Earliest I can sample bottles?

[drycreek]

I've done several brews now and usually let them sit about 3 weeks before I open a bottle for a taste. And I know they get better with time. Patience pays off.

But I recently did a witbier and I changed some things in my method, so I'm really eager to open a bottle and get an early sample of the results. It was in the primary for 1 week, secondary for 2 weeks, and has now been bottled at ~75F for 1 week.

Would it be a complete waste to open one at this point? What is the earliest you ever open a bottle for a taste?

 

[BargainFittings]

When I first started brewing I would open them after a week and they were usually carbonated if it was warm weather.

Put them in the fridge overnight so the co2 in the head space will absorb into the beer.

 

[maida7]

Go ahead and have one. I bet it's already carbonated. The flavor may be slightly better in another week but go ahead and have one.

FYI: wheat beers made with the German and Belgian wheat beer yeasts don't age well. Best to drink em all while they are fresh.

 

[Revvy]

You can taste them any time you feel like it, but will you get valuable information as to how the beer will turn out? Doubtful. It's never been my experience that you actually get much info from tasting green beer. Every brew is different, every situation is different, every recipe is different, there are a zillion variables involved in each beer, so it's really hard to even compare it to a previous batch of the same beer, therefore to my experience it will lend little insight.

To me personally, and others mileage will vary, and I'm sure I'll get some flack for this, but to me, drinking any beer that I know is green is a waste of a beer that will be one more delicious beer of a batch to enjoy when it is actually ready.

I would rather have 48-54 fantastic beers to drink in 4-6 weeks, then have a few less because I was impatient and justified by thinking I would gain any valuable insight from sampling them early.

I can't change anything to the beer in the bottle, so to me, why bother? I can only change it for the next recipe, and that will be based on the finished product, not somewhere along it's journey.

Like I said, that's just my take on it from having brewed for a number of years I know that the beer is going to taste way different, in a surprising and unpredictable way when the beer is fully carbed and conditioned.

That's just me....But ultimately it's your beer to do what you want with it.

 

[weirdboy]

Most likely the carbonation isn't going to be even, but if you can look past that you should be OK. In my experience after one week, I get a big pssshhh when I pop the top on the bottle, and then the carbonation quickly dissipates after I pour.

 

[FreeM80s]

drinking any beer that I know is green is a waste of a beer that will be one more delicious beer of a batch to enjoy when it is actually ready.

Not as many brews under my bet yet, but i agree with this. I think trying beers too soon gives me a bad first impression of them, made me tinker with a recipe I thought was OK only to muck it up and change it back...

 

[BargainFittings]

Most likely the carbonation isn't going to be even, but if you can look past that you should be OK. In my experience after one week, I get a big pssshhh when I pop the top on the bottle, and then the carbonation quickly dissipates after I pour.

This is exactly why I suggested the overnight chill. At warm temps a lot of the co2 will be in the head space. You need to give it time to absorb into the beer.

A couple days is better.

 

[splendidus]

You can taste them any time you feel like it, but will you get valuable information as to how the beer will turn out? Doubtful. It's never been my experience that you actually get much info from tasting green beer. Every brew is different, every situation is different, every recipe is different, there are a zillion variables involved in each beer, so it's really hard to even compare it to a previous batch of the same beer, therefore to my experience it will lend little insight.

I think that brewing beer is about the experience, right? It's about experimenting, etc. You've obviously tasted some green beer when you were a new brewer. Apparently enough to make you a staunch supporter of waiting and being patient. That seems to me to be some of the most important experience you pass have passed on to new brewers like myself. I do think that it is important that we all make this "discovery" for ourselves.

 

[drycreek]

Just to clarify, I've had green beer before. My 2nd batch took forever to carb up for whatever reason, and even after 3 weeks it was still pretty green. I let it sit another 3 weeks before trying it again and it turned out pretty good.

I'm just being impatient right now and wanted a taste, that's all.

 

[BackBayBrewing]

Every brew is different, every situation is different, every recipe is different, there are a zillion variables involved in each beer, so it's really hard to even compare it to a previous batch of the same beer, therefore to my experience it will lend little insight.

I agree with your post generally revvy and I bow to your infinite wisdom (not joking). However, while I agree that it won't provide any insight into this beer, how it will turn out, or how to change it later on, I do think you can gain insight into the process and functions that conditioning performs on beer in general. If a new brewer is interested in not just knowing what to do to make beer, but also WHY you do those things, then I think tasting a green beer is helpful to understanding what is happening in the beer during conditioning. (sorry for the run on sentence)

I wouldn't recommend doing it with every batch, but tasting a one green beer from a batch every now and again can give you some insight into what changes are going on in there. And I believe that knowing what is going on in the beer at all stages is helpful to becoming a better brewer. It is tough to understand what a green beer tastes like without actually tasting one, and without knowing what it tastes like, it's tough to know what changes are occurring during conditioning.

