Is autolysis in bottle conditioned beers a concern?

Butcher · 03-20-2011, 12:39 PM

I have a Russian imperial stout that took about 3 months to taste good. Now its at a bit over 5 months and the taste is definately going down hill. Does autolysis change the taste of bottle conditioned beers? The beer is stored in dark area about low 60 degrees except a few that sit in the fridge.

theredben · 03-20-2011, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Butcher

Does autolysis change the taste of bottle conditioned beers?

Yes it does, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. If it tastes good now I would throw them all in the fridge and invite some friends over to drink them quick.

**Revvy** · 03-20-2011, 02:47 PM

Autolysis is not really a concern EITHER in the fermenter or the bottle....it's really a non issue for the homebrewer. THe idea of autolysis being a serious threat to the homebrewer is several decades out of date. It's nothing you'll really ever face as a homebrewer in your lifetime.

Your beer is either simply changing/evolving, or you have a late onset infection...but it's highly doubtful autolysis has anything to do with it.

In the Dec 07 Zymurgy Charlie Papazian reviewed bottles of homebrew going back to the first AHC competition that he had stored, and none of them went bad, some had not held up but most of them he felt were awesome...We're talking over 20 years worth of beers.

This is a great thread about one of our guys tasting 4-5 years of his stored brew.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/revisiting-my-classics-160672/

Nary a mention or worry about autolysis in the mix.....

**RiverCityBrewer** · 03-20-2011, 02:54 PM

I had a 10+ year old barley wine recently with obvious yeast sediment in the bottle and it tasted pretty good to me, so I would say that if handled and cared for properly that it is not a problem.

SRTBREW · 03-20-2011, 04:40 PM

I've had some high test brews in bottles for over two years that have already peaked but still taste good.

**Bensiff** · 03-20-2011, 04:43 PM

I only academically know what autolyzed yeast taste like, never actually encountered it in 7 years of brewing.

**AZ_IPA** · 03-20-2011, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Revvy

Autolysis is not really a concern EITHER in the fermenter or the bottle....it's really a non issue for the homebrewer. THe idea of autolysis being a serious threat to the homebrewer is several decades out of date. It's nothing you'll really ever face as a homebrewer in your lifetime.

I was dinged for autolysis by a BJCP judge. We talked back and forth and came to the conclusion that shipping bottles that admittedly (on my part) had too much sediment (I stuck the racking cane in the yeast cake for way too long while siphoning to the bottling bucket) over a long distance during the summer (they sat for several days in a 110*F heat in Phoenix) likely resulted in the autolysis "flavor."

So, under normal circumstances it's not a concern, but try not to wind up with a 1/2" of yeast in the bottle and don't let them "condition" in 100+*F and you'll be fine.