Amazing what time in the bottle does.

[PADave]

Since I started brewing I've been saving one bottle from each batch, just because. The other day I figured I'd start drinking them, no reason to save them forever. Wow, have some of them changed for the better. A couple of my early brews I wrote off as no good, wouldn't brew again. After a few months they've become pretty good, and one or two I drank too soon for sure. Being that my first batches were 1 gallon, I didn't have much to work with. Moral of the story, if your beer isn't that good after a short time in the bottle, let it sit, good things might develop.

 

[FatDragon]

My first brew was a kit put together by a local shop. The instructions said to use S-04 at 24C. The beer tasted good but every time I took a sip I would burp up a tiny bit of carbonation in the back of my throat and it carried an awful aftertaste that really put me off the beer. I put aside the last half dozen bottles after my second brew was bottled and ready and only went back to them a few months later. The nasty burp was totally gone. I've since had another beer that accidentally got too warm fermenting with S-04 and had the same off flavor which also aged out after a couple months.

One can certainly screw up a beer badly enough that it's not gonna get any better, but a lot of things like over-bittering, over-spicing, and many yeast off-flavors will mellow or disappear with time, and sometimes other flavors will develop that bring your beer from decent to excellent even if you totally don't deserve it.

 

[mattdee1]

There is definitely validity to the adage “patience is a virtue in home brewing,” but I’ve noticed that discussions about the magical effects of “aging” beer often gloss over some important nuances that might lead to disappointment for newbies who, based on internet research, are holding out for a magical transformation after several months of waiting.

A 5% ABV light-colored ale with a simple grain bill is going to hit its stride at 3 weeks, maybe 4, but will probably be 90%+ of the way there at 2.

For such beers, I think the best advice is not so much a generic “age them,” but rather, put those suckers in a cold fridge as soon as they’re carbed up. After a week or two they really start to clear up and sparkle. I used to just put 4-5 bottles in the fridge at a time to “drink as I go” while the rest sat in the closet, sometimes for weeks or months. Now, I cram as many in the fridge as I can so they sit there for as long as possible before serving.

 

[Northbank]

I did a kit porter earlier in the year and made a ton of mistakes with it ... or at least things I would not do now ... I poured all the gunk from the bottom of the boil pan into my carboy, it fermented a bit on the warm side (my place was warmer than I expected it to be) ... I thought I under primed it ....

It wasn't exactly bad apart from feeling kind of flat. Nothing about it was good, it was literally the most average beer I'd had ... I tried a bottle weekly for the first four weeks or so before deciding to move on, after about 7 weeks I put a couple more bottles in the fridge an almost did a little dance when I saw a real head, real carbonation, and smoother tastes just there ... its actually pretty decent

 

[Rolsom]

I've been brewing more than I can drink, so I've had the luxury of being able to take my darker malt beer and storing then in the basement.
I have a case of year old imperial stout, a case of Scottish 80, a case and a half of winter porter, and 6 more cases of 4 different beers that just keeps getting better.
When I started brewing and building my pipeline, I would drink and give away all my beers, I know better now.

 

[lolcats]

Depends on what beer they are.

For hop forward beers, yes they get better before they aren't anymore.
To me the window perfect window is between 4 weeks to 3 months in bottle.

Some hops age better than others. I drank one of my Columbus IPAs 6 months later and was amazing. Centennial or Citra age pretty bad IMO.

 

[dwhite60]

Stouts and porters are best, for me, in six to eight weeks. Less than six they just aren't quite right.

I made a show mead a year and a half ago. I put a whole vanilla bean in a gallon. Can you say vanilla overload? This has been in the bottle a little over a year and it's actually starting to round out.

Time is your friend when brewing.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[fat-buddha]

So in January, I brewed my third batch ever. A week after I racked it to secondary and then let it sit until Feb 26, when I bottled and primed it.

March 6, for a family party, I pulled it out and discovered that it was dead flat. Tasty but flat.

Fast forward to today. While cleaning up some bottles from a completely botched mead (a different story), I figured I dump that batch of beer since I didn't need anything flat. I open the first bottle and get the sound of carbonation. So instead of pouring it down the drain, I poured it into a glass. Even at basement temp (~65F), it tastes absolutely fantastic. Some bottles are in the fridge and I can't wait to taste how they are when chilled down somewhat.

I guess it just goes to show that good things come to those who wait.

Edit: And just to add, this was a Amarillo/Maris Otter SMaSH hopped out to be an IPA.

 

[m1k3]

Many people have said the last pint before the keg kicked was the best.

In a keg things drop out of suspension.

With the bottle you would think everything stays in the bottle, right?
Its interesting to separate conditioning from cold filtering.

 

[bill402]

I did a kit porter earlier in the year and made a ton of mistakes with it ... or at least things I would not do now ... I poured all the gunk from the bottom of the boil pan into my carboy, it fermented a bit on the warm side (my place was warmer than I expected it to be) ... I thought I under primed it ....

It wasn't exactly bad apart from feeling kind of flat. Nothing about it was good, it was literally the most average beer I'd had ... I tried a bottle weekly for the first four weeks or so before deciding to move on, after about 7 weeks I put a couple more bottles in the fridge an almost did a little dance when I saw a real head, real carbonation, and smoother tastes just there ... its actually pretty decent

Dude, this is my life right now. Had a bourbon barrel recipe that just tasted weird. Having a post work, Friday bottle each week. Been in the bottle for a month now, and it's getting less terrible each Friday.