Lets be honest: Who likes green beer?

I usually can't wait longer than 4 weeks before I crack one open just to do a taste test.

Now I don't drink them all at 4 weeks... but I like to start tasting the beer then.

And you know what... green beer is okay by me.

Not for me, thanks. I expected a poll.

What is the "green" beer taste? After improving a lot of my practices (and I keg) I have found that my beer is pretty darn good once it's carbed up. Does it still change over time, of course, but since I've really been controlling fermentation temps, I've noticed that for all but Porters, Browns and Stouts, I can drink a good beer after a total of 4 weeks, with nothing that would make me think it was a "Green" beer.

This could also be that I am a beer Glutton, I have yet to dump a beer, but I have had beers that I wouldn't serve to friends, because it wasn't up to my standards. Could also be my taste buds I guess.

Would a sour beer be considered green even after you try to make it sweet?

Or could the sourness stem from fermenting at the wrong temp?

I'll drink green beer. I'd rather drink home brew than any commercial beer unless i'm at a bar

I’m with clonefan94, what is ‘green’? I’m sitting here drinking an American Brown that was bottled at 12 days. I started drinking it on day 17, now it’s a whoppin’ 10 days in the bottle(day 23) and it’s still pretty good. In my experience the smaller beers start to fade at 4-6 weeks.

Don’t be afraid to taste it. There is a point at which it doesn’t get any better. It depends on your recipe and your process where that point is.

I guess with the more hops and complex grain bills... perhaps you don't taste the green beer.

Or, maybe it is due to process? Like using tap water or pitching at too high of a temperature?

Green beer is flawed beer. No one likes it.

Yuri_Rage said:

Green beer is flawed beer. No one likes it.

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Yep. Thou speaketh the truth....


If your average gravity beers are still "green" at 4 weeks, then there are some process improvements that could be made. Pretty much every brewpub beer is already gone in that time, with a few style exceptions, and most of them make pretty good beer.

MSB, exactly. Most notably, increased pitching rates and decreased fermentation temps should produce fine results (and no "green" character after about day 4 for average gravity ales).

Saint Paddy's day is a bit off.

So pitching at 90 degrees and using tap water is bad?

rmb said:

So pitching at 90 degrees and using tap water is bad?

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YES, But if your happy, so be it,.
Better processes make better beer, i like beer

Well, then why do people talk a lot about green beer?

Is that a mischaracterization of really a bad beer?

This is interesting, I have had beers that tasted pretty good when very young, at like 15 days from grain...then after about a week not so good at day 21. Then by day 30-40 the beer was excellent...different form the original fresh beer, but good.

Do I like green beer...I don't think so but had to ask!

Anyone else notice this cycle beer tasting!

I'm generally too lazy to bottle any beer younger than 4 weeks. 2 weeks primary, no less than 2 weeks secondary - usually 3-5 weeks in secondary. no less than a week in the bottle... so at a minimum, 5 weeks from brew day... usually several weeks longer.

I will say though, that I do crack open a bottle for a taste test after a week. While I'm lazy, I'm also impatient.

I've noticed my beers are "green" for a much shorter time as I've gotten more experienced. That said, I don't like the tastes associated with "green" beer. I do like two-week old beer that doesn't taste green, though.

wilserbrewer said:

This is interesting, I have had beers that tasted pretty good when very young, at like 15 days from grain...then after about a week not so good at day 21. Then by day 30-40 the beer was excellent...different form the original fresh beer, but good.

Do I like green beer...I don't think so but had to ask!

Anyone else notice this cycle beer tasting!

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Do you keg?

MachineShopBrewing said:

Do you keg?

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Yes
Always

The reason your beers taste great right away and then not so much after another week is because all of the small particulate matter is falling down to the bottom of the keg and becoming concentrated right near the outlet tube. This particulate matter is stuff like yeast, tannins, polyphenols, etc...

If you get an extra dip tube and cut it in half, you can use that for the first half of the keg and then replace it with a full length one later and that should help you avoid this phenomenon.

MachineShopBrewing said:

The reason your beers taste great right away and then not so much after another week is because all of the small particulate matter is falling down to the bottom of the keg and becoming concentrated right near the outlet tube. This particulate matter is stuff like yeast, tannins, polyphenols, etc...

If you get an extra dip tube and cut it in half, you can use that for the first half of the keg and then replace it with a full length one later and that should help you avoid this phenomenon.

