quick, improper chill?

I had a friend stop by to kill a couple hours tonight before he went to work at his 11p-7a shift. I was telling him about how I've been brewing and he wanted to try my first batch, a belgian golden, which has only been in the bottle for 10 days. I probably should have just told him it isn't ready yet and waited until I could provide a quality product but my excitement got the better of me. Since all the beers are in my closet conditioning and are obviously warm, we threw 2 of them in the freezer for about an hour and then popped them.

Mine poured fine. His poured a ton of head, but he poured it wrong (straight splashdown instead of pouring it down the side of the glass)

I tried one on Sunday and it was pretty good. At the time I said it was green but on its way to being good. This time it tasted a little watered down and even greener than it did on Sunday. His wasn't that great either, he said it had an aftertaste and I'm guessing it was kinda flat from his bad pour.

I know most people say to chill them in the fridge for at least a couple days before drinking, and I know the beer isn't fully conditioned yet. I'm probably answering my own question here and just looking for verification, but did we most likely have a sub-par experience because the beer wasn't properly chilled? I would ask if my beer is getting worse, but I know that's just a paranoid newbie reaction and I should probably just RDWHAHB

Thanks!

The chill is mainly to bring the liquid down in temp so the CO2 that's been trapped in the bottle can absorb into the beer. It won't affect your "green" taste too much (time will, though), but it will have a large impact on your carb level. Put one in the fridge for a few days (after 3 weeks bottle conditioning) and try it.

I sure there fine just work on your patience.3 WEEKS min in the bottle tell your buddy to pick up a 6 pack next time.

it will be much better after it carbs and conditions. also i've found that the beers are better after sitting in the fridge for a week or so (not that i don't start drinking as soon as they are cold). i guess its kind of a cold conditioning?

I think you are just experiencing " green beer". I no longer bottle condition, but when I did I noticed it took 3-4 weeks to get proper carbonation and good tasting beer. Not the two weeks people tell ya.

Try them again in another two weeks and you'll notice a big difference.

rycov said:

it will be much better after it carbs and conditions. also i've found that the beers are better after sitting in the fridge for a week or so (not that i don't start drinking as soon as they are cold). i guess its kind of a cold conditioning?

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I've experienced this too. Co2 will be properly absorbed after chilling 24-48 hrs, but the overall impression of the beer will improve after it's chilled for several more days. Also, always wait AT LEAST 3 weeks for the beer to carb at room temp before chilling.