Aging beer?

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claphamsa

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How do you decide how long to age your beer?

I was at Dogfishhead last weekend, and they said the 120 aged for :gasp: 6 months before it was served.... and I was thinking, I try to age most beers that long.....(except like Wits and the like)

so I am wondering, what should be aged, and what should be fresh? and how do you determine?
 
Generally speaking, I age based on:

- gravity (higher than 1.060ish)
- complex grain and/or hop bills with big flavors.
- if I am oaking, etc.

Big complex beers need aging, simply put.
 
yup - what flyangler18 says.

Darker brews seem to need more aging - IPA really smooth out wonderfully with aging. the more ingredients the more aging will help.

You say - But it tastes REALLY good now" just wait and you will be rewarded. HOWEVER - that never seems to stop me LOL

I ALWAYS put at least 1 6-pack away into the 6 month corner of the basement.
 
I agree to some extent but it really depends on style and gravity.

Bigger beers usually need aging to mellow out harsh flavors and blend things togeather. Sometimes big beers will seem less "hot" with aging.

However IPAs and IIPAs IMO are best young when those hops just walk up behind you, tap you on the shoulder and punch you in the face.

Hefe's are also best when drank young. I prefer my belgians young when there's lots of esters.

Age Barleywines, RIS, Imperial Porters, and big scotish ales.
 
I think IPAs are too edgey young. I had one of mine after 5 months and iot was so much better - not rough around the edges but smooth and hoppy, not raspy.
 
- We should have people start adding to their recipes when the beer is in its prime.
- Or make a general list of times.
- I dont get how an IPA is in its prime 5 months in if hops fade over time.
 
- We should have people start adding to their recipes when the beer is in its prime.
- Or make a general list of times.
- I dont get how an IPA is in its prime 5 months in if hops fade over time.

All depends on what you are going for. A big beer like an IPA is probably better as a whole after 4-5 months of aging, even if some of the hop aroma has faded. Remember, you can dry hop after all that aging and still have that hop aroma nice and fresh.
 
So I take it that the whole "IPA was invented to make it last till it got to India" was mainly for oxidation reasons and not necessarily for aroma? I haven't had my fair share of IPA's so I am curious about this as I thought it was meant to last longer.
 
I don't know about that. Sounds shady. I also ready that eating tofu gives you tits and that butter is good for you.

I've also read that the IPA was just a marketing ploy done by merchants trying to sell beer under a special context. I want to believe the long voyage stories. It makes it a rich and historical experience for me that way. It's sort of how i really believe that there are unicorns out there somewhere just waiting to be saddled and riden into the sunset.
 
- We should have people start adding to their recipes when the beer is in its prime.
- Or make a general list of times.
- I dont get how an IPA is in its prime 5 months in if hops fade over time.

hops dont fade over time, they mellow out. hops are also natural perseratives
 
I'd be curious to hear your definition of fading .vs. mellowing...

fading: weakening in force or intensity untill gone







Dictionary: mel·low (mĕl'ō)

Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionaryadj., -er, -est.

Soft, sweet, juicy, and full-flavored because of ripeness: a mellow fruit.
Suggesting softness or sweetness: “The mellow air brought in the feel of imminent autumn” (Thomas Hardy).
Rich and soft in quality: a mellow sound; a mellow wine.
Having the gentleness, wisdom, or tolerance often characteristic of maturity.
Relaxed and unhurried; easygoing: a mellow friend; a mellow conversation

mellow out Slang.

To become genial and pleasant; relax: “The cowboy mellowed out when they read him a sweet letter from his wife” (Bobbie Ann Mason

adjective

Brought to full flavor and richness by aging: aged, ripe. See youth/age/maturity.
Having or producing a full, deep, or rich sound

verb

To bring or come to full development
 
fading would mean you lose bitterness overtime. mellowing means the bitterniss becomes less harsh
 
Question about aging beer. I know that temperature is important during the fermentation cycle but how important is it during aging? After a month at 65 can I move it to my office that fluctuates between 55 - 70 from day to night or would that create off flavors?
 
I generally still find, after about 40 batches that I am not aging my beers long enough, or at least that they would benefit from more aging.

I agree in general that big beers need to age longer.

I am curious to someday find a basic brit style bitter that OGd around 1.038 and spent about two years in my cellar at 1.014 or so.

I made a batch of a Roggen spring 2008 that lasted about two weeks once I tapped the serving keg. It was getting better even as it kicked. I still wonder how it would have done with just two more weeks aging... fixin to find out ;-)

EDIT: I kegged a big IPA with dry hops and priming sugar 04-2008. I stuck it in the hold of a friend's boat with a note "tap 12-2008", what with the old sailing ships taking 8 months to sail one way to India. That keg still isn't tapped, so I'll have to get back to you. FWIW the boat just got back to St. Augustine from the Bahamas.

1782.jpg
 
I'm working on ordinary bitter. I can get quite a decent one ready to drink (Bottling) in 4 weeks. I'm talking 3.5% ABV session beer. Sure, the carbonation would be more stable at 6 weeks, but the overall taste is about the same. My point is, that all styles are different. There is no golden rule. Bitter is meant to be drank young, other styles are not. I think that for the homebrewer, it is less about convention, and more about gauging the requirements for the beer that YOU brew, rather than the norm for that style.
 
I read once that Chimay is in the bottle for 18 months before it's eligible to be sold...;)

Somebody pulled your leg.

Chimay rests in the refermentation cellar for 3 weeks before being shipped out. Verifiable via their own website or read Brew Like a Monk.

Also from Chimay's FAQ:

* How and for how long can one keep Chimay Trappist beers?

Preferably in a vertical position so that the yeast remains at the bottom of the bottle, at a temperature of 10-12°C (50 to 53,6°F).

The consume by date given on some labels is a recommendation but does not mean that the beer cannot be drunk after that date. It can never, in fact, go "bad ".

Chimay Blue/Grand Reserve being vintage, some connoisseurs keep them for 10, 15 or 20 years. It will oxidise in the course of time.

The Red/Premier must be consumed more quickly and we recommend that you drink Triple/Cinq Cents as young as possible so that it retains a maximum of bitterness. The personal taste of the drinker will influence the storage time of our beers.
 
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