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Thanks for the theory, sound reasonable.
I have only noticed this when I rush a keg due to a dry pipeline.
Must be tannins or phenols, as the beer appears clearer but has a harsher tendency during the middle period of cold conditioning.

Thanks for the fix suggestion, I think I will work on my patience and pipeline as well. I do find interesting to see how quickly you can grain to glass and also how the beer changes as it ages.

Since gaining experience with brewing over the last 2 years, I dont really ever have green beer. Its either not carbed or fully carbed yet or is and is ready and good to drink when I usually always try them after a week or two.(Which is a little soon to try them-I do like them around 3-5 weeks generally) Temp and pitch rate have a lot to do with it as well as the water profile or ph probably. I beleive that higher fermentation temps is the main reason for green beer.

I probably bottle too early sometimes after 2 weeks before it clears all the way because another week didnt fit my schedule rotation, I would like(as I was doing for a while) doing 3 weeks giving it more time to clear but that is not always practical for me but it still settles out in the bottle just with a bit more on the bottom of the bottle nothing a good lagering period wouldnt take care of after carbing,or sitting in my basement.

Clonefan94 said:

What is the "green" beer taste? After improving a lot of my practices (and I keg) I have found that my beer is pretty darn good once it's carbed up.

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Me, too. I'm not sure I've had a "green beer", even though I'm routinely drinking them at 14-21 days old.

Yuri_Rage said:

MSB, exactly. Most notably, increased pitching rates and decreased fermentation temps should produce fine results (and no "green" character after about day 4 for average gravity ales).

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Just what I was thinking. I do notice changes in flavor over time, but what I thought was "green beer" when I first started magically disappeared with calculated yeast starters and temp control in my ferm fridge! Since I started kegging, it's rare for my e'ry day drankin' beers to be longer than 15-20 days grain to glass.

So So under pitching, pitching at 90 degrees because one doesn't have the proper cooling methods for wort and perhaps using tap water could all be culprits of this?

What about stale LME? Or LME in general?

The chief culprits of "green beer" flavors are likely yeast in suspension and volatile compounds created by hot/stressed fermentations.

Many strains of yeast contribute bitter and/or bready flavors that aren't desirable. If flocculation is poor, those flavors remain for as long as it takes the yeast to drop out of suspension. In my experience, unhealthy fermentation (underpitching) can sometimes impede flocculation.

Some off flavors are fleeting in the fermenter because they are caused by volatile compounds that either break down on their own or evaporate over time. The less healthy the fermentation, the more likely that yeast have produced in abundance compounds other than carbon dioxide and ethanol. I'm not completely convinced that yeast "clean up after themselves" over time, but it is entirely possible that some compounds are synthesized into less "flavorful" ones as simple sugars become less available to the yeast. Someone with more than a passing interest in biology may be able to shed some light on (or debunk) that phenomenon.

Healthy/complete ale fermentation typically occurs in 3-4 days at temperatures between 55 and 65 degrees F. Lagers take longer mostly due to slower activity at cooler temperatures, but with proper pitching rates, lagers should finish even cleaner than healthy ales.

Stale/poor ingredients and poor water chemistry will probably result in just plain bad beer that won't get better with age.

Tap water isn't always bad. Generally speaking, if it tastes good, brew with it. The chemistry isn't too important in extract brewing, though hard water can lend itself to bitter beer due to the way that we perceive hop compounds in the presence of some minerals. When brewing all grain, it is a good idea to have some knowledge of the water you're using and its potential impact(s) on the styles you brew so that you can adjust it accordingly and/or brew styles appropriate for the water you use.

Fantastic write up. Thanks.

rmb said:

What about stale LME? Or LME in general?

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*shrieks, runs off into the woods*

rmb said:

So So under pitching, pitching at 90 degrees because one doesn't have the proper cooling methods for wort and perhaps using tap water could all be culprits of this?

What about stale LME? Or LME in general?

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Yeah, thats possible also stale lme, I think It can taste cidery, or have what many call a twang which you could possibly be referring to.
I first brewed with what I think was old DME. I also pitched at high temps and it was very winey/fruity. So that didnt help me then. Although it did age a bit better but still probably my worst beers yet they were still ok not dumpable. Nothing against extracts though, the thing is to get them fresher if possible. Ive made great extract/partial mash beers