Conditioning times for brown ales?

[lhommedieu]

My pale ales peak after four weeks in a cellared keg (after fermentation).

Are there general rules to follow for:

Northern Brown Ale?

Brown Porter?

Dry Stout?

I'd like to brew one of each for late fall and winter.

 

[jbaysurfer]

They're all going to follow a similar schedule. The general rule is the bigger the beer, the longer it takes to peak. But all of those beers are of moderate gravity and will follow a similar schedule to your pale ale, dryhops notwithstanding...

 

[lhommedieu]

They're all going to follow a similar schedule. The general rule is the bigger the beer, the longer it takes to peak. But all of those beers are of moderate gravity and will follow a similar schedule to your pale ale, dryhops notwithstanding...

Makes sense. I had just assumed that a darker, more complex beer would need more conditioning time.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Nope, you'll be fine. It's more dictated by og than srm. A RIS will take longer than a stout because it's higher og.

 

[blueliner21]

My pale ales peak after four weeks in a cellared keg (after fermentation).

Are there general rules to follow for:

Northern Brown Ale?

Brown Porter?

Dry Stout?

I'd like to brew one of each for late fall and winter.

As somebody who has been out of homebrewing for a long, long time, and just getting back into it, can I ask what you mean by "peak". Is that when your beers reach a certain gravity, or just taste their best? Cheers...mike

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I would assume he just means taste their best.

 

[paperairplane]

By peak he means when the beer is best. Most have a lifespan, where they may be a little young, then their peak and then a decline as they age. Most low gravity beers are better younger, especially hop forward beers like IPA. Even a big barleywine may be better after a year than it will be at 3 years. YMMV

 

[lhommedieu]

What they said.

Generally my pale ales take about 7-8 weeks from brew to glass. Fermentation is done at two weeks. At this point I'll check FG and let it sit for a while longer if it's still dropping, or keg if it remains the same for 3 days.

I'll let the beer condition in the keg at 50F for at least 5 weeks. I have found that it is drinkable then, but that often it "peaks" within two weeks after that.

My question had to do with whether a more complex, darker grain bill affected conditioning time, but it would seem that the determining factor is FG.

 

[Grannyknot]

Nope, you'll be fine. It's more dictated by og than srm. A RIS will take longer than a stout because it's higher og.

So you're saying a 1.050 stout & a 1.050 pale ale will require the same fermentation & conditioning times?

Sorry, I have to disagree.

 

[lhommedieu]

Well, that's why i made my original post, lol.

Comments?

 

[paperairplane]

So you're saying a 1.050 stout & a 1.050 pale ale will require the same fermentation & conditioning times?

Sorry, I have to disagree.

As a basic, high level statement - I would say beers of similar OG need similar conditioning.

If I had to make a 4% stout that needed to be ready to drink in 8 weeks from a keg, I'd feel okay with that. If you have to go grain to glass in 4 weeks, you're obviously willing to make some concessions.

 

[W0rthog]

In my humble opinion, I think conditioning has more to do with how dextrinous your beer is. Mashing roasted and dark crystal malts can warrant longer conditioning due to the settling out of harsh flavors. Also longer conditioning times may be used depending on the yeast and what "unwanted" bi-products it produces.

Hope that helps


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[Grannyknot]

In my humble opinion, I think conditioning has more to do with how dextrinous your beer is. Mashing roasted and dark crystal malts can warrant longer conditioning due to the settling out of harsh flavors. Also longer conditioning times may be used depending on the yeast and what "unwanted" bi-products it produces.

Hope that helps


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This.

 

[jbaysurfer]

In my humble opinion, I think conditioning has more to do with how dextrinous your beer is. Mashing roasted and dark crystal malts can warrant longer conditioning due to the settling out of harsh flavors. Also longer conditioning times may be used depending on the yeast and what "unwanted" bi-products it produces.

Hope that helps


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This is great info, but in your first sentence, when you say "more to do with..." can I ask...More then what? OG? That's where I'd disagree. It does come into play like you said, but not MORE then OG and yeast strain selection does...

 

[lhommedieu]

So, for a Brown Ale that has a 1.046 OG and a rather simple grain bill that includes 84% Marris Otter, 13% Crystal 60, and 3% Chocolate malt (Roughly, Ray Daniels' guidelines for a beginner's brown ale in Designing Great Beers), I should probably plan on about six weeks of conditioning after fermentation is over? That's just slightly over what I do for pale ales.

But, for a more complex grain bill that might include, say, a higher proportion of chocolate malt and some brown malt (i.e. a brown Porter) I might want to extend the conditioning time to 8 weeks?

Just thinking out loud here - and obviously it's really a matter of trying it out, tasting the beer at different stages, etc.

I couldn''t find any guidelines for aging brown ales in Designing Great Beers, and Gordon Strong's recipe for a brown ale in Brewing Better Beer suggests that it can be tapped "right away" (i.e. it's designed to be consumed as a fresh beer) - but I ordered a copy of Daniels' Brown Ale through my library, so I''ll see what it says there.

I should add that my reasons for asking are not just theoretical but practical. I have one fermentation chamber and plan to brew lagers for the rest of the year; someone asked me to brew a brown ale for them and so I have to fit it into my schedule, and thus between my lager brews. My worry is that if I brew the brown ale too early, it will start to fade before I deliver it.

 

[jbaysurfer]

That's more then enough time. I start drinking beers like that much sooner then 8 weeks AFTER end of fermenation. Honestly, the vast majority of my ales in that range are at their prime 6-8 weeks from the day I brew them. Most of them don't last 12 or more weeks.

I do keg and not bottle condition though, so I should disclose that...

 

[W0rthog]

it's really a matter of trying it out, tasting the beer at different stages, etc.

+1


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[W0rthog]

This is great info, but in your first sentence, when you say "more to do with..." can I ask...More then what? OG? That's where I'd disagree. It does come into play like you said, but not MORE then OG and yeast strain selection does...

I simply have a different understanding based on what I've read. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I'm sure we both make good beer.

Cheers


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