How does aging work ?

[Wildbill001]

In reading through a LOT of posts here, I see lots of comments along the lines of "let it age and it will smooth out". My question is "Why? What is it about letting a rocket-fuel age that allows it to smooth out?"

The bottle(s) are sealed, theoretically, so nothing should be getting out or in. Or does it ?

Thanks for helping this newbie understand.

Wildbill

 

[Yooper]

Aging "mellows" strong flavors. When I make wine, I purposefully overoak just a tad, so a year down the road it's about right. Tannins fade, and flavors meld, and "hotness" mellows nicely. That's why wines are aged a bit before you buy them, at least good red wines.

 

[tallybrewer]

The closest explanation I've seen was quoted in Revvy's Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning thread; specifically:

Originally Posted by EvilTOJ
Volatile chemicals break down into more benign ones, and longer protein chains settle out.

 

[hroth521]

Here is an old thread that wandered around but was generally on this topic:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/regarding-chemistry-aging-cider-151087/