Weizenbock - aging

Preparing a Weizenbock for a competition - how well does Weizenbock age. My Hefe is always great young but not sure about 8%ABV Weizenbock's.

Opinions? any general comments about brewing one?

Brew NOW before the basement starts to heat up? warmer better? colder better?

Got some book'in to get into I guess!

I have a weizenbock I brewed back in October, also around 8%. I use the BCS recipe and fermented in the low 60s with WY3068, per Jamil's suggestion. It was perfect after just 3 weeks in the bottle, and so far it's held up well to aging. I only have one bottle left, but I might drink it tonight. To be honest I don't think aging has improved it that much, though it certainly hasn't hurt it.

Sorry I can't provide a more solid answer! I know how hefes can be past their prime after they're a few months old but this hasn't shown it yet.

If you have a good recipe and can still ferment in the low 60s, you should be fine bottling 3-4 weeks before the competition. I brought mine to a homebrew club meeting after 2 weeks in the bottle and everyone loved it.

OK, last night I drank the last bottle! It had been bottled since early November, so let's say 5 months. It had been a month or two since I'd had one.

It was still very good, but it was noticeably different than when it was fresh. I did swirl the yeast and pour that into the beer. A lot of the banana yeast esters had faded, and there was a much more prominent dark caramel/toffee flavor. I liked it better fresh, my GF liked it better this way.

So... use this information how you will

zachattack said:

OK, last night I drank the last bottle! It had been bottled since early November, so let's say 5 months. It had been a month or two since I'd had one.

It was still very good, but it was noticeably different than when it was fresh. I did swirl the yeast and pour that into the beer. A lot of the banana yeast esters had faded, and there was a much more prominent dark caramel/toffee flavor. I liked it better fresh, my GF liked it better this way.

So... use this information how you will

Click to expand...

Thanks Zak. That helps.