Lagering time? Why?

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Canuck137

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Long story short, I made a very nice partial mash Mexican lager. Used some liquid Mexican lager yeast, wakatu hops, 5 lbs grain mash, 3 lbs light LME, Irish moss... made a lot of care to ferment it at 10c... I guess what I am saying is that I put some effort into it.

So now the beers have been sitting for 2 weeks in my cellar at 10C. I took one out the other day. Placed it in the fridge for 24 hours... and drank it last night. Result was amazing. It was like a much better version of a Corona, it has the crispness, but more head, better mouth feel and hop profile. Has a bit of a sweetness to it, clear and crisp like a Mexican lager...

The question is, why wait more time to "lager" it. It seems fine now after 2 wks, I drink my IPAs after 2 weeks but was prepared to wait 2 months for these guys. I am just wondering what will happen if I wait another month or two? What will change in the flavour of it? How will it be different or better? It's already better than a Corona. I am contemplating moving them into the fridge and declaring open season on these beers. Why not?
 
If it's a lager with any potential complexity, it will continue to improve. It may be delicious at 2 weeks, but it might blow you away as it matures. I just keg 'em up and pull small samples for a couple weeks until it begins tasting smooth, then go to town. Usually I have many beers on tap, so it takes months to deplete and I'm still able to observe and enjoy the maturation process.
 
It fermented at 8-10 C for two weeks. Then 20 C for one wk. Then back to 8 C for 2 days... It felt like I was moving it around a lot haha. Now bottles have been sitting at 8-10c for just over two weeks.

I think what I will do is move half of them to the fridge (4C) and declare open season on that half. Thanks for the comments.
 
I made a lager few months ago that was tasty. It was kegged and in the keezer at 38 degrees F and it just got better and better the longer it sat. When I do another one I will just put away for a couple months or more before tapping it. But if it taste good now, go for it :tank:
 
in general, the lighter the lager, the more it improves with lagering time. you get compounds falling out of suspension, the beer gets clearer and cleaner, and the beta acids in your hop oils undergo changes and "improve" as well.

the drawback is that if you wanna do a modern style hoppy lager, the kettle hop flavors dissipate over time so its a bit self-defeating. you can always dry hop after you finish a long lager period, but for most people i talk to (and my opinion) that leaves you with more aroma than flavor. its a delicate dance.

but i will say the 940 will generally work quickly and cleanly if you do a good size pitch and oxygenate. its not as estery as the german/czech yeasts so there's less to clean up with a cold lager.
 
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