My 2 cents.

 

[DoctorHops]

I think it is good, especially for beginners, to taste everything at every phase of the brewing and conditioning process. That way you will eventually learn what is "normal" and to be expected and what is out of whack. Record everything in your notebook, or electronic equivalent.

So sure, taste it now. Record your impressions. Wait a week and taste it again. Record your impressions. The best way to cure impatience in waiting for bottled beer to mature is to taste it young and then taste it when it is "ready". You will get an appreciation for what happens in the bottle and why it is important to wait.

I recommend that you taste everything that goes into the beer. Start with the malt, either extract or grain. Note the flavors. Try to recall them when you taste the beer made with them and see what flavors they add. I always dip my finger in the can of malt extract and lick it. It is not quite beer. Taste the hops. You will only need to do that once, but it does give you a feel for how much bitter there is in the raw material. Yeast is OK to taste, too, but there is not so much to be learned there. Taste the wort as it warms up to a boil and again after it is cool. Taste the beer as it ferments and you take hydrometer readings. You have to do something with the stuff in the hydrometer jar. That will give you a feel for what is going on during the fermenting process. Taste the beer before you bottle it.

Taste it, there is a lot to be learned and you are less likely to want to taste it early next time. That, plus a pipeline, will get you over the urge to taste a beer the day, or week for that matter, after it is bottled.

 

[KevinW]

I have to admit, I am a big fan of conditioning my beers at least 3 weeks in the bottle. Some times when I have tweeked my process or tried something new I just gotta try one too soon. I always take notes though! (yeah that's it, it is not impatience it is strictly quality control)
I have not had a batch yet that did not benefit tremendously from some conditioning time.

 

[drycreek]

I ended up trying one about 10 days after they were bottled and it tasted great. Obviously extra conditioning time will only improve it, and give it a little more carbonation I believe. But I don't at all regret taking an early sneak peak, and I could definitely tell an improvement due to the changes I made in my brew procedures.

 

[ILuvIPA]

Because I am a newb I'm intentionally trying a bottle every 5-7 days. I'm writing down tasting notes (just to make myself think about all the components.) I'm doing this with every batch and figure it's just a part of my education right now.

I look at it as a fair investment of a sixer over the 3 week conditioning period. LOL - I figure eventually I'll learn enough to understand what the experienced guys are telling us newbies!

 

[Bacchus]

When I first got started in homebrewing, I would find all sorts of justifications for cracking into my beer after about five days in the bottle. Problem was, three or four weeks later, I'd get down to the last three or four bottles and they would be absolutely perfect! Crisp carbonation that looked like a geyser in the glass and they tasted phenomenol!! But because I had "justified" my way through most of them while they were green and flat.....I'd only get to enjoy the last few.

I always remember that whenever I catch myself starting to "justify" again.

 

[jgourd]

+1 on tasting! I always recommend for beginners to taste at every opportunity as some others have said. I taste the grain. Always. I don't taste the hops (only once will cure you) but I smell them. Heck, I inhale them! But I taste what I collect after mashing, after sparging, what goes in the kettle, what goes into the fermenter, and whenever I rack (including at bottling time). And even at other times when I feel like tasting to check progress (like the stout I racked on top of cherries). When I first started brewing, I'd also pop open bottles at about 1 week intervals (1 week after bottling, 2 weeks after, and so on). I always keep a few for aging, but that's sometimes difficult, particularly if my wife finds the bottles I've hidden away. And sometimes I find them while digging for other stuff and just can't help myself. But the stouts I've kept for several years and then discovered were incredible. Even an old (3 years old) Porter was amazing. It's like finding a $20 bill in a winter jacket the first time you wear it for the season!

 

[iron_city_ap]

Definately try it. Don't just drink it right out of the bottle. Pour it into a glass and look at it. Note how much head forms, look at how many bubbles are coming out of the beer, if any at all, pay attention to the lacing on the glass..... remember it or write it down, then when you try it again, note how it changes. I found doing this really helped me out and is pretty interesting too. The beer isn't going to taste optimal, but you can see how it gets better over time and not just have a comparison of the day 1 of bottling vs day 21 versions.

 

[Haputanlas]

I think it is good, especially for beginners, to taste everything at every phase of the brewing and conditioning process. That way you will eventually learn what is "normal" and to be expected and what is out of whack.

This is why I just tried my first brew after only a week of being bottled. I can definitely tell that it needs more time to carbonate. The carbonation is extremely low. I'm not disappointed in the least since I know I have more time to wait.

It's good to experience the brew in different stages for the education.