Aging Question

[C17-EHSE]

I'm about to brew my first batch. I wanted to do it over a month ago, but had to go on a month long business trip. Scheduled for another 2-3 weeks in June, then 10 days vacation in July. All that said, I want to do a stout for my first brew. When I read the comments on the recipes I considered from Austin Home Brew, they talked about it fermenting/aging for several months. Dunno if I want to age my first one that long - I'll be anxious to drink it! Plus, my travel schedule can get crazy.

So, my question is, how long do most of you ferment/age a stout. This will be an extract brew.

 

[Teromous]

I let my stouts ferment anywhere from 3-4 weeks. I keg so I let it age in there. It does get a whole lot better if you age it. I try to age it for another month if I can, but it really depends on how much beer I have. I start to...sample...a week after it's kegged but if you give it a month or so you will notice it tastes better.

Honestly for your first beer, I understand how excited you will be about it. If you're bottling, then I'd give it about 3 weeks to ferment then another 2-3 to bottle carb. It won't be aged but 6 weeks total should give you something very tasty that you can enjoy

The reason I try to get 3-4 weeks in the primary is for 2 reasons. Firstly, you want to ferment out as much as you can. Even after there is no airlock activity, stouts (at least mine) are a bit on the heavy side and could use a little longer time for the yeasty beasties to eat up the sugar. Secondly, it gives the beer more time to soak up the flavor of the yeast and gives it more character. Pull it out too soon, and it tastes a bit dull. Hope some of this helps...I'm drinking one of my stouts right now

 

[TTB-J]

It just comes down to quality, a beer can be drinkable after a couple of weeks fermenting and a couple of weeks in the bottle, but if you give it more time at every stage, you'll usually get better taste. This is true even more so for stouts and other high gravity beers, which can take quite a while to ferment out and carb up. I say just go for it and be as patient as you can with it, but if you're anything like me you'll tear through that first brew really quickly! Good luck!

 

[cvstrat]

I've brewed my American Stout recipe probably 15 times and I can tell you it's perfectly good after 4 weeks in primary and 1 week in the keg. I don't think you need to age stouts at all personally.

Now don't get me wrong most beers get better with time, and so will a stout, but it's a marginal improvement and one I think you can skip especially if you anxious for your first beer.

Just my opinion tho.

 

[B0rnFrustr8ed]

I let my first stout bottle-age for 8 weeks and then left them in the fridge for a week.

I tried one at 4 weeks and it was good, but I'm glad I waited.

If you are making 5 gallons, you can start drinking them at 4 weeks (put 12 in the fridge each week) and let the rest continue to age. That way, you'll be able to see if you taste a difference.

 

[Calder]

Start drinking it once it is carb'd. It will be good. Just remember beer does mellow with a little aging. Once you really get into this hobby, you will have plenty of beer available to let it age; for now, enjoy it as soon as it is ready.