A story of patience...almost. Ill call it "accidental patience".

I went to the fridge a few minutes ago to get a beer...yep, Im out. Had a friend over a few weeks ago and apparently he LOVED MY BREW because its gone. I know we tied one on and drank an assload of brew, but had no clue we drank it ALL! Now, I have been sick with a stomach virus and a staph infection that made me go to the hospital so I hadnt been in the mood for beer in a while until I hit the fridge tonight. Well, I was rooting around in there and found ONE hefe that we didnt get to. I felt like a kid at Christmas.

I cracked open that top and poured it in my glass and it was the best looking beer I had seen that came from MY hands. It was just a little hazy, because it was a hefe, but it was way clearer than a few weeks ago. The flavor was amazing! It actually matured a bit in the two extra weeks it was in the fridge. It was crisp, carbonated right, and had the banana and cloves that the others from this batch didn't have as much of. THIS one was balanced!

So, by having that beer hidden in the bottom of my fridge for two extra weeks, it totally changed in taste and complexity. That is my story in patience...almost. It was "accidental patience" but it taught me to leave my beer for just a wee bit longer. Maybe you should do the same if you are a noob as well!

True true. What I try to do is have some good beer around so I am less tempted to touch my beer until it sits just a little extra. Always turns out that much better as well and it is always worth the wait

Yea, I first discovered the magic of long fridge time after carbonation when I stumbled upon one that had been in the back for the fridge for 3 months. It was crystal clear and the yeast cake on the bottom was so tight that I could upend the bottle and no sediment came out. Had to use hot water to clean it out of the bottle.

I've noticed how clear my kegged beer is too after a couple of month. I live alone, and I'm pretty much the only one drinking my own beer, and I'm not always in the mood for what I have on tap, so I may have a beer on tap for 3 or more months before it kicks. Last week I pulled a pint of my cream ale, and you would have thought it was a commercial filtered beer, it was amazingly polished looking.

Definitely subscribe to a bit of lengthy fridge time for it's efficacy on home brew that's ready for it:rockin: