Beer maturity and forced carbonation

[Jayni]

So I brewed a Hefeweizen kit from NB 2 weeks ago and would most likely be able to start bottling tomorrow. But am wondering if I force carbonate, do you still have to let the beer sit/mature for about 2 weeks or is it still considered "green"? I have never kegged or forced carbonated before so am just wondering how this would affect the taste...? Or should it clear more, Don't wanna ruin or waste any good brew... TIA

 

[FuzzBeckersHB]

Hey Jayni, I would say after you keg it and it has fully carbed, drink it and see. Most beers kinda settle it and get better as time goes on. But if you like it, then you are good to go. My problem is I can't keep my hands off the tap once it's carbed, so usually the keg is kicked in 2-3 weeks. IPA's are known to be best when fresh. It is purely subjective and up to the drinker...cheers

 

[Jayni]

Good to know! My issue is that it still has a somewhat "cloudy" look to it, so I'm wondering if it will throw the taste off? I know when I do wines, I would never drink it this way.... I have homebrewed for several years but I'm still a newb cause its few and far between, so my knowledge is still not the best in this area ;-)

 

[BigFloyd]

It's a Hefeweizen. Aren't they supposed to be cloudy?

There's a difference between "forced carbing" and the quickie force carbing method that's called "burst carbing". You can force carb (as many do) at 10-12psi, 38-40*F for two weeks and have about 2.5 volumes of CO2.

 

[dude3516]

A good Hefe should be cloudy, at least in my opinion. And yea, should be good to drink after a force carb. Take some taste notes on first taste and again in a few weeks. Should help you get a feel for maturing beers.

 

[Jayni]

@bigfloyd, Its been over 3 years since I've done a batch of beer so I feel a little out of my element here..... I guess it would be somewhat cloudy for a hef, but I'm a little hesitant cause its been a while and I've done mostly wine lately.... And I'd be doing a quickie carb version as I don't have an actual keg setup.... So it would be forced carb...