I made it 2 1/2 days...

until I opened my first brew. I threw one in the deep freeze for about 20 min and cracked it open. I don't regret it one bit either. It was cold, flat, and delicious. The rest are safe for another 3 weeks or so. It's an AHS Belgian White. Not my first choice but one to get the SWMBO one the homebrewing wagon. Thanks HBT for all the knowledge!!!

That's about how long I've made it with each of the 8 batches I've brewed so far. I usually make it a couple days. Then a few more. Then maybe a week. I'll usually have a sixer down by the third week. Oh well. It keeps getting better and it's too hard not to grab one when you have a stack of six packs sitting in the back room.

EllisTX said:

The rest are safe for another 3 weeks or so.

Click to expand...

Yeah right! ...

cravej said:

Yeah right! ...

Click to expand...

that's what I was thinking

Ok. Most of them are safe. I'll do the weekly test for carbonation for experimental reasons only.

I test mine after a week and two weeks also for strictly scientific purposes.

mlg5039 said:

I test mine after a week and two weeks also for strictly scientific purposes.

Click to expand...

Strictly... Of course...

Be careful Beer that has only been in the bottle for a few days has been known to create some serious lower gastrointestinal distress

mlg5039 said:

I test mine after a week and two weeks also for strictly scientific purposes.

Click to expand...

And "testing" is why I consume the entire contents of my hydrometer tube every time I take a reading... can't even wait til packaging.

You know what? I think it is a beneficial exercise for your first batch.

I have my first (awful) batch in bottles right now. I have been drinking one every few days since the 7 day mark. I think it's now at 3 weeks in bottles. And I am drinking one now.

I am one of the n00bs that even started a "Is my beer infected?!?!?!" thread.

It wasn't.

But what I can tell you , is that they get better...daily. It really is astounding.

I have been calling this batch "Slug Bait Amber" because of my summertime plans for the once "ruined batch."

But I am having one now, and ... knowing the mistakes I made, it could be worse.

Tonight, my wife even told me "it doesn't taste right, but it really goes down really smooth."

2 weeks ago, I couldn't have thought that would be the case.

Now I have Amber v2.0 in the primary and IPA dry-hopping in secondary.

More importantly, I finally have a drinkable HB to RDWHAHB with as I sweat out the next few weeks!

Cheers!

JMSetzlerh said:

Be careful Beer that has only been in the bottle for a few days has been known to create some serious lower gastrointestinal distress

Click to expand...

LMAO. I thought it was the hamburger I ate. I had to run the swmbo out of the bathroom earlier.

EllisTX said:

LMAO. I thought it was the hamburger I ate. I had to run the swmbo out of the bathroom earlier.

Click to expand...

I'll almost guarantee you it wasn't the hamburger

...has been there and done that

I've been doing the same thing with my first brew, but I actually made it a whole week before cracking open my first brew ever. Since then I've been pretty good about waiting (but did have one while brewing my second batch). I'm coming up on a week and a half without one though, according to the instructions, it should be ready this weekend!

my second brew has been in bottles for exactly 3 weeks today. I have managed to not drink a single one.

nos33 said:

my second brew has been in bottles for exactly 3 weeks today. I have managed to not drink a single one.

Click to expand...

Time to pop the top on one of those bad boys!

This thread made me realize one downside to kegging- you'll drink extremely green beer when you're an impatient noob. Bottling forces you to wait a little longer so you're not drinking flat beer, so it gets to condition a little.

My first brew got shook & rolled at 30 psi and tapped the next day. It was green as hell, especially since I followed the "directions" of transferring to secondary when the airlock slowed and then 10 days in the secondary. IIRC, I was drinking my first brew at just over 2 weeks after brew day.