How Long do Heavy Ales Take to Smooth Out?

[Clint Yeastwood]

I brewed a wheat-heavy Belgiany ale 4 days ago, and it looks like it went from 1.084 to 1.017 during that time, although the OG is a little iffy. I was looking for 1.020.

How long should I expect this beer to take to be drinkable? I haven't made a heavy beer since 2004, so I don't remember what happened with the last one. I recall that it never cleared up, and it kept improving for a very long time. Maybe over a year.

 

[Beerstein]

anywhere from 15 days to a year. I find most strong ipa’s are ready within 30 days. It seems most trappist tripels are ready in 2-3 months.

 

[madscientist451]

I set aside my high ABV beers for minimum 2-3 months, but often end up letting them age a year or two.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Thanks for the help. As a room temperature beer fresh from the fermenter, it's pretty nasty right now.

 

[OleBrewing]

been a while since brewing a heavy beer myself. probably same time frame. I do remember a barleywine i made, 6 months after bottling it was still so so. after swilling a couple here and there i forgot about a sixer stashed away. a year later i was kicking myself; it was unbelievable how well rounded it turn out. should have just waited all the other beers out.

lesson learned.

but a heavy will be made this winter party gyle style.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Thanks for the help. As a room temperature beer fresh from the fermenter, it's pretty nasty right now.

Brewed four days ago? That's not fresh from the fermenter, that's practically fresh from the kettle!

 

[sibelman]

kicking myself

Stories like @OleBrewing 's are common.

@Clint Yeastwood, I suggest you drink one of these strong beers a month (or fortnight) until you don't perceive substantial improvement. Then quaff on!

 

[hottpeper13]

I was the only guy at the table that didn't enjoy barleywines , harsh, over the top hops and malt. Then one meeting someone brought a 5 year old Big Foot and it was one of the best beers I had to date. So my answer is 5 years. My other big ones, Quad's, ubber bocks and such are awesome at 1 year,when barrel aged -2 years.

 

[lumpher]

Wheat-based beers usually round out earlier than barley-based, and it's a rule of thumb that lighter smoothes out faster than dark. As a more direct answer to your question, it will probably be a little harsh until 6-8 months, then start smoothing out.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

It fermented with tremendous speed. It's still in the fermenter. When I say it's fresh from the fermenter, I mean the sample I drew using a hand faucet.

Now I have to keg it and pick a cellaring temperature.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I decided to chill it to 55 and keg it tomorrow. I'll leave it at 55 until my limited patience runs out, and then it goes in the keezer at 35 with everything else.

 

[mashdar]

Will you put priming sugar in the keg?

 

[Red over White]

If you fermented under pressure, you likely will not require a lengthy maturation period at all.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Well, that is good news, except for arriving too late. I was afraid pressure would kill the esters. I pressurized it after fermentation stopped. Guess I'll just have to wait.

Will you put priming sugar in the keg?

No, just cranking up the CO2.

 

[Red over White]

I find it's actually hard to stop esters with pressure, macro brewers do too. They have 15+ psi built into their massive CCVs and their brews still have nice lovely esters.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

That wouldn't surprise me at all, since it's the opposite of what I've read. I'm used to seeing conventional brewing wisdom shot full of holes.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Kegged today under pressure. The beer is already a lot more like...beer. It will be great before too long.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I decided to chill it to 55 and keg it tomorrow. I'll leave it at 55 until my limited patience runs out, and then it goes in the keezer at 35 with everything else.

This seems way to fast. What is the rush? I will typically leave a high gravity beer in the fermenter for at least 3 weeks. I would not move it into cold conditioning just yet. Cold temps will slow down reactions and help with clarification, but I doubt your beer is ready for that stage yet.

In my experience, the fermentation process has a big impact on the required aging time. I underpitched an Imperial Stout that took a a year to mellow out (and was better a year later). I open fermented a Quad with a pitch of healthy yeast, and it was tasting great at 2 months. I have had beers get too hot during fermentation and the harsh fusel character just never faded...but that "too hot" temp varies from yeast strain to strain.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

This beer's fermentation flew, and it has been below the expected FG for several days. I'm not worried, because it should continue to ferment anyway, if there is any sugar left.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I went ahead and put this in the keezer.

I don't know what's happening, because I had some problems while brewing this stuff. Yesterday, it was very harsh, with some solventy burn, so I was going to leave it at 55 for at least a week and then see how it was doing. Of course, I could not resist a sample today. Now it goes down suspiciously easily. The burn is different today. It goes down like Kool Aid, but you feel the burn in your chest later.

I don't know what to think of the Sabro hops I used. It's not terribly bitter. It has a great aroma, but it doesn't seem like a hop aroma. Similar to any sweet Belgian. I used an ounce for dry-hopping. Maybe they're just mild? The flavor is wonderful.

Beersmith predicted 33 IBU's. I would say that feels right.

 

[AlexKay]

"Mild" is not the first descriptor that jumps to mind when you're talking about Sabro.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Do you mean bitterness or the other flavors? I tried to keep the bitterness down. Beersmith thinks 33 IBU's.

It's definitely strong. I've had a little over a pint, and I would not want to drive right now.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I think there may be some pineapple Sabro flavors in there, and possibly coconut, but the beer itself is so full of flavor, it's hard to tell what's happening.

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

@lumpher or others: When discussing how long it takes for a strong beer to mellow, is that usually at kegerator temperatures or at room temperature? I have a baltic porter I am going to tap next month which has been aging for 10 months at kegerator temperature, and I'm curious if I should have let it sit at room temperature in my basement during that time.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I marvel at your patience. If my liver could take it, my ale would be gone in a week.

 

[lumpher]

@lumpher or others: When discussing how long it takes for a strong beer to mellow, is that usually at kegerator temperatures or at room temperature? I have a baltic porter I am going to tap next month which has been aging for 10 months at kegerator temperature, and I'm curious if I should have let it sit at room temperature in my basement during that time.

I age at room temp to not take up space in my kegerator, but 11 months of lagering your Baltic Porter will leave it smooth and tasty.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Can I just say how much I love this ale? I almost feel like drinking it with three copier salesman in a corn belt airport while telling lies about Big Bill Brasky.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Can I just say how much I love this ale? I almost feel like drinking it with three copier salesman in a corn belt airport while telling lies about Big Bill Brasky.

Make sure you don't drink it all too young. I have never had a 1.084-ish beer that did not improve after 6 to 12 months. Sometimes they continue to improve, sometimes after a year or so they start to decline.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I hear you, but it's not easy to stay away from it. It's like the Beaujolais of beer. I'm pretty absent-minded. I could always make a keg and hide it from myself.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I honestly think 3.32 is too low for this beer. I may go up a couple of psi. It's magnificent at 3.32, but I think it can be even better. It loves fizz, and it loves low temperatures.