peak of flavor

What is the general guideline for bottle conditioning for peak of flavor? At what point does the flavor no longer improve? I have 4 batches under bottle and the 5th bubbling away. I have made a habit of drinking the first half of the batch after bottle conditioning 4 weeks, and saving the second half "for long term tasting" How ,long should that be? I realize there are unusual recipies such as Barleywine that benefit from extremely long conditioning, I'm not talking about those. I'm asking about the usual, normal gravity batches.

While Barleywine is an exmaple of an extreme, this is still entirely style specific. Belgians and IPA's are good after a few week, stouts usually at least 2 months for me, other styles it really depends on what adjuncts, grains, the yeast, etc...in my mind there's no definitive answer.

Depends entirely on the style but most of my beers have been ready to go after a decent primary (3-4) weeks then until 2-3 weeks in the bottles.

In general, darker and/or higher gravity beers will both take longer to "peak" and age well. Lighter and/or lower gravity beers will be ready sooner and age poorly. Hops drop out quickly, so hoppy beers do not age well (that is they do not retain their hoppiness).

So, you have a spectrum...Imperial stouts on one end (can take months to come into their own and can be aged for years) and hefeweizens on the other end (usually peak in weeks and probably don't store well past a couple of months). Expect hops to fall out, leaving beers more malt-forward over time.

IPA's are usually better fairly young- 4-6 weeks or so in the bottle. After that that hop freshness starts to fade.

Bigger beers, like a Belgian improve with age. Some taste best after several months.

So it all depends on the beer.

Drink your brews at different times and talk notes and you will figure out the best timing for drinking your beers.

Like most everyone has said, you have to get to know your beer and sample it often to learn how it matures. Make sure you actually take good notes.

I always find I'm down to the last few bottles as the beer is getting just right. You basically have to make a batch and sacrifice it to sampling before you know how long it takes to mature. Then you'll be able to make the batch again and sit on it until it's ready.

Edit to add: There are lots of factors. My Belgian GSA took months to mature. I did a split batch with two yeasts. One was good at six months while the other still tasted a little "raw". That one is just not getting smooth, after eight months.