Time really DOES heal all brew!

Pratzie said:

Enjoy it before it becomes vinegar!

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VladOfTrub said:

If it was made right the first time, the aging process would have been taken out of the equation. Let me get this straight. If a brew is supposed to be ready to drink, in say 1 month, but at 1 month it tastes bad, due to mistakes in the process. Then, it's put away to age for a few more months and by luck it turns out. Aging cures poorly made brew? No. It's still a badly made brew, needing unnecessary aging to straighten out the poor process used. The failure is in the process, and if corrected, will eliminate the unnecessary aging. Or, there needs to be a realization, that certain brews do need to be aged out. Then, the aging thing won't become a glorious epiphany, linked to bad brew. Or, to a brew that naturally needs aging. The problem with the aging out philosophy, is that it can lead people to believe that it can correct a poorly made brew. The brewer may not know that the basic process being used may not be correct. Because they were told RDWHAHB, age it out, it will be OK. Then, instead of correcting the basic problem with the brewing process, the brew is continued to be made using the same poor processes. One day, the luck will run out. The only thing that corrects a poorly made brew is fixing the process that creates it. Then the unnecessary aging part, along with hoping it's going to turn out, goes away. Then, one can RDWHAHB.

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Pilgarlic said:

I think it's generally believed by homebrewers that time cures all ills. It doesn't. There are some flaws that diminish and/or apparently disappear with time. There are also many flaws that are either i) not improved with time or ii) made worse with time. Wouldn't it be loooooovely were it not so? It's so.

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netshade said:

I've come down on both sides of this - a honey mead we made a few years back has pretty much refused to ever improve Whether it was the recipe or our process, or whatever, it just still tastes pretty terrible. On the other hand, a cider I left in the carboy for 2 years (champagne yeast) due to laziness and inattention actually came out good, and that's even w/ me forgetting to replace the water in the airlock or put an airtight seal on it ( all the water evaporated out by the time we bottled it ). Color me shocked that it was okay.

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blacksquid said:

Yep. Thought my RIS was a failure (solventy and bitter in a bad way) and tried a bottle after about 4 months aging. It's now awesome, sweet enough and very complex. Too bad I only have 3 bottles left... lesson learned.

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VladOfTrub said:

If it was made right the first time, the aging process would have been taken out of the equation. Let me get this straight. If a brew is supposed to be ready to drink, in say 1 month, but at 1 month it tastes bad, due to mistakes in the process. Then, it's put away to age for a few more months and by luck it turns out. Aging cures poorly made brew? No. It's still a badly made brew, needing unnecessary aging to straighten out the poor process used. The failure is in the process, and if corrected, will eliminate the unnecessary aging. Or, there needs to be a realization, that certain brews do need to be aged out. Then, the aging thing won't become a glorious epiphany, linked to bad brew. Or, to a brew that naturally needs aging. The problem with the aging out philosophy, is that it can lead people to believe that it can correct a poorly made brew. The brewer may not know that the basic process being used may not be correct. Because they were told RDWHAHB, age it out, it will be OK. Then, instead of correcting the basic problem with the brewing process, the brew is continued to be made using the same poor processes. One day, the luck will run out. The only thing that corrects a poorly made brew is fixing the process that creates it. Then the unnecessary aging part, along with hoping it's going to turn out, goes away. Then, one can RDWHAHB.

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stratslinger said:

Wow, tool much?

The guy was just admitting to a brew that had a flaw that, rather than dump, he let age to see if a little age would allow the flaw to mellow out. And, as with many such flaws, it did.

Your wall of text adds nothing to the discussion.

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Revvy said:

??? I think it should be obvious by the fact that this was made back in FEBRUARY, that if it were going to turn to vinegar, it would have by now.....

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Trokair said:

I'm more shocked by the 2 years part. How do you misplace a carboy for that long

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DrummerBoySeth said:

Most of you already have a story similar to this, but I thought I would share mine. I brewed a batch of Spiced Hard Cider back in February. I miscalculated the amount of spices and the time in secondary with spices to achieve the flavor I was looking for. What I ended up with was WAY too spicy. I could not taste the cider at all. The cinnamon and clove flavors completely dominated and made the cider nearly undrinkable. It really was pretty gross.

I hid this cider in the back corner of my closet because I am very reluctant to dump any brew, no matter how bad it may seem at first. I pulled out a few bottles of this and put them in the fridge last week. Earlier this evening, I decided to drink one with my dinner to see how they had changed with time. To my surprise, the cider was borderline amazing! The spice flavor had faded significantly. It is now at a level close to what I had originally imagined. Additionally, there had previously been a slightly funky yeast character that did not blend well or lead to a "clean tasting" cider. This flavor is completely gone, and the brew has matured to almost exactly what I envisioned in the first place.

I think I may even enter it in an upcoming homebrew competition. I can't believe how much better it is now. It tastes like a completely different recipe.

Just thought I would share.

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stratslinger said:

Wow, tool much?

The guy was just admitting to a brew that had a flaw that, rather than dump, he let age to see if a little age would allow the flaw to mellow out. And, as with many such flaws, it did.

Your wall of text adds nothing to the discussion.

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DrummerBoySeth said:

Thanks for noticing that, Stratslinger. I did not want to make a big deal out of it, but I thought I had made it pretty clear in my first post that I screwed up the brewing process and ended up with a less-than-good product as a result of my mistake. I chose to stash it away, and now I have a very drinkable product that I can enjoy rather than throw out.

I would have GREATLY preferred that I made the cider right the first time. Since I did not, I had to wait. Now it is pretty good. That is all I was trying to say.

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Pratzie said:

my LHBS guru was telling me last weekend that he was talking to a regular brewer who used to brew upwards of 20-30 gallons a month and used tons of corny kegs to distribute to his friends. he filled on korny with mead and didn't realize he left it among a bunch of emtpys in his garage. Stuff came up and he slowed down with the brewing and then found it five years later. Said the stuff is incredible and wasn't sharing with anyone cuz it was that good. Can't imagine what it was like finding it, thats like 5 christmas mornings all in one!

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