Bottle Conditioning Question

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MarkZ56

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I did my third batch about 6 weeks ago. A Rye Pale Ale. I took great care in sanitizing, used a starter\stir plate for the first time, hit my numbers almost on the head and bottled without a single loss. I bottle conditioned for 2 weeks and tried one beer last week and my heart sunk because it just didn't taste good. So I didn't panic and gave it another week, dipped into a few last night and was beyond pleased. I can say in all honesty I made a good beer. To avoid confirmation bias, I asked my wife to try it and she said it was very very good as well. My question-what really happens inside of a bottle? The first try wasn't as carbonated as the second 'testing' so I know that extra week made a difference there but can I expect to experience a different, more finished tasting beer after one additional week in the bottle? (conditioned them at about 68F).

Thanks in advance for the advice.
 
Nice!

Beer will mellow out has it ages - however beer will start to spoil at room temp. after a relatively longtime.

I never tested it myself but from what i read 2-3mths at room temp. and your beer will start to spoil.

But more to the point. :) Many folks bottle conditon for 4-6 weeks. I don't personally. Once your pleased with the taste i would put them in a cool place.

Anyhow Congrats! I'm pretty happy with my beer this time around myself after making homebrew off and on since i was a teenager. :)
 
What you just experienced is the three weeks @ 70F rule bottling has. It takes that long to carbonate & condition an average gravity beer at that temp. Then 5-7 days in the fridge for decent head & clearer beer. It takes 5-7 days for any chill haze to form & settle, compacting the trub & yeast on the bottom of the bottle as well.
Lagers, hybrid lagers, & darker, roastier beers in general will need more time at room temp to condition properly, not just carbonate. Roasted malts, in increased quantities, can & often do need more conditioning time to mellow out. And beer will NOT automatically spoil in 2-3 months. I've had boxes of my hybrid lagers sit at room temps 6-8 months that were still good after 1-2 weeks fridge time. As long as the bottle caps are installed tightly, the beer will last a lot longer than a couple months. Hop flavors & aromas may not, but that doesn't mean the beer is spoiled.
 
I never tested it myself but from what i read 2-3mths at room temp. and your beer will start to spoil.

So not true.

Beer will change over time but if properly made and you used good sanitization practices, beer will keep indefinitely. Some beers like an IPA are meant to be drank fresh and the hop flavor and aroma will fade with time but it will not spoil. I recently drank a Belgian Dark that has been in bottles for over 5 years and it was fantastic.

To answer the OP. It seems that three weeks in the bottle is the magic number for it to carb and condition properly. Sure sometimes a brew can be ready sooner but a good three weeks will almost always be the point where a beer conditions and tastes better.
 
What you just experienced is the three weeks @ 70F rule bottling has. It takes that long to carbonate & condition an average gravity beer at that temp. Then 5-7 days in the fridge for decent head & clearer beer. It takes 5-7 days for any chill haze to form & settle, compacting the trub & yeast on the bottom of the bottle as well.
Lagers, hybrid lagers, & darker, roastier beers in general will need more time at room temp to condition properly, not just carbonate. Roasted malts, in increased quantities, can & often do need more conditioning time to mellow out. And beer will NOT automatically spoil in 2-3 months. I've had boxes of my hybrid lagers sit at room temps 6-8 months that were still good after 1-2 weeks fridge time. As long as the bottle caps are installed tightly, the beer will last a lot longer than a couple months. Hop flavors & aromas may not, but that doesn't mean the beer is spoiled.

Yeah spoil might be the wrong word. The hop flavours will change for the worst from my "reading" over time. The point i was trying to make - don't treat beer like wine or whiskey. Its not meant for longtime storage.

Has for chill haze - i found if i cold crash for a few days before i bottle i have a good success rate eliminating chill haze. Especially if you use gelatin.
 
My experience is that even if you have good carbonation early the beers, most often, will benefit from further aging. The flavors mellow, blend etc. I would say that at 2 weeks some of my beers were fully carbonated, at 3 weeks or longer most, if not all of them, tasted better.

I brewed a winter warmer ale in Nov. 2011 hoping for a nice warming beer to enjoy on a cold winters night in late winter. In March 2012 they were quite harsh, in July they were beginning to get good. In January 2013 they were very good, in January 2014 they were even better. In the summer of 2014 they seemed to peak. In December 2015 I finished the last bottles.
 
