Delicious Ale in 9 Days, a Fluke?

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Loftearmen

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I just drank a bottle of my first ale 9 days after I put it in primary and it is absolutely delicious! It's crisp, refreshing and has flavors of pine, citrus and apricot undertones. Even my super picky wife likes it ;)

I followed this recipe:
Size: 5 Gallons
8.6lbs Breiss light malt extract
3 cups white sugar
1lb Crystal 60L
1.5oz cascade hop pellets (60 min)
.5oz cascade hop pellets (5 min)
1tsp irish moss (20 min)
Nottingham Ale Yeast (I made a starter 4 hours before pitching with some lme and warm water)
I pitched the yeast at 80 degrees and kept it between 65 and 70 degrees after that

OG: 1.080
FG: 1.014 after only 3 days

I left it in primary for a total of 7 days, primed with .75 cups corn sugar and bottled. 2 days later I popped a bottle open and it tastes amazing. I understand that 9 days is a ridiculously short amount of time to ferment anything; however, since I was able to make it work quickly this time do y'all think I could consistently reproduce this recipe in under 2 weeks or did I just get lucky this time?
 
Carbonation is going to probably be pretty inconsistent at 2 days post-bottling. Best to give the beer at least another week plus a few days in the fridge to carb fully and then absorb the CO2 back into solution. Ideally, give it 3 weeks at 70* plus another 5-7 days in the fridge to absorb CO2 and allow chill haze to form & settle back out.
 
Carbonation is going to probably be pretty inconsistent at 2 days post-bottling. Best to give the beer at least another week plus a few days in the fridge to carb fully and then absorb the CO2 back into solution. Ideally, give it 3 weeks at 70* plus another 5-7 days in the fridge to absorb CO2 and allow chill haze to form & settle back out.

Just to clarify, you mean that it was a fluke and that I can't count on it happening in the future? Or are you just saying that it would be bett(er) if I waited longer?
 
I don't think this was a fluke. Sounds like you have a good recipe, and gravity readings don't lie.

The time in the bottle will diminish SOME hop flavor, but it will help the carbonation/mouthfeel of the beer. Keep drinking some every week to help you figure out what time affects.
 
I think there could be a lot of variability in the carbonation between bottles of the same batch right now, and if you are drinking them warm after being in the bottles for 2 days then that means most of the CO2 you are trying to get into the beer is still actually trapped in the headspace of the bottle (meaning you could have a more highly carbonated beer in the end than you have right now). It may be a fluke, it may be that if you open a second bottle it won't have the same level of carb, it may be that you overcarbed and you just happened to open this one at the right time for it to seem perfect. I would never count on a beer to be fully carbed and ready to drink 2 days after bottling, though. Yours will probably change over the next couple weeks, and most likely for the better, so with that in mind I say to you: If you like it now, just wait to see how much more you like it in another few weeks with proper carbonation and conditioning plus fridge time!

When you are carbonating the beer, it makes the CO2 faster than it can be absorbed into your brew, leaving a lot of the CO2 in the space between the upper level of beer and the cap. After the yeast is done eating the priming sugar, the beer slowly starts reabsorbing that CO2 until the pressure is equalized. Then, when you put the beer into the fridge, the temperature cools, allowing the beer to absorb even more CO2. Given enough time in the fridge, the beer will absorb most of that CO2 back into solution. For you, that means when you crack the beer open, you'll get a pour with a good foamy head and nice retention, plus the bubbles will last until your very last sip. It will be more bubbly than it was when you opened the bottle earlier this evening.

Congrats on your first brew! :mug: It only gets more fun from here.
 
I bottled an oatmeal stout after 6 days in the primary. I knew it was going to be a good beer when I tasted it prior to bottle. Even my wife said it was her favorite beer I have brewed to date (20 ish brews). After a month of carbing, it was perfect. I love success stories.
 
I don't think this was a fluke. Sounds like you have a good recipe, and gravity readings don't lie.

Gravity readings don't lie, sure. But 2 days in the bottle and fully carbed, and that doesn't include any real time in the fridge for the beer to reabsorb the CO2? That doesn't add up. That beer is probably going to change considerably in the next couple weeks.
 
boydsbitchinbrews said:
Gravity readings don't lie, sure. But 2 days in the bottle and fully carbed, and that doesn't include any real time in the fridge for the beer to reabsorb the CO2? That doesn't add up. That beer is probably going to change considerably in the next couple weeks.

Lol you only quoted half of my post :(

I definitely think that OP should let the beer age and try it as it carbs up.
 
Your post seemed to me to state that the OP can depend on this recipe to make a consistently good beer after 9 days. I just don't agree with that and don't want anyone walking away with that impression - having a great beer at 2 days into bottling is very likely a fluke and consistently reproducing it in 2 weeks or less (as the OP is asking about) is going to be pretty difficult or even impossible. If I misunderstood, my apologies. I totally agree with your most recent post though. Again, sorry if I misunderstood what you were saying. I'm glad the beer was good, and it will continue to get better.
 
The beer actually lost A LOT of hop character over the course of the next week and didn't taste nearly as good. The carbonation stayed roughly the same and the bottles were pretty consistent. It's all gone now though because I had a party.
 
If you had that aggressive a fermentation, I would suspect that you had a pretty big starter. If you pitch yeast aggressively, fermentation doesn't take too long.

Course beer is like any food product. If you let it sit (age) the flavors will blend and change. Sometimes that's good, sometimes it lessens the beer.

That's why it's an art man!
 
The beer profile is going to change more than likely.. Usually it is going to get better in time and more flavors are going to pop. The carbonation is going to be spotty at best at this point unless you keg em.
 
I would not count 9 days as being at all likely to be repeatable. I have never packaged a beer in less than 2 weeks.

2 days of bottle conditioning is unlikely to ever happen again. I have tried bottles at 2 weeks of conditioning and I would say that less than 1/4 of them were properly carbonated. ALL of my beers have tasted better after 3 week and longer bottle conditioning.

I find it puzzling that you say the flavor got worse with age. That is very unusual.

In summary I would say that it was definitely a fluke that the beer was carbonated and I am very surprised you say it tasted good and got worse.
 
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