Better Fresher?

[GoodTruble]

I've been really lucky with how well my beers have turned out. I prefer my homebrews to most of the commercial beers and craft breweries in town.

But I've noticed my "favorite" is almost always one of the most recent beers. I've also started to notice that the longer they are in the keg, they get "clearer" but I like the flavor less. These are not NEIPAs or overly-hopped beers. Just regular ales and lagers.

So what is the flavor I like early on that fades? They are all still really good, but I feel like the first 2 weeks is always the peak. Is it more active yeast? Fresh grain flavor? Just all in my head? Oxygen creep through the beer lines?

They just taste "fresh" early on. And then more one-note as time passes.

 

[kevin58]

That is 180° from my experience. NEIPA's aside as I just don't like them... most beer imho improves with conditioning. Pale Ales less so and darker styles like Porters and Stouts more so while long term conditioning is an absolute must in my Barleywines, Old Ales and Imperial Stouts.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

I agree with Kevin, I think my beers hit their stride after a month in the keg. So if your beers are decreasing in flavor after this point I would still look at oxidation, which will cause beer to stale more quickly. Are you doing closed transfers when you keg? This greatly increased the longevity of flavor in my beers no matter what style.

 

[cmac62]

I've been really lucky with how well my beers have turned out. I prefer my homebrews to most of the commercial beers and craft breweries in town.

But I've noticed my "favorite" is almost always one of the most recent beers. I've also started to notice that the longer they are in the keg, they get "clearer" but I like the flavor less. These are not NEIPAs or overly-hopped beers. Just regular ales and lagers.

So what is the flavor I like early on that fades? They are all still really good, but I feel like the first 2 weeks is always the peak. Is it more active yeast? Fresh grain flavor? Just all in my head? Oxygen creep through the beer lines?

They just taste "fresh" early on. And then more one-note as time passes.

I don't know your full process, but my guess is oxidation. I have had similar situations in the past. The O2 will degrade both the hops and the grain flavors over time in the keg. I have since started using a little Ascorbic Acid at the points in the process where O2 is an issue and it has made a significant impact on the duration of fresh flavors. I use a 1/2 tsp of the AA at kegging and my beers stay fresher longer. I hope this helps.

 

[hotbeer]

For ales of any sort that might be a thing to expect. Can't say for lagers since I don't do them. Though I also find that time makes some ales better and others lackluster in flavor as you seem to indicate.

Perhaps this is just what is expected since the yeast and other things make home brewed beer a slowly changing thing even when bottled.

Pasteurization might put a stop to a lot of the changes you aren't liking. However doing the sort of pasteurization that doesn't affect the current flavor profile very much will be very difficult for a home brewer.

 

[GoodTruble]

Thanks. I do a decent amount to control oxygenation. I ferment in a fermzilla all-rounder, under pressure near the end. Do closed transfers into a purged keg. But I do wonder if my kegerator (evabarrier lines) does get oxygen in somewhere).

But even the smaller portion that I bottle, I think I just like the newer/fresher bottles better. I agree that darker porters and stouts are a closer call, but even those aren't necessarily "better" after the first month.

 

[gunhaus]

I've been really lucky with how well my beers have turned out. I prefer my homebrews to most of the commercial beers and craft breweries in town.

But I've noticed my "favorite" is almost always one of the most recent beers. I've also started to notice that the longer they are in the keg, they get "clearer" but I like the flavor less. These are not NEIPAs or overly-hopped beers. Just regular ales and lagers.

So what is the flavor I like early on that fades? They are all still really good, but I feel like the first 2 weeks is always the peak. Is it more active yeast? Fresh grain flavor? Just all in my head? Oxygen creep through the beer lines?

They just taste "fresh" early on. And then more one-note as time passes.

I could jump in here and say your doing it wrong cause you don't do it my way - or perhaps imply right off you have bad technique. But instead of those predictably staple replies I thought why not say you probably enjoy the flavors of some of the suspended yeasts and particulates that are still present in "newer " beer. I know I have several brews that I enjoy very early on as you do - a blonde ale, an ordinary bitter, a simple pale ale, they just all taste better to me new and with a bit of suspended particulate still present. And we are not alone. My nephew tried his first beer very new and found a taste he had never experienced and he loved it - he drinks ALL his brews fresh and quickly. If you search this site there are a TON of posts about how quick can we get from grain to glass and a lot of folks are drinking young beers almost as fast as they can get them fermented and carbed. The whole wide internet will chuck out even more! Nothing wrong with waiting and aging, and fussing etc. But there is also NOTHING wrong with liking the flavor of a new beer, raw beer, green beer, whatever they want to label it this week. Beer is an ever changing critter as it matures. Those suspended yeast/protein/grain particulates in the young brew are going to have there own flavors if you like them you like them, if you don't you don't. I for one do on some occasions - And that includes a couple of my simple stouts as well!

Now it is possible you have an oxygen issue that is cropping up with time - only you can say that based on your system. But since you say you are pretty careful about such things I think it is just as possible that the young beer flavor suits you and the more mature the beer gets and as what some see as "imperfections" settle out it just gets a bit bland and boring to you. The blonde and bitter mentioned above are exactly that way to me. They just get a bit lackluster as they clear out.

 

[Beermeister32]

I could jump in here and say your doing it wrong cause you don't do it my way - or perhaps imply right off you have bad technique. But instead of those predictably staple replies I thought why not say you probably enjoy the flavors of some of the suspended yeasts and particulates that are still present in "newer " beer. I know I have several brews that I enjoy very early on as you do - a blonde ale, an ordinary bitter, a simple pale ale, they just all taste better to me new and with a bit of suspended particulate still present. And we are not alone. My nephew tried his first beer very new and found a taste he had never experienced and he loved it - he drinks ALL his brews fresh and quickly. If you search this site there are a TON of posts about how quick can we get from grain to glass and a lot of folks are drinking young beers almost as fast as they can get them fermented and carbed. The whole wide internet will chuck out even more! Nothing wrong with waiting and aging, and fussing etc. But there is also NOTHING wrong with liking the flavor of a new beer, raw beer, green beer, whatever they want to label it this week. Beer is an ever changing critter as it matures. Those suspended yeast/protein/grain particulates in the young brew are going to have there own flavors if you like them you like them, if you don't you don't. I for one do on some occasions - And that includes a couple of my simple stouts as well!

Now it is possible you have an oxygen issue that is cropping up with time - only you can say that based on your system. But since you say you are pretty careful about such things I think it is just as possible that the young beer flavor suits you and the more mature the beer gets and as what some see as "imperfections" settle out it just gets a bit bland and boring to you. The blonde and bitter mentioned above are exactly that way to me. They just get a bit lackluster as they clear out.

Well said! Most of my beers I prefer with some aging, usually 90 days. I find I enjoy most ales and lagers after that period. I’m running 5 kegs currently so that is easy to do. Sampling is fun and I find they improve over that period. Don’t forget the 6 months for your Oktoberfests.

IPA’s are the quickies. Turn them around quickly for maximum hop flavors.

Taste being such a subjective measure, there will always be some who like recently kegged beers better. Some do come on early, but I find 90 days is magic. As stared above, there are differences with a newer beer that some people like.