Finally, I had a chance to drink a 5 month old brew

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solidghost

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One of my friends had a single bottle of a brew I made about 4-5 months ago. He had it hidden in one corner of his house and forgot about it. So when he found it, he brought it back and we had a drink.

And for those who says that aged beer taste better, I have to say, you are absolutely right! It does taste much better than what I had thought it tasted. I guess the correct word would be "smoother"? :rockin:

Anyways, it was an Australian Pale Ale, made from the Cooper's kit. So guys, remember to give your beers some time before drinking it.
 
+1

The oldest my beer has made it so far is I think 8 or 9 weeks. It was an APA, I saved one bottle, and yes, it was superior to what I remembered it tasting like at 3 to 5 weeks in the bottle.
 
There is any easy solution to the problem of drinking your beer too quickly - Brew More! It's much easier to let a batch sit and get some age when you have two or three that are ready to drink.
 
My last batch was a Coopers Irish Stout and by the last bottle it was amazing. Had been conditioned at that point probably close to 3 months. Really was great....but then it was all gone :(
 
I just popped my last 12oz bottle of Chocolate stout that I did. It was originally bottled in Late November and it tastes like a whole different beer. All the flavors matured and it took on a different taste. Wonderful fruityness and the aroma was of plums, raisins, chocolate and a little alcohol. Outstanding. I strongly doubt that I will have any beers last this long anymore but I am going to try and save a few now. I usually bottle my beer into One 1/2 gallon growler and the rest into bottles and I save the growler for aging. However, I have had gushers on all the growlers that I have aged so I dont know whats wrong but all the bottles have been aging wonderfully.
 
Today I actually filled a 12 pack with an assortment of my beers and duct taped it shut and put it in the back of the beer fridge. I've been trying to age some of my beers but they still don't last as long as I want them too. Hopefully a well duct taped box will deter me.
 
i have two cases of a dark strong ale that are over a year old buried under the steps at my friend's house. we're going to crack them open for halloween (1 year since i buried them.)

+1 on the brewing more. the only reason my RIS 08/08/08 and my dubbel have been able to sit is because i've been going nuts with brewing the last six months and always have something on tap :D
 
I too have a Coopers Australian Pale Ale which I brewed as my 3rd batch. I bottled it on 2/29 so it's 4 months old now. This has always been pretty good stuff from the beginning but is even better now. Fortunately as with most of my beers, I've set aside a 12 pack to age, as otherwise, I'm down to 2 or 3 bottles. Ditto for the Coopers IPA -- another beer that turned out great.

+1 on brewing like crazy so once you're past the initial wait, you have a steady supply to enjoy while waiting for the next ones.
Setting aside beers to age like this takes extra bottles, but it's worth it. Right now I have 5 or 6 cases aging. But by brewing like crazy early on, my early beers are now at or near 4 months (without special aging effort) and only now am I starting to run low on 3 or 4 of the batches. The exception to this aging scheme is the American Light clones - we just go through that too quickly -- I've tried to set aside a 12 pack or two of that too, only to raid the stash when we ran out a time or two. I do have a batch of that bottled on June 2 set aside that may survive for a while though as the previous batch isn't gone yet and I have 2 more ready to be bottled.

I'm not sure yet what my goals are for this whole aging thing -- 8 months? 10 months? 1 year? Eventually, having a 12 pack of every batch set aside is going have a big impact on the number of bottles in normal circulation. So, maybe I'll take a six pack at 8 months and shoot for 10 months or a year with the other... I'll have to see how it goes...
 
that sounds delicious....i have saved the first beer i ever bottled so i think im going to open that the day before i die and see how delicious it is :)
 
Everything I brew (Even Apfelwein) gets a 6 pack with oxygen caps ( I know...its just in case) and special label with details of the brew and is stashed in the basement with all the others. I intend to keep this up until I have a rotating supply of 1 year old beer, and the possibility of saving 3 for the next year. This way, if I brew at least once a month...I can eventually have 3 beers that are a year old, and 3 that are 2 years old, and all it costs me is a 6 pack per batch.
 
I was just surprised that how great it tasted. I mean I have been drinking some commercial beers here and there, nothing really serious. And comparing with commercial ones, I am guessing that my homebrewed ones tasted slightly better.

But after drinking that 5 month old brew, I am completely flabbergasted. Never tasted beer taste soooooooooooo god damn goooooooood. Wooooyaaaahhhh.
 
