How long do you leave your beer in bottles before drinking?

[nreed]

Hi all,

I keep reading that my beer should get better with age but from my very limited experience I feel like my beers taste better young. For example I have a mosaic smash that I brewed maybe 6 weeks ago, I'm drinking right now and sitting here thinking it definately tasted better 2 weeks ago?! This one was always pretty subtle on hop flavour but I'm no finding there to be very little hop profile left which seems like a short time to lose it. No other obvious signs of change, colour and clarity are still great.

I only brew small batches every 2 weeks so I'm cool with drinking my beer young, I just wondered if this is just one of those brewing myths or maybe theres something I can do to prolong the flavours?

Cheers!

 

[Sammy86]

Definitely not a myth...hoppy beers tend to be better young because as you said the hops are bright...as time goes on flavors meld and hops-usually aroma is the first to go start to lessen.

Personally, my beers really hit their mark 3-4 weeks after kegging...I'm not a huge fan of the young/green flavor.

 

[mashpaddled]

It depends on the beer and what you enjoy. Some people enjoy that peak young hop flavor in which case you should start drinking beer as soon as you can get it in a bottle and carbonated. Others prefer it with some smoothness which will require giving the bottles some weeks before drinking.

Your brewing techniques will also play a role. Young beer can be fresh and hoppy and nice but those attributes can drop off quickly due to imperfect brewing processes so a beer that tastes good a couple weeks in the bottle can be uninspiring in a couple more weeks.

If you are a newish brewer you should start drinking your beer as soon as it's carbonated so you can see how it changes with time and get to it sooner than the beer flavor can fizzle out. Spend time improving your techniques and learning so you can extend the life of your beer. You'll probably never enjoy a hazy IPA a year in the bottles but you should still have a drinkable beer for more than two or three weeks.

 

[NobleNewt]

I'll add, too, that it depends on what yeast you use. For hazy beers or something with lots of hop character, a kveik yeast can clean up and be much more drinkable in a shorter amount of time than, say, a US-05 or similar. I use Voss Kveik and most of my beers are pretty well carbonated and drinkable in about 10 days from bottling. Some as little as a week, even.

In the past, though, with more traditional ale yeasts, I've given them 2 weeks to carb and about 2 weeks of consumption. (I like drinking beer more than watching it. )

 

[dwhite60]

Mine get three weeks minimum.

I take my time going through porters and stouts because they age very well.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

I put a couple of bottles in the fridge after two weeks, to see how they're coming along, and most enter the regular rotation after three weeks.

 

[MikeCo]

When people say beer improves with age, they are usually referring to styles other than hoopy beers like IPAs and APAs. The hop flavors dissipate with time, so they should be consumed fresh. It's also best to keep them refrigerated to preserve flavors.

Beers that get better with a few months of aging typically are those with higher alcohol content, darker malts and fewer hops. Some examples are imperial stouts, barley wine and Belgian dark strong ale.

 

[devilssoninlaw]

I'll usually try a beer about a week or so after bottling just to be sure it's carbonating and because I'm impatient.

As stated above, I find my beers usually get better a few weeks or even months later. Then again, I don't brew hoppy beer either.

 

[KeizerBrewr]

I am still green in the wonderful world of homebrew. I have four batches under my belt(with too many to count that I helped with over the last ten years). I bottle condition and I quite enjoy the process. Practice-wise for me, the process is the same, unless it was a big beer or a heavy/dark beer. I sample my first bottle at a week just to see how it's progressing, take down sampling notes. I sample another at two weeks, more notes. From there, I usually begin enjoying them. Typically I sample again at a month, notes. I take notes of the characteristics(head retention, flavors, perceived bitterness, etc) every time I pop open a bottle to test it to keep good notes for the next time I want to do that beer. I made a 3.5 gallon batch of cider this summer which I dry hopped with Ekuanot. Boy howdy it was green at two weeks. Tried again at a month, less green more hop notes. Forgot about it until just last week, fantastic. Sorry for the rambling, but the bottom line is: don't rush if it is your first time brewing that type/style of beer. Let it get some age on it, you might be pleasantly surprised.