Does Beer Taste Change Much After Botteling?

[eseavey]

Hi Folks,
I just bottled my double IPA brew. Now I need to wait 3 weeks for carbonation. I drank a little from the last bottle that I couldn't completely fill. It actually tastes pretty damn good already, other than being a bit flat. Other than the carbonation, does the taste really change all that much after bottling? Or will this depend on the beer type?

Thanks

 

[BrewerBear]

Usually just gets better with age(to a point).

 

[freisste]

Yours is an IPA, so the general consensus is that they are best relatively young. IPAs and other hoppy styles will lose some hop flavor and aroma.

Other styles, especially dark beers, porters, stouts and very high gravity beers tend to age well and get better with time. Also beers with a lot of flavors (say you add whiskey and oak) age well and time allows the flavors to meld together.

 

[JLem]

All beers change over time. They never really stop changing. Each beer hits a peak when you like it the best. For some this comes earlier, for others this comes later. For some the changes happen quickly and the peak time is short, for others changes happen more slowly and the peak hangs around for a while. In general, lighter-colored, low ABV beers change quickly and their peak is relatively narrow. Darker, higher ABV beers change more slowly and their peak tends to be relatively broad. As mentioned above too, hops start to drop out pretty quickly, so hoppy beers are best young...though this doesn't mean they will be bad later...just different.

I have homebrews that are several years old - all of them are different from when they were young. Some I really enjoy. Others just haven't held up.

I should add that storage temp plays a large role in how quickly beers age. The warmer the temp the more quickly things change. Keeping beers cool/cold is the best way to store them.

 

[cooldood]

I TRY not to even touch my stouts for 4 months

 

[Calichusetts]

My beers taste remarkable better post-carbonation over prebottle. Though my barleywine I transferred last night smelled amazing, I can only guess it will be lights out in a month or so.