I brewed a winter warmer ale in Nov. 2011 hoping for a nice warming beer to enjoy on a cold winters night in late winter. In March 2012 they were quite harsh, in July they were beginning to get good. In January 2013 they were very good, in January 2014 they were even better. In the summer of 2014 they seemed to peak. In December 2015 I finished the last bottles.

Thats the exception though. Would you agree?

I do remember one batch a longtime ago that was disgusting after 3 weeks so i left it for a few months and it was drinkable overtime.

Maybe i'm over my head here :D Like i said i have no experience - well once - aging beer for months but i read beer is not like wine it should be drank fresh in most cases.
 
Thats the exception though. Would you agree?

I do remember one batch a longtime ago that was disgusting after 3 weeks so i left it for a few months and it was drinkable overtime.

Maybe i'm over my head here :D Like i said i have no experience - well once - aging beer for months but i read beer is not like wine it should be drank fresh in most cases.

Not really an exception. Different styles of beer benefit differently from aging. For instance an IPA will have the hop flavor and aroma fade rather quickly, so drinking them starting as soon as they are conditioned, minimum 2 weeks to 3-4 weeks is best. Darker and heavier beers benefit from longer conditioning. The winter ale is somewhat extreme but Stouts and Porters etc. might hit there prime at as long as a year or more.

It really depends on the style and if there were any problems with the brewing or fermentation. Aging can mellow these problems. (sometimes).
 
"If you see a beer, do it a favor, and drink it. Beer was not meant to age." -- Michael Jackson

This is the quote that inspired my thinking. :)

And apparently IPA was created so it would preserve better for the sea voyage from england to india - which was some 6 mths at the time. Thats were the "India" comes from.

Beer history does indicate beer was drank fresh IE within a few months.
 
"If you see a beer, do it a favor, and drink it. Beer was not meant to age." -- Michael Jackson

This is the quote that inspired my thinking. :)

And apparently IPA was created so it would preserve better for the sea voyage from england to india - which was some 6 mths at the time. Thats were the "India" comes from.

Beer history does indicate beer was drank fresh IE within a few months.

If this is the one gloved Michael Jackson, I would not give too much weight to his opinions on beer.

IPA origins were as you said but then again in those days they drank beer because the water was bad. The beer was safer to drink. I doubt the shipping company worried too much how the beer tasted for the sailors who drank it.

Again different styles benefit differently from different lengths of time aging.
 
If this is the one gloved Michael Jackson, I would not give too much weight to his opinions on beer.

IPA origins were as you said but then again in those days they drank beer because the water was bad. The beer was safer to drink. I doubt the shipping company worried too much how the beer tasted for the sailors who drank it.

Again different styles benefit differently from different lengths of time aging.

It was for the British who occupied and controlled India at the time. They would put a ton of hops in the beer to preserve it. So in fact its a paradox now that we all drink IPA's "fresh". :p

Micheal Jaskson - best performer ever. And i'm a hardcore rock and roll guy!

Quirky fact - Eddie Van Halen wrote the guitar solo in "Beat It". :rockin:
 
So I'm brand new. Just did my first brew a milk Stout. Should I try it at 2 weeks or give it a little longer?
 
Stouts benefit from some age. sInce you are new go ahead and taste one at 2-3 weeks and then let the rest age some more and taste again. Think months not weeks.
 
Not to steal a thread, but to go right along with bottle conditioning and what's going on, I have a question about once you cool it. Along with the 3 weeks bottle conditioning, I've always heard 3 days in the fridge before enjoying. What happens to the beer if you only wait 6 hours to cool or 24 hours vs the full 3 days? Also, when you guys sample a beer so see how it's going along in the bottle, do you sample a full beer at room temp? Thanks!
 
It takes longer than 6 hours or three days in my experience. You're not only allowing time for the beer & the head space to come to an equilibrium with Co2 pressure. You're also allowing any chill haze to form & settle, which usually takes 5-7 days that I've seen. & the longer it's in there, to a point, the head will last longer & be finer bubbled. & the trub & yeast will compact more on the bottom of the bottle.
 
With all due respect to Michael Jackson (if you like beer & whisky and haven't heard of him, you're doing yourself a disservice), many beers age gracefully in the bottle, and were designed to do so. It all depends upon the beer and how it was brewed. I still have some bottles from 2007-2009 happily aging away in my basement, and the last couple I've had were wonderful. Might have to crack another soon...
 
Good info all. Thanks. I've 'sampled' more than a few and I'm content putting this in the 'good' column.
 
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