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Loup · 11-03-2010, 03:14 AM

I must confess that I had kind of stopped drinking my own homebrew for a while. I had gotten tired of bottling, so I got into kegging a little over a year ago. It started out good and all, but all I had was picnic taps, and the inside of my chest freezer would constantly get grody pretty quickly from the dripping beer. I would say that I actually had about a 6 to 8 month hiatus where I would only drink a glass or two a month of my homebrew (craft beers were consumed in much greater quantity during this time,) despite having 4 5-gallon kegs sitting there, all cold and crying for my attention.

Recently, I finished my keezer project and now I just have to clean faucets and a drip tray once every couple of days, and homebrew is once again consumes en-masse.

(OK, getting to the point here)
One thing that I've recently rediscovered was my "India Brown Ale" (midwest supply I think) that has basically cold conditioned for over a year now. It is so amazing tasting... After a year, most of the hop character is gone, but it's got this great, malty, almost grainy (in a very good way) flavor to it with this nice hint of citrus-y hop flavor.

I don't think I've ever let any of my other brews last this long. I'm actually a little worried about how long it will last, it feels like there is only about a gallon or so left in the keg at this point. I may actually need to make a point of conditioning my beers for longer that I have been. This is... awesome.

**marubozo** · 11-03-2010, 03:17 AM

Glad you got back into the swing of things. Time really is an asset if you choose to use it.

**JonW** · 11-03-2010, 03:49 AM

You need to build up your pipeline so you can let some of them sit longer. Drinking beers only 2-3 weeks after brewing is not optimum. Let them sit a few more weeks and they are so much better.

If you have one your really like and don't want to share - lock it up! I had a steam beer earlier this year that I started getting over protective with. If I knew friends were coming over, I would pop the QD off the corny and say that tap was empty! I was fine letting them drink the others on tap, but I knew there was only about 2 gallons left and it was really good - and all mine...

Loup · 11-03-2010, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonW

You need to build up your pipeline so you can let some of them sit longer. Drinking beers only 2-3 weeks after brewing is not optimum. Let them sit a few more weeks and they are so much better.

I normally age my beer between 4 and 8 weeks before drinking it (although, there are exceptions.) I normally finish off a batch in less than 6 months though. This is by far the longest any of my beer has ever lasted.

Quote:

If you have one your really like and don't want to share - lock it up! I had a steam beer earlier this year that I started getting over protective with. If I knew friends were coming over, I would pop the QD off the corny and say that tap was empty! I was fine letting them drink the others on tap, but I knew there was only about 2 gallons left and it was really good - and all mine...

This really is a conundrum for me. I kind of want to share the beer and say "hey, I made this!" But, there is only about a gallon or so left...

**JonW** · 11-03-2010, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loup

I normally age my beer between 4 and 8 weeks before drinking it (although, there are exceptions.) I normally finish off a batch in less than 6 months though. This is by far the longest any of my beer has ever lasted.

This really is a conundrum for me. I kind of want to share the beer and say "hey, I made this!" But, there is only about a gallon or so left...

You bet - share the good stuff and your friends will think you are the beer god!

I do 10 gal batches, so I only hoard the last 1 or 2 gallons of something I really like.

onelegout · 11-03-2010, 06:38 PM

I brewed a batch of ale last year which was really nothing special- then year later I found a bottle of it and opened it - it was incredible! Annoyingly it was the last pint :P

**munklunk** · 11-03-2010, 07:41 PM

The last pint is always the best. I've gotten into the habit of aging my beers for at least 2 months in the keg. I've got a solid pipeline at this point and always have a carboy of Apfelwein going, to hold me over while the beer is aging.

Recently, I've started bottling about 12 bottles straight from the keg as soon as the beer is fully carbed and stashing those away. I try and forget they're even there and stumble upon them about 6+ months later. That way, I'll always have some awesome beer waiting for me.

rockfish42 · 11-03-2010, 08:34 PM

I like to alternate between quick aging session beers and higher gravity 5.5%+ beers that I can feel ok about aging.

cruckin78 · 11-03-2010, 08:48 PM

wow, you guys are talking months to drink a batch, I can drink a batch of homebrew (5 gal) in 2 weekends.....

**mikeysab** · 11-04-2010, 12:09 AM

Onelegout, where do you get the name "wooly jumper" from? I have 2 kids that went through the Wiggles stage and I remember an episode that I heard that phrase in.