conditioning effects on flavor

[nolabrew85]

Does anyone notice that some beers taste much better after conditioning and carbonating in the bottles for a few weeks than they do when you taste them at the bottling stage; whereas as others taste almost the same at bottling (except uncarbonated) as they do a few weeks later? Anyone know the reason for that? I know they are "green" beers before, but I guess I am curious what happens with the beer during that time. And what kind of beers need a bit more conditioning than others (in my limited experience so far, it seems that the bigger bodied or higher abv beers need a bit more)? Just curious. Any input or opinions welcome!

 

[unionrdr]

Basically,The beers' malt & hop flavors need time to age into their usual flavors as combined in the recipe. Hop flavors can change a bit depending on what other hops & what malts their combined in,ime.
So they need time to mellow from that sharp tasting green stage to what they're supposed to taste like.
And yes,bigger beers need more carb/conditioning time. I've found that darker beers also need a bit of time to mellow out.

 

[Revvy]

That's the ENTIRE PREMISE of the idea of bottle conditioning, and why we tell folks to wait...I discuss it in my "Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning" Post in the bottling sticky.

 

[TyGuy716]

For the most part my beers have gotten a lot tastier with age. However I recall one beer that my brother and I brewed that over a year of aging it tasted close to vinegar or wine. This was back when we didn't formulate solid recipes and always wanted a wicked high ABV. I think it was supposed to be an Irish Red but came out more Frankenale. I think if it were to be classified as anything it'd be closer to a Barleywine than a Red.

 

[Revvy]

For the most part my beers have gotten a lot tastier with age. However I recall one beer that my brother and I brewed that over a year of aging it tasted close to vinegar or wine. This was back when we didn't formulate solid recipes and always wanted a wicked high ABV. I think it was supposed to be an Irish Red but came out more Frankenale. I think if it were to be classified as anything it'd be closer to a Barleywine than a Red.

That's a sanitation issue. That's not the normal course of beers. They don't turn to vinegar unless there is acetobactor in there.

 

[progmac]

i have found that my moderate alcohol beers that are well-designed and well-executed taste about the same at bottling as after bottle conditioning.

my suspect beers that may taste weird at bottling tend to mellow after bottle conditioning and become drinkable. also, i have noticed this with high adjunct beers.

 

[nolabrew85]

Revvy, read that post. Good stuff! Some beers need time for those sharp/harsh flavors to mellow, and luckily they all have so far for me (knocking in wood). But I have recently greatly increased production so that all my bottles are in use and the several that I have are taking up lots of room, so I am getting a keg to help out but will still continue to bottle. Anyway, I guess the same conditioning rule would apply to some beers in kegs, just keep it pressurized for a few weeks before tapping?

 

[Revvy]

Yes, even kegged beers. Which a lot of new keggers don't realize. And if you use the set and forget method, rather than attempting to burst carb, it usually does take threeish weeks to get to carbed level....so you're getting some coniditioning as weel. But some beers need more time.

 

[nolabrew85]

Just a little update for anyone that was interested in this thread. My HG Belgian style ale has shown significant improvement in just 11 days in the bottles around 70 degrees. It has mellowed very nicely. It still needs to carbonate more, but I think it is on the right track.

 

[Revvy]

Yup, we don't tell new brewers to wait just to jerk their chains, and deprive them of their precious beer....we tell them, because IT TAKES TIME.

 

[unionrdr]

Yup,time & patience will net a better end product. You can't shortcut good beer.

 

[toxdoc49]

I have experienced flavor change after bottling. I only have one example as I am pretty new to home brewing. So I have a question (hoping this is seen as the previous posts are old): I brewed a one gallon IPA batch. No issues with sanitation/bottling as far as I can tell (I am pretty picky about sanitizing). I allowed two weeks bottle conditioning. The first few I drank tasted almost just as I had hoped; however, two weeks later, the taste became more bitter; not too bad, but noticeable. I lost some of the sweetness I suppose. I know we are supposed to be patient about conditioning in the bottle. I don't know if I just didn't wait long enough to open the bottles. I want to do the recipe again but not have that happen.