Bottle ageing vs. Carbo Aging

[Grinder12000]

We all know that beer (most beet) need aging to mature. My question is - would there be any difference between, lets say a 3 month old beer that was in a carboy for 6 weeks, compared to one that was in a carboy for 3 week??

 

[mew]

You get different answers depending on who you ask, but let's consider the factors in play: temperature and yeast quantity.

The temperature of beer in a carboy will stay more stable because there is more liquid than in a bottle. This probably makes little difference on beer time scales, but in winemaking this is a big factor.

There is more yeast in a carboy than in the bottles, both in the aggregate and per unit beer. Yeast is responsible for much of the aging process, so more of these processes will take during 3 weeks of aging in a carboy than in a bottle. This difference is probably not very large either.

On the flip side, yeast tend to make a little bit of funkiness when consuming the priming sugar, so additional time in the bottle is needed for re-uptake of the funky compounds. So, if you were to age it in a carboy, you'd still have to age it at least a small amount in the bottle anyway.

 

[niquejim]

Depends on the type of beer. Some age better in bottles, some don't

 

[Grinder12000]

LOL - I was waiting for the "it depends" answer and THAT I know and was not the question. The question was WHAT is the difference and why!

 

[niquejim]

LOL - I was waiting for the "it depends" answer and THAT I know and was not the question. The question was WHAT is the difference and why!

Sometimes the yeast needs to "clean up after itself " so the bigger beers and Lagers need to stay in in larger containers to "fix" themselves. Whether it be diacetyl or Ester's unbecoming to your drink. On an APA or a bitter, do whatever you wish, but be careful on a Barleywine or Tripel