Tasting bottled beer after one week: Legit practice or lame excuse to try it?

[dusdau]

This post more for fun than anything, and to see varying responses. Got IPA in bottles (OG 1.070, FG 1.014) 8 days. Fairly proud of myself I didn't crack one open on day 7. My fourth batch, and first time that's happened.

Had a bottling wand snafu, and a half gallon or so went to waste, so trying to save it all for when it's good beer.

Who out there really feels cracking one open on day 7 is a legit practice to see how the beer will progress, and who feels we are just trying to justify drinking one early?

Dustin

 

[knyland]

I do it just to see how carbing is coming along. Did it last night with a beefed up nut brown ale. It was fairly flat but its got great potential. I dunno I guess I am just impatient.

 

[JoppaFarms]

I know you're not "supposed" to try it, but I always do. I don't serve it to others until it's ready, but I like to see how it's coming. What's one bottle going to hurt?

 

[CUrchin]

I used to to that,and then I started to realize that is one less beer that is properly carbed and conditioned. It's really il to you.

 

[Hello]

I do it. I wait about 7 days and now that I'm using mostly bombers, I'm noticing I need to wait a little longer. But generally the worst that will happen is it is severely under carbonated.

 

[dusdau]

I know you're not "supposed" to try it, but I always do. I don't serve it to others until it's ready, but I like to see how it's coming. What's one bottle going to hurt?

One now chilling in fridge.

 

[TheZymurgist]

Early on, I liked to see how the beer progressed and changed while it was maturing. I just wanted to understand each point of the process as much as I could. But also, I'm lazy and don't measure out priming sugar, I just dump the whole 4.5 or 5 ounce bag into the bottling bucket, so that's how I gauge when it's carbed how I want it.

Well, that was all before I started kegging...

 

[QuercusMax]

Both.

There are two kinds of homebrewers: those who try their beer before it's ready, and liars.

 

[JoppaFarms]

One now chilling in fridge.

Good for you! It's your beer after all. There are no "rules". Do what you want!

 

[brewerelated]

I vote for legit practice.

 

[mtnagel]

I used to do it more often until I realized that almost every beer I tasted early (<4 weeks in the bottle) just wasn't as good as later beers, so I rarely do it now.

 

[MindenMan]

The easy check for carbonation levels is to use a plastic soda bottle. When I was new to brewing I would open a bottle at 1 week or so, to "see how it was coming along".
Green beer sucks. I now wait at least 3 weeks in the bottle, usually more. After a week in the fridge to set the carbonation, a month has gone by and at that point, I have an idea what the beer will taste like, right? Not usually. The beer will change from week to week up to a point, and sit at peak for a while. Of course, every beer is different, and YMMV.

 

[prohl84]

Depending on ambient temps and the priming agent you could easily be done in a week. If your beer didn't taste "green" going in to bottle from my experience it will taste done as soon as it's fully carbonated.

I usually try one after a week- typically by then I can still taste a little sweetness from the primer but it's mostly bubbly.

I like to prime with speise/ dme but it does take slightly longer than table sugar.

 

[mtnagel]

The easy check for carbonation levels is to use a plastic soda bottle. When I was new to brewing I would open a bottle at 1 week or so, to "see how it was coming along".
Green beer sucks. I now wait at least 3 weeks in the bottle, usually more. After a week in the fridge to set the carbonation, a month has gone by and at that point, I have an idea what the beer will taste like, right? Not usually. The beer will change from week to week up to a point, and sit at peak for a while. Of course, every beer is different, and YMMV.

That's the one thing I don't get about kegging. In my experience a full 4 weeks makes almost every beer better. But I just kegged my first beer (black rye IPA) and it should be carbed about 2.5 weeks after brewing. And this is slow carbing (while dry hopping), so if you force carbed, you could be drinking 1.5 weeks after brewing. Isn't it still going to be green? Of course I could still let it condition in the keg, but I know you want to drink IPA's fresh. And I hear people drinking IPA's very quickly after brewing. I know my Bell's Two Hearted definitely tasted better after 4 or more weeks compared to 3 weeks in the bottle. How do I reconcile that???

 

[broadbill]

That's the one thing I don't get about kegging. In my experience a full 4 weeks makes almost every beer better. But I just kegged my first beer (black rye IPA) and it should be carbed about 2.5 weeks after brewing. And this is slow carbing (while dry hopping), so if you force carbed, you could be drinking 1.5 weeks after brewing. Isn't it still going to be green? Of course I could still let it condition in the keg, but I know you want to drink IPA's fresh. And I hear people drinking IPA's very quickly after brewing. I know my Bell's Two Hearted definitely tasted better after 4 or more weeks compared to 3 weeks in the bottle. How do I reconcile that???

Good brewing process (proper yeast pitch, Temp control, solid recipe, fresh ingredients) will dramatically decrease the amount of time a beer will have to get better/peak/age-out-the-byproducts.

Commericial breweries can get beer from grain to glass in 2 to 2-1/2 weeks, no reason why homebrewers can't either.

 

[mtnagel]

Thanks. That's helpful. I knew commercial was faster, but didn't know why. Hopefully I'm getting all those things down and my beer will be pretty good after 2.5 weeks.

 

[Chefflahertycec]

I'm on my 4th brew as well... My first brew i was sampling throughout the process of bottle aging. I bottled 2 - 6 packs and the rest 22's. the 12 small bottles were gone by the time the beer was really ready (2 weeks) but it taught me that good flat beer turns into outstanding properly aged brew... I'm a fan of drinking and when my home brew par gets up to the point where I will only be buying grains to make my own, the sampling will stop. well maybe not after 7 day sampling....

