Brewing stouts
- Thread starter Rhys
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In my case, not really. It does depend on a number of factors, though. Higher OG beers, and more roasty flavors will take a little longer to mellow and be good. My favorite oatmeal stout, Jamil's recipe from Brewing Classic Styles, is an OG of 1.053 (ABV of under 5%) and not very roasty, and it's very good at 6 weeks old. A higher gravity, or more complex flavors will require more time to be at their best.
conpewter
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I agree with Yooper, it depends on the recipe. My oatmeal stout (which is higher gravity than Jamil's and probably more roast) takes a good 3 months to come into it's peak. Other's age faster. The best part is you can make it, and then just taste it periodically till it matures.
fivehoursfree
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If you are looking for a general rule of thumb, then yes.
davesrose
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That's the thing about stouts....the term "stout" is so general. As others have stated, I think it depends on the recipe as far as aging time. An imperial stout can age much longer then say a milk stout.
That's good to know. I typicaly drink stouts, and amber ales. Just getting started in this hobby. I figure I'll start with one of the ales to have something matured a bit sooner while waiting for one of the stouts to reach it's prime. A couple of the Stouts that I've been looking at are showing OG's of 1.080-1.100 so I'm guessing these would benefit from a couple months aging.
Wow those are big stouts. These big beers need months of aging in the bottle to reach their prime. First off, it'll be slower to carb. Secondly, the alcohol heat and roasted flavors will taste unbalanced until a few months have passed. At least that's my experience.
My Extra Stout had an OG of 1.073 and was awesome and pretty carbonated after 4 weeks primary and 2 weeks in bottles. It did very well in a comp at 4 weeks bottled. I actually didn't notice it being much better as it aged for months. However, I would say most bigger stouts will benefit with age, to a certain degree, but like they said it depends on the beer.
