First brew question

Hey, I just made my first brew a few weeks ago which i just finished bottling, and just recently made a chocolate stout, the first one barely had any grains, or hops, while the chocolate had a ridiculous amount of both. I was wondering how long after bottling the beer is ok to drink, I heard three weeks, and also how long would it take for the beer to reach its maximum potential.


Thanks

In a week, dead minimum, the beer will be sorta carbonated. You could test one then. I'd leave it two to three weeks, if your patience is strong. It will reach perfection sometime around the last three or four bottles. You'll reach what I refer to as the "million bubbles" stage. You'll pour the beer, and the carbonation will have gotten to the point where it is full of compact bubbles that form a head with a life of its own. That's the time that I lament that the batch is almost gone.

its safe to drink at any time, but its best to hold for 3 weeks before you start sampling. it'll be carb'd by then, and conditioned a little so it won't taste so 'green'.

the bigger the beer, the better it usually gets over time.

I always have a "taste test" beer after 8 days, but it is best after two weeks. I use a few 12 oz. bottles when I bottle and I put stickers on the bottle caps to identify the batch.