quick survey

I only have 3 beers left from my first batch
should I drink'em or save em for years down the road to look back upon

its just a DME beginner kit form the LHBS

yes
or
no

Make a new batch and hide em in your basement! I wish I still had some of my first homebrews....

Meh, just drink it. An all extract brew isn't going to get much better with time.

llazy_llama said:

Meh, just drink it. An all extract brew isn't going to get much better with time.

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It's not an all extract its a parshall extract

You mean extract with specialty grains? In that case, I vote save it. I don't think it'll let me change my vote in the poll though. Just call it a +/-1 margin of error.

IDK what you call it you steep grains for about 45 min than add DME and hops its a pale ale

Partial Mash, LME and DME are both PM

Its an extract with specialty grains. The grains are adding flavor and not fermentables (that's the DME)

I voted for drink it but keep I'd keep it a least for a few more months and see how it ages!

I think I'm going to repost this in the General Beer Discussion forum. it seams to be a more proper place for it. but keep voting on it I'll check both

I would save one, I guess, but I'll tell you now, it isn't going to be good in a few years.

Meh....I tried to save a few once, but always end up drinking them when I get low. Whatever, when it's good it's good. If I made a barleywine or RIS I probably would tuck a few away for a real long aging, but for normal beer I'll drink it when it's ready. I'm not sentimental.

Drink it. Once you learn more and your taste develop, you probably wont want to drink it. We all loved our first batch. Looking back if we all had one beer from the first batch we would probably only taste it to see how far we had come as brewers.

beerthirty said:

Drink it. Once you learn more and your taste develop, you probably wont want to drink it. We all loved our first batch. Looking back if we all had one beer from the first batch we would probably only taste it to see how far we had come as brewers.

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That's exactly what I had in mind

I might keep one or two for a few months but for longer than about a year I wouldn't recommend it. Most beers wont handle sitting for extremely long times. I did keep one of my first one for 6 months, but wasn't as pleased with it as I first remembered

I did that with my first two batches. Fourteen years later I found them in the back of the closet. When I tried them, they didn't taste like beer at all. One was a bitter and the other was an Irish stout, but they both tasted the same. Like caramel with a mild alcohol warmth down the throat. They were slightly carbonated and very smooth. Not bad at all. I wish I had some more.

I don't know if "for years" is a very good idea. I know I am not an experienced home brewer, but I do know that commercial beer from mega-breweries does get off flavors with extended storage and their pasteurized and canned/bottled under conditions we could never achieve. Twice I have tried beer I left at a buddies house that was 1-2 years old. One was Milwaukee's best cans and the other Moose Head bottles. The cans tasted like they had been spiked with black pepper and the Moose Head had become more bitter, and perhaps peppery, I don't recall.

I voted yes, but don't think years is a good idea. I'm cracking my first batch open on Sunday and have a 22 ozer that I'm going to keep around for six months to try.

Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink! (but save 1)

I have 2 bottles from my first brew left (Amber Ale supposed to be a Fat Tire clone, but it tastes nothing like Fat Tire), I saved a sixer and have been having 1 every month. It has been over 2 months since bottling and I must say it seems to be getting more bitter. Like I said this was my first brew and I have brewed four times since and refined some of my techniques. I say drink them 6 months out and see what the difference is, but don't save'em too long, you brewed them to drink right? They shouldn't be stuffed in a museum.

Save at least one to drink on the 1 year anniversary of brewing your first batch. That's what I did, and omg, who woulda thought a Mr Beer beer could actually ever taste so damn good.

I'd do the same the other 2...have one in 3 months, and the other at 6...(That way you can learn something about them as they age as well. Take notes on them.)

I didn't save any, however my first few batches were not worth keeping.

Drink 'em!!

Save them so you can do some comparison in the near future with your upcoming batches.

Aleforge said:

I didn't save any, however my first few batches were not worth keeping.

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I would have to agree with you, I am liking my first batch less each time I open one. I really liked my second brew which was a Belgian Wit, sooo much better. (they are all gone)

Should have saved some of them, but from what I understand Wheat beers should be drank young.

i still have a few bottles from 4 years ago. My god there amazing

The first thing I do is put a 6 pack away in the 6 month corner not to be touched. After that it's every beer for himself. But now I have 15 6 packs in the corner so . . . . I'm good.

Drink it. Once you learn more and your taste develop, you probably wont want to drink it. We all loved our first batch. Looking back if we all had one beer from the first batch we would probably only taste it to see how far we had come as brewers.

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WOW +1 on that - I saved some of my first 3 batches and after 4 months I was surprised how much BETTER I am now!