Bottling / Drinking question

[NJtarheel]

I have an American Pale Ale that I will bottle in another week and a half. By reading the different posts, I should wait another 3 weeks to actually enjoy it.

QUESTION: Regarding refrigeration, do you only refrigerate the amount you are planning on drinking? Or, like store bought beer, refrigerate all of it?

Thanks to all in the forum!!!! You have really been a big help every step of the way.....

 

[Whut]

Waiting 3 weeks will ensure your brew is fully carbed. But go ahead and sample one at 1 week and again at 2 weeks. You'll be able to see and taste the difference as your brew matures.

As for refrigeration, I only store what I plan to drink as I don't have room for two cases.

 

[WheaYat]

Waiting 3 weeks will ensure your brew is fully carbed. But go ahead and sample one at 1 week and again at 2 weeks. You'll be able to see and taste the difference as your brew matures.

As for refrigeration, I only store what I plan to drink as I don't have room for two cases.

I agree with "whutever"

 

[weirdboy]

Even if I had a dedicated fridge, I couldn't fit all my homebrew in there. Well, maybe if I had a walk-in cooler...

 

[mixedbrewer]

"Wait three weeks to actually enjoy it" <- this isn't true at all. It might be the best beer you ever had at one week in the bottle. The suggestions that come about on this site are usually coming from experienced home brewers who have developed a specific taste. You might not like what they like. The best way to find out is for you to drink your beer whenever you want. If you drink one at 1 week and its gross, wait another week. If you like it, drink it all. Its yours, you made it.

 

[Bobby_M]

You are right. Maybe some brewers would prefer undercarbed green beer over anything else.

 

[joetothemo]

I wonder this a lot too....

Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer (via Brewstrong Network Podcast) recently said that, once you are done conditioning your beer in the bottle, you should get it into the fridge ASAP. Reason being that temperature inconsistency can cause off-flavors.

However, they didn't mention what to do if your room temperature is consistent. Which is something I wonder myself. My brew closet is located next to my home thermostat and is a consistent 68f. Probably more consistent than my brew fridge, located in my wildly fluctuating garage.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

I would disagree with the post about not waiting 3 weeks. It is not that it is specific tastes that make us want to wait 3 weeks after bottling, it is just that we want the brew to taste good. At 1 week it most likely won't be fully carbed and the flavors will still be rough. 2 weeks on a standard ale (not a high OG) you will be carbed but still a little rough. At 3 weeks you are carbed and pretty steady as to what the flavor will be. Yes, it will improve with time most likely (some shelf better than others), but at 3 weeks it will be pretty close to what you expect, unless it is something like a Belgian or the like that need long aging.

As for in the fridge, once the brew is carbed the fridge is the best place. This is for 2 reasons; it gives the beer the most time to clarify before you drink and therefor taste the best, and as far as aging/conditioning a fridge is better than room temp. So stick a few in the fridge when you figure the carbonation is where you want, and then just replace what you pull from the fridge.

Also, as stated above, you should taste it at 1 and 2 weeks. If anything this will give perspective as to what happens to the brew over time. Any excuse to learn about the process is a good excuse.

 

[mixedbrewer]

I would disagree with the post about not waiting 3 weeks. It is not that it is specific tastes that make us want to wait 3 weeks after bottling, it is just that we want the brew to taste good.

"Good" is different for everyone.

 

[Revvy]

As for refrigeration, I only store what I plan to drink as I don't have room for two cases.

Ditto

 

[RM-MN]

I would disagree with the post about not waiting 3 weeks. It is not that it is specific tastes that make us want to wait 3 weeks after bottling, it is just that we want the brew to taste good. At 1 week it most likely won't be fully carbed and the flavors will still be rough. 2 weeks on a standard ale (not a high OG) you will be carbed but still a little rough. At 3 weeks you are carbed and pretty steady as to what the flavor will be. Yes, it will improve with time most likely (some shelf better than others), but at 3 weeks it will be pretty close to what you expect, unless it is something like a Belgian or the like that need long aging.

As for in the fridge, once the brew is carbed the fridge is the best place. This is for 2 reasons; it gives the beer the most time to clarify before you drink and therefor taste the best, and as far as aging/conditioning a fridge is better than room temp. So stick a few in the fridge when you figure the carbonation is where you want, and then just replace what you pull from the fridge.

Also, as stated above, you should taste it at 1 and 2 weeks. If anything this will give perspective as to what happens to the brew over time. Any excuse to learn about the process is a good excuse.

Um, just how clear will my oatmeal stout become if I refrigerate it and why would I want it clear?

 

[WheaYat]

"Good" is different for everyone.

yes very true but, if u are tryin to achieve a certain carbonation level or waiting for a certain taste to come out or a certain taste to subside....... then what was the point of ur additions if ur gonna drink it green and it hasn't reached it's potential for u to taste what u were originally were tryin to achieve?

yeah certain fruits,chocolate,spices,or oak addition can be tricky to when is it "ready" but say u want to carb to 3.0 an u like the beer before it has reached that level, u drink it all and u will never know what 3.0 vols CO2 taste like. atleast wait so u will know what to change next time. hope I made sense? lol I guess I'm just sayin u will never get anywhere if ur impatient. knowin all ur age levels is important in this business. pop one open all through its aging process bra, u cant go wrong with experience. then when u get one down pat, u know exactly what u want for that certain batch.

if there's a certain batch I brew that I really liked, Ill put one aside an leave it for about 5 to 6 months just to see the progress. and sure enough, its always so damn good. knowledge is power.

