I am an all-grain brewer but I still bottle to be able to give beer away to neighbors and friends at work. Recently I brewed a Scottish 80 and a Northern Brown ale, both of which were very malty out of secondary. I had aged the Scottish 4 weeks in primary and 3 weeks in secondary at about 60 degrees. I bottled my beer and within two weeks that rich maltiness had disappeared. In addition the very slight smokiness in the Scottish was also gone. I will say I left it at about 68 to 70 degrees to carbonate, wondering if the yeast may have been the culprit once the temp was raised.
I was left with an "okay" beer. If I were judging it for a contest I would say it went from a score of 40 to a score of 25-30.
Mainly I am wondering how it could age that long in secondary and not lose a thing, but after bottling it diminishes.
Could it be a mild infection in the beer that is difficult to perceive? Bottling technique? Is carbonation to blame? Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks!
I was left with an "okay" beer. If I were judging it for a contest I would say it went from a score of 40 to a score of 25-30.
Mainly I am wondering how it could age that long in secondary and not lose a thing, but after bottling it diminishes.
Could it be a mild infection in the beer that is difficult to perceive? Bottling technique? Is carbonation to blame? Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks!