Drinking my first batch....young

[wolfpackguy]

Transferred my second batch tonight to secondary for some dry hopping.


Bottled my first batch this past Friday, so its been ~5 days. I know this is no where close to being 'ready', the beer is still flat but getting better every day - but I've already had about 4 the past few days =\ that and more than a few local brews tonight (Carolina Pale Ale from Carolina Brewery for those of you in NC!)

What I need is someone else to admit to drinking their beers early because they are too impatient...because I feel guilty.

I'm a bad brewer. =(

 

[jasonkeithscott]

Well, you've got to sample your bottles to know when they're carbonated enough to share with friends. Nothing wrong with drinking greenies. They do get better with age though.

 

[jiggs_casey]

I once drank a two liter 'sample' of a Dead Guy clone after bottling. I was out of beer, it was the middle of winter, and I didn't feel like going to the store. The only guilt I felt was months later while finishing off the batch, "Damn I wish I would have bottled that two liter. This is really good..."

 

[drkaeppel]

I usually crack open a tester once a week or so after bottling - mostly out of curiosity of how it's coming along. I'm always amazed at how much better it is after the three week mark.

 

[brandonhagen1]

i have been known to finish the batch before 3 weeks

 

[wilserbrewer]

Years ago I recall having similar feelings of guilt consuming my beer too fresh, until I talked to a college buddy who also just started brewing...he did his first batch on a Monday, bottled Friday and started consuming Tuesday...you'll be fine

 

[Robms88]

I have recently got back into the home-brewing and I agree with the guilt feeling. The only thing I can suggest to overcome this issue is to let the beer sit for as long as you can by brewing another batch. Bottles are pretty inexpensive these days; therefore, I have bought loads to get a back log of batches going. I can then happily drink green beer knowing that I have loads backed up. The idea is to brew so much that you cannot possibly drink it quick enough - just like the very rich who cannot spend their money quick enough. I test one bottle of each batch after about a week to two weeks to make sure that it is OK. By OK, I mean only 'young' and not infected.

I have about 240 pints sitting, conditioning. Home brewing does take a long time, but FORTUNATELY the yeast do most of the work.

If you are lucky, you might find someone who can let you taste a beer that has conditioned for a long time (at its prime depending on the beer). It will MAKE you wait for yours to improve, and I can guarantee that the person will encourage you to wait, too.

Let them taste your 'green beer' as I can assure you they will tell you there is nothing wrong with it apart from the fact that you gave them a bottle and it is now gone, whereas it should have been sitting for longer and consumed when it is nice.

I work out that I will drink about 2 bottles a day (568ml), so multiply that by 360 days = 720 beers. 720 divide 40 (usual kit) (568ml bottles) is 18 batches. I try to wait at least 3 months for it to be at its best, so you want to brew at least 4-5 batches to get a 3 month, rolling back log. I usually do more because I sometimes session drink and have others drinking it as well.

I hope this helps. I might repost this message as a new thread as well to help new home-brewers not get discouraged.

 

[JoshuaW]

We had some friends over last night, and I was transferring a chocolate stout to the keg. I took a sample and offered one to one of the guys who I have been teaching how to brew so we could see how it was. We both agreed that it was horribly green, and the woman insisted that it wasnt ever going to be good. Sure enough about 15 minutes later we both commented, almost simultaneously, that we almost wanted to take another sample. Enough of the flavor was coming through that when you take a second and block out some of that sharpness, it is REALLY good.

Oh well, as tempting as it is, I am not "wasting" a batch for being impatient. Give it a couple weeks on the gas, and it is going to be amazing.