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talleymonster

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It 's the last bottle of my 2nd batch, an Austin Homebrew Supply West Coast Red Ale.
I brewed it July 7th, 2007.

This is probably the best bottle of the whole batch.
The extract twang is still there, but nowhere near as prevalent.
Full, lasting head.
Deep, clear red color.
Mildly sweet aroma.
Moderate hop presence.

It is much smoother than it was before. I didn't note what hop was used unfortunately. Maybe Forrest will see this thread and tell us which hop was included in the kit.


I definitely recommend aging a few bottles from each batch.





oops....should have taken a picture.:drunk:
 
I still have one bottle left from my second batch in the beginning of February this year. You are making me want to hold onto it for a little while longer. It's a Continental Pale Ale - whatever that means.

:tank:
 
how long until they usually go bad. all mine get drank before the 6 month mark usually...
 
I'd really like to hold onto one. I've got a Rhubarb Wheat Mk I sitting in my closet (~3 months) and I'm having a terrible time holding back from uncapping it.
 
YEAH!!!!!!!!

Did you read my follow up on my don't dump your beer thread....We found 6 more of my uber brew that I gave to a buddy in May. It was in the bottom of his keezer...It was fraking amazing!!!!
 
Well, I do brew to drink...at least that's part of the reason. I have at least one of every brew that I have made since January. That's somewhere around 35 brews or so. Trust me, I drink plenty. However, I want to be able to compare from year to year how I have improved as a brewer. Going back and looking at previous posts is certainly a good measure. However, sampling a finished product seems to speak volumes more!

:tank:
 
Hmm...All these years I've thought that aging only applied to wines and whiskeys.

Isn't it Coors that ships their beer (or, used to) in refrigerated trucks, to emphasize/guarantee freshness.

Plus, beer cartons with a "Born on ____" date, so patrons can verify the freshness of their brew.

Is this all just hype, or what?

Pogo
 
Hmm...All these years I've thought that aging only applied to wines and whiskeys.

Isn't it Coors that ships their beer (or, used to) in refrigerated trucks, to emphasize/guarantee freshness.

Plus, beer cartons with a "Born on ____" date, so patrons can verify the freshness of their brew.

Is this all just hype, or what?

Pogo

The fizzy yellow stuff really should be drank fresh, or better yet not drank at all. Homebrew usually improves with time, with some exceptions like wheat beers. Hoppy beers are sometimes better fresh also because hop flavor/aroma fades with time. For the most part good beer just gets better with time. The bigger the beer, the more it will benefit from aging. Keep your mitts off a couple of your brews for a year and see for yourself. Just store them in a dark cool place.
 
Same thing just happened to me with a European Bock I brewed about a year ago. I didn't even know I had any left and was actually about to throw it out because I thought it was part of a batch that I brewed that came out really bad. So naturally I was sipping the stuff prior to dumping it down the drain when my taste buds said...."Hey! That's not the bad stuff. That stuff is really, really good....it even tastes fantastic at 90 Deg F after sitting out in the garage!" So I tucked it in the fridge for a bit, and a couple hours later I was thoroughly enjoying a brew I thought no longer existed! Obviously, it was pretty good back when I brewed it because all of its cousins disappeared very quickly. But when I sipped this one, especially since I didn't expect it, my mouth did that little quivering thing like the German grandfather in the movie Beerfest when he tastes the Schnitz'n'giggles version of the "Vworld's Greatest Beir!"

Sorry...I tend to get overexcited!
 
A family friend of ours (the guy who turned me on to homebrewing) brought over some stouts that were 7 years old!!! They were seriously unbelievable. I couldn't get past the idea that they were that old. Kept in a dark placed and with oxygen barrier caps this IS entirely possible.
 
I recently found a case of bottles from back in 2002 of what everyone now calls Apfelwein. Five gallons of filtered apple juice and a pound of dextrose fermented with Notty. I remember thinking it was pretty tasty but would kill the ladies thinking it was an alcoh-pop.

Now it's unbelievable. I can't wait to stick away the 999 barleywine and do a tasting in 3 or 4 years.
 
My neighbor just gave me all his brewing equipment and he had 3 or 4 cases of 22oz bottles as well. I found a couple of full brews in there and wondered what they'd be like. They were beautiful and had great carbonation and head, and smelled very nice but they were not at all tasty. I had to have something to eat to get the taste out of my mouth! We figure they must be nearly 3 years old, possibly more.
 
A couple weeks ago, I cracked open a bottle of the first homebrew I ever made. It was a Brewer's Best Oktoberfest kit (dried ale yeast), I loved it back then. Well, it was STILL GOOD! I was amazed! (it was almost 3 years old)
 
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