First Taste Test Tonight

[Kylito87]

So the moment I have been waiting for is close. I bottled my beer on the 22nd of March and tonight my buddy and me are cracking the first bottle to see how it progressing. I have two bottles in the fridge one that is full and one that was only 3/4 full when we ran out of beer .We will be dropping off two bottles at Binnys tomorrow for the home brew contest they are having. I have had home brew before so I am excited to see how our beer compares. Anyways probably a waste of a thread but I just wanted to thank all you guys who helped me with my first Brew. I will post my taste results either tonight or tomorrow.
CHEERS guys

 

[unionrdr]

2 weeks in the bottle is a little young. 3-4 weeks conditioning with 5 more days in the fridge would be way better. They get chill hazed as soon as they cool down,& takes 5 days to get good & clear again. To me,anyway. But good luck on the contest just the same. You never really know till you crack it.

 

[Brandonovich]

I agree, wait another two weeks and let it finish conditioning.

 

[Brewenstein]

Hey, it is YOUR beer. Taste it when you want to. I try not to bottle until it tastes good in the primary (4-6 weeks), so that when it carbonates, it is good to go. Either way, I usually taste one at 7-10 days to see how the carbonation is coming. Good luck at the competition!

 

[McGreen]

From literally EVERYTHING I keep hearing from very experienced brewers - time and patience makes a world of a difference. If you bottled on March 22 you should not enter a contest until early May. June would probably be best. Maybe I am wrong.

How long did you have it in your primary?

 

[Kylito87]

I totally agree with all of you guys. Not my Idea it was my buddy's to put our young beer in the contest. It was in primary for two weeks and secondary for a little over two weeks. I haven't cracked one yet since it has been bottled but I am patient even though this is my first brew. I am sure we will get dinged for clarity but he wants to do it. I am going to wait another two to three weeks to crack open any of my half of the batch after tonight. I might be able to convince him to wait for another contest. I will have to see if there are any others around. That will be 3 3/4 bottles gone with the sample bottles and the entry bottles. I am ready to jump into brewing our next batch. Anyways long story short I agree with you guys

 

[joetothemo]

This drives me nuts. Opening a couple bottles after 7-10 days isn't going to ruin a BATCH or anything. Open them if you want to. The HBT police will never find you.

BTW - That 3/4 full one may be kind of nasty if you sucked up a bunch of goop from the bottle bucket.


***And as far as the contest, I would recommend you have them reschedule it. If your beer is not ready in the eyes of this forum, they will have to wait until we all agree that your beer is fully conditioned (even though none of us will ever taste it).

 

[Kylito87]

To be honest the beer was very clean in the bottle bucket very little gunk was in there when we were done just a few yeast particles at the end. There was also very little sediment in the bottom of my bettter bottle after we transfered it to the bottling bucket. I am not too concerned but that is why I put a proper full one in the fridge as well.

 

[40watt]

Congrats. I just tried my first brew this weekend. Despite being a mistake that was out of style and in the bottle only 2 weeks, it was very good.

It is a great feeling of accomplishment.

 

[biggerthanyou83]

2 weeks in the bottle is a little young. 3-4 weeks conditioning with 5 more days in the fridge would be way better. They get chill hazed as soon as they cool down,& takes 5 days to get good & clear again. To me,anyway. But good luck on the contest just the same. You never really know till you crack it.

I agree.... I waited 2 weeks with my American Pale Ale and it was not carbed at all! I waited an additional 2 weeks and it was amazing! But best of luck and congrats to tasting your home brew.... Nothing like it! :rockin:

 

[Kylito87]

Ok I am so sorry for keeping you all in suspense. I have since drank most of my half of this batch with the exception of one 6 pack that I am saving for when I go home in May to share with my Dad. When we went to drop off our entry bottles at we were greeted with a giant sign that said " No Longer Taking Homebrew Sorry" . So no contest . The beer was very clean tasting. The hop profile was decent enough. Nice sweet malt notes. The carbonation was spot on. The body is a little thin and watery but for my first batch I am pleased with the fact that there are no off tastes. Any way we are doing a red next . Thanks for all the input and help guys.