabilized in the optimal range for the yeast used. Using a nutrient can also be helpful in some circumstances. Breweries commonly turn their beers in 2 weeks. There is no reason you can't. Bigger beers and lagers will certainly not fall into this category. Bottle conditioning will also add a week or so to the process. By the way, if you don't keg, you should or will. Brian
Very good point! (dry hopping in the secondary would obviously add some time too....) The one thing I have found about bottle conditioning is, yes, clarity and carbonation are achieved after about a week, but a fully *finished* flavor only after about 3-4 weeks.
My solution is to brew more. That way I always have something ready to drink. Takes awhile to build up a stockpile of beer, not to mention bottles/corny kegs. The feeling is pretty satisfactory though, to have 4-5 home brews to choose from, all past that golden 45 day mark. I have my next 4 batches planned out and I'm all stocked up on Amarillo and Simcoe.
Agreed on the brew more... I have 3 carboys going right now, as well as 2 partially filled 5 gal, and a 5 gal oak barrel full... i might have a problem ... and my friends are going to be getting a lot of beer...
A Problem?? I think not. I have 4 kegs on tap, 2 full kegs conditioning in another fridge, 10 gallons fermenting, 2.5 gallons ready to bottle and 2 or 3 random cases of bottles around in case I want something different. Right now I'm feeling like I need to brew! What's next? Beer is good! Brian
FH Steinbart in Portland, they are hooked into Brewcraft USA. It wasn't cheap though, about $2.50/oz! Nitrogen sealed packs supposed to be really good for shelf life.
Yep! I've found that this is the best solution (in fact, it is the ONLY solution that seems to work in my case) I used to brew "as needed". But I found that when you are sitting there watching that ONE BATCH slowly come to drinking age .... at most only 2 or 3 bottles (sometimes no bottles) actually made it to the 30+ day conditioning mark. .... everything else was "sampled" between 5 - 20 days after bottling!! However, I now have about 5-6 batches of beer in conditioning at any given time. (the equivalent of about 12 cases of beer) This method allows me to easily let batches arrive at the 30-45 day conditioning mark (even when I have my friends over and dip heavy into some batches) It also gives me a wider variety of beer to choose from. And in addition, I'm not pressured to brew immediately. I can do brew-days that fit into my ever-changing schedule more easily.
