Flavor change after bottled?

Hey all!

Just bottled my first beer ever tonight! It tasted alright! It's SG was 1.041 and it's FG was 1.010. Does that sound right? It's a brown ale (Fat Tire clone).

Anyways, the question I have is, does the flavor change after it's been bottled? When I tasted it tonight, it had a bit of a bite in the back of the tongue. It wasn't supposed to be too bitter of a beer. I'm curious if it smooths out over time or if the flavor still changes. I know everyone says that it gets better with time (weeks and up to months). What all changes during that period of time?

Thanks for all your help!

What flavors change? Just about everything, the yeast will be active until you chill it, bittering agents mellow. Anything described as a "bite" will tend to go away. Hot doesn't, astringent doesn't. I recommend writing down your impressions now, then sample a bottle a week and document the changes.

david_42 said:

What flavors change? Just about everything, the yeast will be active until you chill it, bittering agents mellow. Anything described as a "bite" will tend to go away. Hot doesn't, astringent doesn't. I recommend writing down your impressions now, then sample a bottle a week and document the changes.

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x2. I think it's really cool seeing how my beers change over time. Even when you keg and force carb, it still goes through similar changes. My first several batches were mostly gone before the beers tasted their best. You've gotta brew more so that you're not too temped to drink it while it's still green.

Amen, patience is everything. Keep brewing and you won't be tempted to drink it green.

As a new brewer, I think it's a good idea to try your beers so you can see how they change throughout the life of the batch. Once you have brewed for awhile and you have more home brew on hand you won't be as tempted to try one until you are sure they are ready.
Don't judge the bitterness of a beer until it has conditioned. The hop profile almost always mellows as the beer ages. I suggest you try a bottle at 1,2 and 3 weeks and see how it changes. It should go from flat with rough bitterness to carbonated and smoother. The beer will get even better after a month or more.
As some have already stated, I've had some beers that when I drank the last bottle I was wishing I had 4 cases of it left because it really improved.

what those guys said

don't forget carbonation, either. nothing like a beer with a good head on it. if you used corn sugar, you'll taste it for about two weeks before it completely ferments out

Is there any way to see if the beer is carbonating in the bottle with out cracking one open?

I'm just afraid all the yeast might have died off 'cause I let it sit in the secondary for an extra week (total of 3 weeks in secondary). Could that harm it in any way?

you pretty much have to crack one open, so be patient and don't do more than one a week until they're finished. it'll be worth it, trust me

nope about teh secondary...you're fine, it didn't hurt anything.

And remember some beers may take longer then two weeks to fully carbonate so don't worry if you get to the 2 week point and its still a bit flat.

But like Deathbrewer says, a bit of fizzy can really improve your beer however it ends up tasting!!