Beer tasted Better at bottling?

[NotaBrewMaster]

Hey I just got back into brewing after taking a couple of years off but I don’t remember this happening. I brewed two batches; one was a cream ale with sugar cookies and the other was the Lawson’s double sunshine. I really enjoyed both beers...at bottling. After carbing up for two weeks I put them in the fridge and tried both last night and felt like they each lost a step. Both in flavor and aroma and I can’t figure out why. They’re still good beers and They don’t taste “off” for any reason but I thought the flavor and aroma were better straight out of the bottling bucket, has anyone else had this issue?

 

[shoengine]

Pull a set out of the fridge and let them hit room temperature and try them again.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Oxidation from bottling process or during carbonation?

 

[NotaBrewMaster]

With oxidation wouldn’t the beer have off flavors? What I’m experiencing are jut muted flavors. Maybe the cold and carbonation are masking the flavor?

 

[Lefou]

Porters and stouts at room temps will surprise you.
It's a whole other experience when the beer is warm because the hop aroma and flavor can really jump out at you. The cold can increase the carbonation "fizz" perception and dampen the foam, but at room temps the sweetness, flavor, and aroma can be amplified.
Try it! Even the lighter beers can show a marked difference when only slightly chilled or warm.

 

[RPh_Guy]

With oxidation wouldn’t the beer have off flavors?

Not yet. Oxidation is gradual and it starts with loss of flavor, especially hops.

This is a good article:
https://www.morebeer.com/articles/oxidation_in_beer

Lefou & shoengine are right too Some beers I prefer warm/slightly chilled such that the flavor is maximized.

Cheers

 

[day_trippr]

The home brewing world is told to expect "wet cardboard" and "sherry" as a result of O2 exposure.
A huge disservice, as those states happen pretty close to the end of the pathological progression.
Way before that, aroma characters are attenuated to nothingness, then flavor follows.
Color may go from straw to porter along the way...

Cheers!

 

[Yooper]

With oxidation wouldn’t the beer have off flavors? What I’m experiencing are jut muted flavors. Maybe the cold and carbonation are masking the flavor?

The first hint and sign of oxidation is a muting of flavors, then a loss of freshness. When time passes and it gets worse, the beer can get darker and even more muted in flavor. Only when the oxidation is very severe and aged is it classically those "sherry flavors" or papery or very stale flavors people talk about.

How was your process? Did you rack "quietly" to the bottling bucket without splashing or stirring, and use a bottling wand?

 

[NotaBrewMaster]

How was your process? Did you rack "quietly" to the bottling bucket without splashing or stirring, and use a bottling wand?

I used a PET big mouth bubbler with a spigot I went right from the primary to bottling after a 2 day cold crash. All Trub was below the spigot so everything I bottled was crystal clear.

 

[Yooper]

I used a PET big mouth bubbler with a spigot I went right from the primary to bottling after a 2 day cold crash. All Trub was below the spigot so everything I bottled was crystal clear.

And you used a bottling wand into the spigot? I've never used a big mouth bubbler (old winemaker so we are always weird about headspace), but it should be ok I would think unless you opened the top a few times or something that would reintroduce oxygen.