Aging beer. Awesome!!!

[TMet]

So my first brew was an extract IPA and I screwed up on probably every step:
I know I pitched the yeast way too hot.
I got sent out of town for a month a couple days after brewing it so temp control was out the window.
I'm pretty sure I screwed up the hop additions.
I'm sure made a few other mistakes.

Well the beer turned out absolutely horrible and was undrinkable. I tried one last night (after a year and a half in the closet) and it wasn't bad!!! It's still not "good" but waiting definitely helped A LOT! Maybe in another year I'll like it.

So thanks, I'd have dumped it if it wasn't for all of you. I'm looking forward to doing two batches on Tues now that my fermenting buckets are free.

 

[RobWalker]

Oops.
next time you go to a party just take a bunch with you, after a couple of drinks people will drink anything that's free and you'll be the hero for bringing so many freebies 8)

 

[2wide]

The aging issue can be puzzling. I've had beers that peaked at about one month and went rapidly downhill after that--probably due to oxidation. However, I just finished up the last of a batch of Black Ale from Austin Homebrew that was most excellent at one year.

 

[liquoredup2]

had 2 kegs at my mothers house from 8os one stainless one aluminum keeping the stainless think the beer is still good in the aluminum one?

 

[Revvy]

had 2 kegs at my mothers house from 8os one stainless one aluminum keeping the stainless think the beer is still good in the aluminum one?

You won't know til you taste it.

 

[passedpawn]

I could have made and fermented 50 beers in that time. IMO, 1.5 years is too long to wait for a "not good" beer. UNLESS you know that is the normal path for that beer, and that it will turn out. I.e., a sour beer requires it.

I know what to expect after 3 or 4 weeks of fermenting. If it is absolutely crap, I'm dumping.

 

[dvdanny]

I could have made and fermented 50 beers in that time. IMO, 1.5 years is too long to wait for a "not good" beer. UNLESS you know that is the normal path for that beer, and that it will turn out. I.e., a sour beer requires it.

I know what to expect after 3 or 4 weeks of fermenting. If it is absolutely crap, I'm dumping.

I'd only agree with you if you were kegging, otherwise for bottle conditioning, empty bottles are cheap and easy to get. No reason to dump bottles and bottles of beer when you need only leave them out of sight and out of mind for an X amount of time. Obviously infected and vomit inducing batches are the exceptions.

I look at it this way, it doesn't cost me anything to keep the bottles. Money? nope if it eventually becomes drinkable then it's paying back on the investment in ingredients. Time? nope, if anything it saves me time, i don't have to dump 50 bottles. Only cost is space, and honestly if girls can find a way to store their 80+ pairs of shoes, we can find a way to store two cases of beer bottles.

 

[passedpawn]

I'd only agree with you if you were kegging, otherwise for bottle conditioning, empty bottles are cheap and easy to get. No reason to dump bottles and bottles of beer when you need only leave them out of sight and out of mind for an X amount of time. Obviously infected and vomit inducing batches are the exceptions.

I look at it this way, it doesn't cost me anything to keep the bottles. Money? nope if it eventually becomes drinkable then it's paying back on the investment in ingredients. Time? nope, if anything it saves me time, i don't have to dump 50 bottles. Only cost is space, and honestly if girls can find a way to store their 80+ pairs of shoes, we can find a way to store two cases of beer bottles.

Woops, I assumed it was still in fermentor.

If you don't need the bottles, then I agree with everything you said.

 

[Daybis]

I had two batches go south because of high fermentation temps, time really does heal wounds, but these beers are still a little scared. They aren't bad, but not great either. I actually keep these brews on hand as an example for others to try to learn from where I screwed up.