 

[Rev2010]

It might be the best beer you ever had at one week in the bottle.

Like a beer that is undercarbed and still containing uncoverted sugar?

I agree that for learning sake it's good to try one at 1 week, then another at week 2, but at one week a beer will almost certainly not be carbed up enough yet. I know mine haven't been. I have read a few posts on here from people that were surprised to have a carbonated beer at one week, so apparently it can happen but that may also depend on the strain of yeast I'm guessing.

Nothing wrong with the usual 3 weeks till fully bottled carbed at around 70 degrees room temp suggestion. No one has said anything like "Don't waste your time trying one any earlier"


Rev.

 

[mixedbrewer]

And I am simply saying that brand spanking-new home brewers shouldn't be forced to wait 6 weeks to drink their beer. Plenty of decent beers can be made in 3 weeks just like the directions say on the kit. As the guy gets more experience he may in fact learn more about whats going on and why things are suggested... but he needs some brew to drink while he makes the next one. When its new to you, drink em when you want... its fun and exciting. And if it tastes good when you crack it open, drink em up. As you get better at brewing, the beer will get better and better... and the wait won't feel so long.

 

[Revvy]

Like a beer that is undercarbed and still containing uncoverted sugar?

I agree that for learning sake it's good to try one at 1 week, then another at week 2, but at one week a beer will almost certainly not be carbed up enough yet. I know mine haven't been. I have read a few posts on here from people that were surprised to have a carbonated beer at one week, so apparently it can happen but that may also depend on the strain of yeast I'm guessing.

Nothing wrong with the usual 3 weeks till fully bottled carbed at around 70 degrees room temp suggestion. No one has said anything like "Don't waste your time trying one any earlier"


Rev.

I feel the same way, I can't see any learning coming from sampling a beer too early other than knowing how crappy flat, green beer will taste. And it's only going to be how that particular batchs is going to taste flat and green, since you next batch will taste different then this one when it's flat and green unless you are brewing exactly the same batch.

It's not going to tell you that your beer has off flavors, because if those are GREEN off flavors, then they will be gone in the next few weeks.

To me sampling your beer early is just going to mean you are just going to have one less GOOD beer to drink down the line.

*shrug*

 

[Revvy]

And I am simply saying that brand spanking-new home brewers shouldn't be forced to wait 6 weeks to drink their beer. Plenty of decent beers can be made in 3 weeks just like the directions say on the kit. As the guy gets more experience he may in fact learn more about whats going on and why things are suggested... but he needs some brew to drink while he makes the next one. When its new to you, drink em when you want... its fun and exciting. And if it tastes good when you crack it open, drink em up. As you get better at brewing, the beer will get better and better... and the wait won't feel so long.

Except that every day I answer what 20-30 new brewer threads who are in a panic because of some issue like like carbonation, green tastes, stalled fermentation, that were purely because they followed those directions.....So I think the "plenty of good beers" argument is pretty weak, since cleary by the sheer numbers of problem threads I answer on a daily basis that are the result of doing things too early, even if it is because the instructions say it .....

If you're impatient admit it, but what gets me is all those "I read on here to wait 3 weeks, but I had to taste it ANDOHMYGODSOMETHINGS WRONGWITHMy BEERAMIGONNADIENOW? threads.

You knew from your reading that we say to wait....so why are you panicing? Drink your green beer in silence, knowing it tastes that way like the 10,000 other threads where the doofus did the same thing and realized it, not think your beer is terminally unique, and although the 10,000 others were just green, YOURS really is truly one there is something wrong. LOL

We don't tell folks to wait because we want to torture new brewers and make them want to leave the hobby so there are less of them to compete against at contests and we want to be able to by their gear off craigslist dirt cheap. It's because the beer will be much better when it is fully conditioned....

 

[mixedbrewer]

You missed the part where it says "if it tastes good, drink em up"... what I needed to add after that was... if not... bug Revvy about why it doesn't.

 

[srl135]

I started sampling my amber wheat as early as 12 days. Limited it to one every couple days.. but hell, it was my first batch and it was dericious.. drinking slow and steady. Doesnt bother me that I am dwindling down my bottle supply but with a second batch ready to go, whats the problem?

 

[mixedbrewer]

There is no problem. You like them, and that's all that really matters.

 

[JLem]

I feel the same way, I can't see any learning coming from sampling a beer too early other than knowing how crappy flat, green beer will taste. And it's only going to be how that particular batchs is going to taste flat and green, since you next batch will taste different then this one when it's flat and green unless you are brewing exactly the same batch.

I agree with this to a point. I think it is worthless to taste every brew too early, but I think there is a benefit to tasting the first couple of brews. It is good to know what green beer tastes like and to then experience the changes over time. This way when you have a brew that needs longer to condition you will understand that it does and not freak out. It's good to have first hand experience when trying to understand what is happening with your own beers

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