I split my 4 last brews up into two lots. One half I'm aging for two months (two brews reach that mark in 13 days :D ).
The other half I'm saving for the end of the year, hopefully after that long they will impress my friends enough to get into the hobby with me.
It's not so hard for me, I've got the 3 previous brews to drink in the mean time, and if ever I'm bored I just brew another batch and just think of the good times :rockin:
The only thing that worries me about aging beers is the hop aromas and sometimes bitterness disappears. For that reason I'm only aging the darker maltier beers.
 
The only thing that worries me about aging beers is the hop aromas and sometimes bitterness disappears. For that reason I'm only aging the darker maltier beers.

Yes, I felt that too. The bitterness is reduced but I guess we would say it is the mellowing of the flavours instead?
 
That's what I've been saying...allow your beer to do its own thing. Don't try to rush natural processes...
5 months, huh? Congrats! :mug:

At present I have 2 kegs on tap, 8 in the keezer, 8 more kegs waiting...6 cases of assorted beers, about 65 bottles of assorted meads and apfelwein/ciders, 2 pale ales and an apflewein fermenting...(and a partidge in a pear tree...:drunk:)

Right now I am drinking a bottle of Kellerbier I brewed in Feb 05 and bottled 27 March 05! Yes, it's been in the fridge that long...;)

It is very smooth, it's more like a German lager, very pale yellow, sweet with a light dry finish, only slightly hoppy. Very enjoyable. I think I have 5 left...:rockin:
 
I gotta be honest I haven't brewed anything at all. In fact I am more of a whiskey drinker (Seagrams 7 till the wheels fall off) but I do love a good beer. I've never heard of aging beer. It makes perfect sense to me. We age whiskey, and anything that creates alcohol by fermentation takes time. So my question is, what is a good age?

Also for the complete newbie, is there a good "kit" that handles the basics at a price that is not too crazy?
 
That's what I've been saying...allow your beer to do its own thing. Don't try to rush natural processes...
5 months, huh? Congrats! :mug:

At present I have 2 kegs on tap, 8 in the keezer, 8 more kegs waiting...6 cases of assorted beers, about 65 bottles of assorted meads and apfelwein/ciders, 2 pale ales and an apflewein fermenting...(and a partidge in a pear tree...:drunk:)

Right now I am drinking a bottle of Kellerbier I brewed in Feb 05 and bottled 27 March 05! Yes, it's been in the fridge that long...;)

It is very smooth, it's more like a German lager, very pale yellow, sweet with a light dry finish, only slightly hoppy. Very enjoyable. I think I have 5 left...:rockin:

Amazing! 3 year old brews! Must taste like heaven.
Anyways, I am going glass (previously it was PET bottles) and I think I should be able to age them for even longer, if I have the willpower and the space available.
 
Amazing! 3 year old brews! Must taste like heaven.
Anyways, I am going glass (previously it was PET bottles) and I think I should be able to age them for even longer, if I have the willpower and the space available.
Actually, it tastes pretty good. I can close my eyes and I'm back in Buttenheim at the St. Georgenbrau or the Lowenbrau gasthaus right next door...

I went to the fridge for another Kellerbier and started counting...as I drink this second one I still have 8 left...all my bottles are 0,5 liter ones too. ;):mug:
 
So my question is, what is a good age?
Really, it depends on the beer. Some beers, like a hefeweizen are really better when they're fresh. I keep a log on all my brews and write tasting notes on them, including how long it's been in bottles, so that I can have some record of how a specific recipe holds up over time. A lot of commercial beers won't change drastically over time because they aren't bottle conditioned - I don't think I'd try and age any of those that weren't high in alcohol (because alcohol itself does nice things with time).
Also for the complete newbie, is there a good "kit" that handles the basics at a price that is not too crazy?
You mean a brewing kit? You'll need an equipment kit and then ingredients. Most equipment kits seem to run $60-$100. Recipe kits are usually about $25-$40, I think (I've never bought one).
 
Actually, it tastes pretty good. I can close my eyes and I'm back in Buttenheim at the St. Georgenbrau or the Lowenbrau gasthaus right next door...

I went to the fridge for another Kellerbier and started counting...as I drink this second one I still have 8 left...all my bottles are 0,5 liter ones too. ;):mug:

Ahhh.....if only I could get a taste of one of those, life would be great. :D:cross:
 
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