Don't dump that batch!!!

I have posted a lot concerning the first stout that I brewed. At some point, I stopped calling it by its given name of Kelltic Stout, and started calling it Mobil-1 Stout. It was nasty. Well, a couple weeks ago I took one last sample before deciding whether to pitch it or not. It had gotten to the point where it was drinkable without any pain, so I threw it in the basement for some cold conditioning/aging. That was a couple weeks ago. I tried one last night, and it is exponentially better. It was to the point where I was trying to decide whether to have another, but I was going out to dinner with SWMBO, and this stuff is almost 10%, so I figured I better not. I had it at cellar temp, no chilling. While not a beer for the light-livered, I am excited. I am thinking that it will be even better for St Patrick's day, though I have brewed another stout and a red for that.

Also, I had kept one 12oz bottle from the first batch I ever did, and it has been in the basement collecting dust. I haven't given it much thought, as I wanted to wait at least 4-6 months before trying it. The beer is incredibly clear-much more than it was when I drank it, and I thought it was clear then!

Lessons??
1: Don't dump a batch unless you are super sure it is bad
2: I will be much better about letting my brews age proper, now that I have seen the results.

Beer does age well. All the commercial blather about "fresh beer" is ... blather.

I always assumed fresh beer is better when the yeast is filtered. Does bottle conditioning still continue after removal of the yeast?

We.come to a not very exclusive club! I brewed a batch of kolsch that didn't taste very good at first. I complained a lot here about it and probably annoyed and/or bored a lot of people. I started drinking the stuff even though I didn't like it much. Well, lo and behold, a few weeks ago it suddenly became my favorite batch of homebrew. And the worst part of it?-- I had less than half the batch left when I realized what had happened. I'm just glad I didn't dump the batch.

I've got a porter in bottles that I brewed on September 18th, 2005. It tasted like crap in October when I had my first one. I open one ever now and then to see if it has improved. Yesterday it still tasted like crap.

-walker

Walker said:

I've got a porter in bottles that I brewed on September 18th, 2005. It tasted like crap in October when I had my first one. I open one ever now and then to see if it has improved. Yesterday it still tasted like crap.

-walker

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LOL Very succinct!

Well my strong ale/ barley wine type beer tasted GOOD first 3 weeks, now it tastes like crap. Didn't expect that. Brewed it in October.

Walker said:

I've got a porter in bottles that I brewed on September 18th, 2005. It tasted like crap in October when I had my first one. I open one ever now and then to see if it has improved. Yesterday it still tasted like crap.

-walker

Click to expand...

Sometimes a bad batch is just a bad batch, then, I guess. I am throwing a couple in the fridge for later today, as I have tomorrow off too. I will be having them whilest I brew.

oop someone beat me to it hehe... walker sometimes crap is crap hehe