Revvy, you say it's taken up to 3 months for some to fully carbonate in the bottle. Isn't there some drawback to letting beer sit in a bottle for so long? I thought fresh was better when it came to beer? How long can I leave my beer in a bottle? I have a Russian Imperial Stout I want to make, but not drink until the winter. I've been holding off making it because I thought leaving it for 4 months in a bottle was not a good idea.
Uhm, NO....What do you think would happen?
There's no harm in letting a beer sit, in fact you will find that many need time,
it's called bottle conditioning some beers are meant to be aged, just like wine. Some, especially higher grav beers, don't reach their peak for several months months or a year. And some just end up needing a few weeks, months to "correct" itself....
This isn't coolaid we are making..It's a natural process, involving living micro-organisms, and they are the one's in charge, and they have their own timeframe and agenda....we just need to let go and let them do ther thing....
There are only a few styles that are meant to be drunk fresh, hefe's and milds come to mind. Some will peak in a few weeks and lose certain qualities, like hoppiness in IPA's, or spices, or oak...But sometimes that's exactly
what they need.
Here's an example I posted back in Jan.
Revvy said:
Last week I poured the last of my Partigyle pumpkin Porters...Brewed on Labor Day, bottled 1 month later...First ones cracked on Halloween still green but carbed, so we drank a six whilst giving out candy...Left the rest alone til turkey day, and my family loved them, and I've drank a few now and then...But this one sat...until now, bottled on October first...Consumed 3 months later...
When it was green, even though it was carbed, you got a hot alcohol burn, and a really funky sourness from the pumpkin in the back of the throat..and way too much spice, especially the clove....Not undrinkable, but far from wonderful,
The last one was amazing, and sublime; the pumpkin and spice are nicely balanced, somewhat tart against a backbone of a deep rich burnt caramel and toffee note, with even a black coffee hint coming through. Nothing overwhelms, instead they meld together seamlessly.
There's a nice blend of both carbonation and a lingering mouth feel, and a deliciously seductive nose of toffee and cloves.
I would without hesitation pay 9 bucks for a 22 of this if it had the name Rogue, or Stone on it....and it kicked the ass of any pumpkin ales in the stores last October. This beer right now is at it's peak....and it was the last one.
In the Dec 07 Zymurgy Charlie Papazian reviewed bottles of homebrew going back to the first AHC competition that he had stored, and none of them went bad, some had not held up but most of them he felt were awesome...We're talking over 20 years worth of beers.
If you are making a big beer (and some define a big beer as anything above 1.060)
give it time
If you haven't, read the "Of patience and bottle conditiong" blog I posted above, it talks about letting flavors marrying, just like in cooking.