When in doubt, let it age...

About 3 months ago I posted about a then 3 month old kit Oktober fest. It had a really funky taste (not green) and I was sure it was a goner. I wanted to pitch it but since I had room in the fridge, I decided to let it age and see what happened.

At about month 4, it became drinkable. A little too malty, a little too sweet (for my taste), but definitely not dumpable. Another month passed, and I have tapped it occasionally, but mostly as 2nd or 3rd beer rarely as a first. Not bad, but not my taste either.

In the last month, I've kind of had a craving for the 4mo Apfelwein, and have been tapping my sadly astringent 1st AG (hoping for a miracle). As a result, the Marzen sat forgotten in the back of the fridge.

I tapped it again tonight and MAGIC HAS HAPPENED! I don't know what happened or why, but the maltiness has gone down to about 25% of what it was and a totally new flavor has emerged as the dominant one. It's hard to describe. Sweet and a little tart, but not too much so. It's a fruity flavor, almost like the first bite of a crisp peach that's not over ripe, but not green either. Or perhaps it's a honeysuckle or wisteria. Honestly I'm not sure because it hits the senses like it's a smell instead of a taste, but that's an illusion because the beer has almost no aroma other than an hint of malt.

Anyway, I'm writing just to reconfirm what has been said 500 times here. When in doubt, let it wait. When not in doubt, let it wait (if you can stand it). It is absolutely amazing. My least favorite beer in the fridge just became a prize winner between months 5-6.

This brings back memories of my Barley Wine from 20 months ago. Undrinkable, I forced myself to drink it over time and it got better but never any good. Guess what ? I stored 1 bottle under the sink for the last year.

I wonder what it will taste like? It is the last bottle out of a progressively better aged batch that was never good but I gave it an additional 8 months.

After this experience, I will buy a new keg rather than dump a beer before 12 months.

I recommend bottling any high gravity beer. It makes the wait easier if you realize you don't have it on tap. Besides, why waste that keg space for a beer you have to age months.

Let it sit! Works almost every time. Good to hear it got better. And on the buying a keg rather than ditch it part...you can always sell kegs if you end up with more than you really need.

Brett0424 said:

you can always sell kegs if you end up with more than you really need.

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That's a good one, Brett!


TL

More kegs then i need...


I had a bock that tasted like **** for 6 months. At about that 8 month mark it was pretty damn good. I agree that anything high gravity should age in the bottle, plus they look cool when they get dusty.

TexLaw said:

That's a good one, Brett!

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That's what I was thinking!

I made a porter as my first beer - it wasn't bad by any means. A better way to describe would be bland and watery. No real body and no character. Well, my brother and I drank through the batch in about a month after letting it age about a month in the bottles. The ones at the end were getting better - flavors were coming out in the beer and it was getting somewhat more drinkable. I took a couple of bottles over to my friend's house where one sat for eight more months. I had completely forgotten about it until he pulled it out when I was over.

The beer had changed completely - it would never be a prize winner, the LHBS gave me a very nondescript recipe that would be hard to screw up - but it had roasty flavor and a good head. Point being, on this long post without much of a point, is this - aging the beer creates a better beverage and I was fortunate to learn it early, even though I never let them age long enough.

Yeah, my first brew was a porter extract kit that I screwed up: I heated the hops for an hour but because my stove is old and decrepit they only really boiled for 20-30 minutes. It was barely carbed and was sickly to the point of undrinkability. I let it sit from August until last week and tried another... it's not good, but it's drinkable. Still a carb problem (who knows), but the taste is much more porterlike.

I'm brewing a wee heavy next so I can see how aging a beer that's good from the start goes (well, hopefully good)

My Oktoberfest tasted like a lambic, I have tried the Sam Adams cranberry lambic and didn't like, I tried seveal times. Well I didn't wail an poured the batch out. Maybe I should have waited?

Yes, you definitely should have. At kegging, it tasted like you were drinking water rung from dirty socks. At 30 days, it still had a musty flavor. At that time, I seriously considered that it might have a brett infection. At 6months it is a beautiful thing.

jeepmarine71 said:

My Oktoberfest tasted like a lambic, I have tried the Sam Adams cranberry lambic and didn't like, I tried seveal times. Well I didn't wail an poured the batch out. Maybe I should have waited?

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If it tasted like Lambic, you had an infection of some sort. Sour flavors only come from wild yeast or bacteria. That's one flavor that won't diminish with age...

I learned this lessonvery early too.

The key is to brew with regularity. Don't force yourself to drink young beer. Mix up your brewing schedule with quick brews like low ABV bitters & hefe's that need very little time for aging. Then intermittantly make stockable beers. IPA's, Porters, High Gravity Stouts, Barleywines.

The key is switch up low vs high gravity and noting seasonal types. I make seasonal at least 3 months ahead of when I want them. I will make an Octoberfest Cream Ale in July so its ready for October consumption.

High Gravity Beers always seem to be "hot" or alcohol tasting if you drink them too early.

Using a 2ndary for clearing helps a bunch. I rarely rack to the 2ndary before is 100% done in the primary (As much as 3 weeks). It matures quicker if i can sit longer on the yeast. Jamil Zainashef claims this in his latest book. He states a 2ndary is not necessary but I like to minimize yeast going from the bottle to my glass.