Aging beer: Facts, myths, and discussion - Page 25

Curtis2010 · 01-25-2012, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seven

Go ahead and age your IPAs if that's what gives you the best results. My personal experience has been in line with what others have said about the hop character diminishing over time.

Thanks for the replies. Based upon those and reading a bit more on the subject, what I think I may try is a compromise: brew a batch and enjoy some of it after a more typical conditioning time, but also set some aside to condition longer. This should work well in my case because my girlfriend really likes hop amora and flavor, but not extreme hop bitterness (we've consumed many batches of Saaz hopped Pilsners this season).

The original IPA's spent months in transit so the end result should resemble something historically accurate.

Mabye next season I'll try a really big Barley Wine....

geezerpk · 01-25-2012, 05:41 PM

"but the hops actually mellowed out nicely after 1.5 years."
Well, as you might deduct from my screen name, I'm not really into 1.5 year aging techniques. Green bananas are just marginally on my radar. :-D

**midfielder5** · 01-25-2012, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curtis2010

I am planning brew up an IPA and leave it to condition/age while we are gone (about 6 months). My current version of the recipe (using BrewSmith), has an OG of 1.068, IBU of 55.8, and estimated ABV of 7.0%

If it were me, I would just plan on dry hopping a ton for 7-10 days after I got back (or if you keg, keg hop it). The bitterness will likely still be present, but little aroma/flavor.

MMachi · 03-15-2012, 04:51 AM

Resurrecting a long living thread as I haven't been able to find my answer searching. My question is for anyone with knowledge or opinion on the best conditions to bottle age beer. Is there any data on the value of bottle aging at 68F vs refrigeration temps? I have been brewing since October 2011 and have successfully retained 3 bottles of every batch for future tasting and wanted to make sure I am storing them under ideal temps. So far they have been at 68F or so in the same spot I carb full batches.

Anyone have experience with the ideal bottle aging temps?

Thanks!

Jboggeye · 03-15-2012, 03:56 PM

68 is not "ideal" I think the rule of thumb is that for every 10 degrees, the speed at which aging happens doubles. (so 68 means that your beer with age twice as fast as a beer kept a 58)
That being said, the entire subject is quite complicated.
You have hop bittering and aroma that will disappear faster, oxidation will happen faster, and any infection will be more noticeable with more time at higher temps. With good sanitation and higher ABV beers, room temp has worked well enough for me. it just means that my beers mature much quicker.
To add to the complexity of the issue, I always LOVE my beers 3 weeks to 5 weeks in the bottle, then they aren't as good until 2 months later. (omit hoppy beers from this, fresh is best)
Someone once mentioned bottle shock for wine, and I would love to learn more on that subject, and see if it applies to beer. There isn't very much literature on storing beer at room temp though.

To answer your question:
I don't have the ability to store beer below 68, so I would say drink IPAs within 2 months, and make a lot of bottle conditioned Belgian Beers, they seem to do best at room temp.

Best temp: low 50s for ales, lower for Lagers.
Too cold or too long drops alot of flavor out of ales for me. I like more character in porters and darker belgian beers, and I find that if I leave them in the fridge, some complexity gets lost. There are tannins that I don't want to drop out too quick. I like to let lighter beers (lagers, Belgain Pale Ales, APA/IPA...) sit cold in the fridge, as I want the malt to be clean.

In the end, If I could get a cellar for my beers, at 50 degrees, i would be a happy camper, and so would my beers. they would have a good condition to mature, but at a much slower rate than room temp- which is the best of both worlds.

MMachi · 03-16-2012, 03:30 AM

Thanks for the detailed answer. In searching a bit more today I found a BrewStrong episode from last August that cleary made the statement in that lower temps are better and that every 10 degrees compounds the timing. I think I have room in my tiny wine fridge to store these "aging beers" for a while around 50F, but if I run out of space I guess I'll just have to drink them to make room!

Thanks for the feedback!

skullface1818 · 04-25-2012, 04:14 AM

To comment on this one (because I am new) I have to say
28 days IS my typical grain to bottle time. 2 weeks to ferment, and 2 weeks to age.

sometimes I cant wait that long and have to refrigerate my beers so they don't foam-explode when I open them, but yea, that is pretty much the time tables I use for my beer.

If I juice my beer with sugar to bring its alcohol levels up, yes, ageing a extra week or two is a good idea, but on most grain bills 28 days is the time I should wait till drinking time.