 

[Malty_Dog]

I confess to premature evaluation

May try to let my dubbel go 2 weeks in the bottle before sampling...

 

[zardozap]

I confess to premature evaluation

Just think about other things, like skunked beer that's been sitting in 80 degree weather. That's usually helps.....

 

[Qhrumphf]

I usually sample at a week in the bottle. I always have. I used to rationalize the whole "see how flavor progresses" thing, then it was "testing carbonation", and now its more ritual than anything else.

I also usually notice little change between conditioned carbonated beer at a few weeks in the bottle, and the beer as it goes into the bottling bucket (except for the carbonation, obviously). I pitch enough yeast, aerate, control fermentation temperature, and usually give it 3-4 weeks in primary. Beers that need significant aging, a few weeks isn't going to be enough to make a difference anyway.

And people always seem to assume that because pro brewers do it, we should strive for the same. In some cases, it's a matter of scale (larger batch in a conical means increased pressure on the yeast means suppressed esters, so pros can ferment warmer than we can) and doing what the pros do isn't always a good idea, and in other cases, like timeframe, you need to keep in mind that in a business setting time is money, and the longer a fermenter is tied up with a single batch the less capacity the brewery has. And as a result they'll hurry the process as much as possible to still release a satisfactory product as quickly as possible. I find many commercial brews benefit from some age (hoppy ones excepted, obviously). So again, just cause the pros do it doesn't mean we should strive to follow suit.

 

[Wynne-R]

The advantage of sampling young beer is to gain experience of how long it really takes.

I roll my eyes when someone says anything with the phrase “x weeks minimum”. That’s what I call calendar brewing.

Our goal is to produce beer without flaws, nothing to age out

Don’t guess. Taste it and find out.

 

[Flboy]

Ha, I came home and found my daughter pouring beer out of the fermenter, ya over 21! I doubt if I make it two weeks with any left! 5 gal batches!!

 

[Calichusetts]

I especially do this with hop bombs. Nice to see the aroma evolve. Nearly all of them I've ever tried have been carbed but, sometimes not fully. Usually 10 days in.

Never on malt forward beers...I see no point. Maybe I try big beers early, but that might mean 2 months in instead of 6+ to a year.

 

[nocluebrew]

I think its worth the extra week of waiting. Already waited at least 2 weeks or so what's another week to make sure its fully carbonated? I might feel this way because I have a pretty good stock of previous batches on hand to hold me over though.

 

[Tinga]

I always break into one or two earlier.

 

[gometz]

Sometimes I will try one early if it is a hoppy beer, but I really try to stay out of them until it's 2-3 weeks in. That's on less fully carbed beer for later!

 

[Brews]

The last time I bottled, about a month ago (kegging 95% of the time), was the first time I can remember not having one in 1 week, 2 weeks... In the middle of the 3rd week I tried one. I think this was mainly due to the 4 taps full in the keezer.

 

[Thedutchtouch]

Yes.

 

[dusdau]

Update...bottle I tried at 8 days was pretty much what you'd expect. Yeasty, bitterness hadn't mellowed (even for an IPA), hardly carbed, etc. Pretty rough. Tried again at 14 days...still needs some carbonation and to 'come together', but the difference in the two bottles was significant. More aroma, smoother, and of course the extra carbing helped quite a bit.

 

[Fishn-tin-sean]

I do it. I wait about 7 days and now that I'm using mostly bombers, I'm noticing I need to wait a little longer. But generally the worst that will happen is it is severely under carbonated.[/QUOT]

Agree with Hello here. Bombers filled with wand take longer to carb. I think its due to wand and bottle space/size difference.

My $.02

 

[Sbarnard80]

The advantage of sampling young beer is to gain experience of how long it really takes.

I roll my eyes when someone says anything with the phrase “x weeks minimum”. That’s what I call calendar brewing.

Our goal is to produce beer without flaws, nothing to age out

Don’t guess. Taste it and find out.

I agree. I always try one around a week. Sure, it hasn't reached its full potential yet, kind of like dating a virgin, it's still good even without the experience-I mean extra conditioning.

 

[Beernik]

I normally wait 4 weeks before opening a bottle. But I was excited to try my two new lagers (pumpkin Dort & a Vienna) so I opened a pumpkin Dort after 6 days in th bottle.

Fully carbonated, just a little bready. It even laced down the side of the glass.

I'm trying the Vienna tonight.

 

[BWE]

I usually keg, but when I do bottle I usually bottle in 16oz bottles. I always make sure to bottle a few 12oz bottles also for that exact reason. Little testers.

 

[Petekiteworld]

I do this all the time. I usually start drinking after about five days off conditioning

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[Beernik]

Ok, drinking my two lagers after a week in the bottle was a bad idea. Not from young beer flavors. But the yeast farts. I was deadly all weekend.

 

[aiptasia]

Legit, just to see how the beer is progressing. I usually will test sample at one week and then at two weeks, but I don't freak out if it isn't completely carbonated until week three.

 

[klinus]

i tried my first brew ever after 8 days. I might have been over excited, but it was really good, and i really didnt think it could be better than what it was. Left it a couple of days more before i put the bottles to cool on the balcony. Tried the last one of them now, a month later and didnt taste much different (better or worse).

 

[cjgenever]

I pull a glass before bottling. It your beer, do what you want!

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