Dogfish Head on Brewmasters: 2 Weeks to Ship??

[Justibone]

I wonder how many cells that is... slurry can have varying levels of compactness.

 

[klyph]

I'm guessing they had the imperial stout already brewed and the timeline was for the tej. I don't see an Imperial Stout finishing that quickly even in a commercial setting.

 

[Justibone]

I've watched the second episode now, and to Dogfish there's no minute like the last minute.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

Ok ok, hold the phones.

Has this discussion happened already, or am I missing something? From my time here, I've discerned (and I'd venture to say that most others have, too) that Homebrewtalk's overarching narrative is highly supportive of aging beer. Hell, I get my homebrewing information from a number of different sources, and virtually all of them heavily advocate giving beer time to mature. My impression has been that this isn't a theory, but an accepted fact of brewing; I've always assumed that the big breweries can move faster due to some combination of equipment and batch size. Personally, I even noticed some significant positive changes in my first couple beers upon letting them age, and thus my modus operandi became to not even taste them until after aging.

But if that's not true, then why are the vast majority of us wasting our time? Is there a discussion to be had here, or is the aging theory really just some vestigial nonsense?

*Waits for Revvy's rebuttal*

This is something that is typically preached to beginners because no one is going to brew the perfect batch on their first try. Most flaws age out eventually, so even if your first batch isn't very good initially, chances are it will improve greatly with age.

Once you gain some experience and start treating your yeast right (pitching enough yeast at the correct temp, keeping fermentation at the correct temp) then your turn around time is shortened quite a bit. I can have a standard gravity ale (below 1.060 OG) drinkable in 2 weeks if I keg and force carb. I can have that same ale drinkable in 4 weeks if I bottle carb.

 

[Screw991le]

I just did a Barley wine in 3 weeks. 1.085 OG down to 1.020 for 2 straight days, (16 days total) Secondary for 3 days, keg and carb. One of the best BWs I have made to date.

My first BW, I left it in the bucket for a month, now I know there was no need. Once the FG arrives, it arrives. I find leaving it after that give a yeasty/bread tinge on the tounge.

 

[cruckin78]

I will see how my fermentation is improved with my next batch. I have been washing yeast and plan on a 1L starter for my next 5 gal batch.

 

[stageseven]

This is something that is typically preached to beginners because no one is going to brew the perfect batch on their first try. Most flaws age out eventually, so even if your first batch isn't very good initially, chances are it will improve greatly with age.

Once you gain some experience and start treating your yeast right (pitching enough yeast at the correct temp, keeping fermentation at the correct temp) then your turn around time is shortened quite a bit. I can have a standard gravity ale (below 1.060 OG) drinkable in 2 weeks if I keg and force carb. I can have that same ale drinkable in 4 weeks if I bottle carb.

The other thing I'm wondering is what we're considering "drinkable" vs "as good as it gets". I know I've had batches that were good the first time I tried it, but still got better by the last bottle. Even on a commercial scale a lot of big beers get shipped out young, and aren't nearly as good as they can get with a little aging.

My thought is that yes, you can make an average strength beer that is easily drinkable in a matter of weeks with good procedure, but that doesn't mean it won't benefit from some aging either.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

By "drinkable" I mean no detectable flaws. All beers will mature and change over time. "Better" is a subjective term.

 

[Thile]

One thing I've noticed on their website is, for some of the very high ABV beers (I think maybe it was Red & White but it could have been Blue & Black or something else entirely); Sam recommends you try one right away but then put one back and 'cellar' it for a year or two. (Obviously he wants you to buy more then 1!)
I wish I had done that for a couple of those - really liked the Red & White. Fort I was not prepared for but think I'd like it better the 2nd go around. Alot of the high ABV (+15%) taste too much like ethanol for my palate personally.