I am pretty new to brewing, but so far I am loving it! My problem is that I crave to keep brewing new styles. How long will my brews stay good for once bottled. I want to keep brewing but I dont wan't to end up with more than I can drink or share before they spoil.
How long does bottled homebrew stay good for?
- Thread starter Bo0sted2g
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Just as with commercial beers, the darker beers will keep longer and the hoppier beers won't last as long. If you are bottle conditioning they will probably last a bit longer, though you shouldn't be too worried about them going bad unless it is a really hoppy IPA. Mine are usually fine after 5-6 months, though they don't usually last that long.
FloppyKnockers
Well-Known Member
Depends on the style. Lagers will last several months and only get better. IPAs will lose some bitterness after a few weeks, but still pretty good. Ales can benefit from a couple months in the fridge.
Well, it depends.
Hoppy styles like IPA and pale ales don't age well.
If you want to age your beer, you will want to consider brewing strong ales, like english barelywine, russian imperial stout, belgian strong ales, etc, etc.
Lagers like bocks age well. I haven't aged many pilsners, but I think most other lagers should age pretty well. Pilsners might too, I just don't know.
If you really want to go crazy, several styles of european sour ales can take over a year to even be ready to bottle, and then after that should age rather nicely.
Even moderately strong ales can age nicely. I have aged some stouts that were around 7% and they were fine after more than a year.
Hoppy styles like IPA and pale ales don't age well.
If you want to age your beer, you will want to consider brewing strong ales, like english barelywine, russian imperial stout, belgian strong ales, etc, etc.
Lagers like bocks age well. I haven't aged many pilsners, but I think most other lagers should age pretty well. Pilsners might too, I just don't know.
If you really want to go crazy, several styles of european sour ales can take over a year to even be ready to bottle, and then after that should age rather nicely.
Even moderately strong ales can age nicely. I have aged some stouts that were around 7% and they were fine after more than a year.
Sounds like you have the same issue I am having as beginning brewer. What I am doing is moving my bottles of pale ale and hefeweisen to a spare fridge after 3 weeks conditioning. I figure it will give me a little more time to drink them and they are ready for guests.
Currently I have 20 different varieties bottled. Most are from Fall 2017- Spring 2018, but a few are more than a year old, and I find an occasional bottle from up to 5 years ago. Some of the older ones are a bit oxygenated, but most are still fresh tasting. I use the O2 scavenging caps and wax the tops of ones I know I'll store for a while. They reside in Styrofoam-lined boxes in my garage or basement that tends to stay between 65-75 year-round.
I don't do many IPAs, and do try to drink or give away those within 6 months.
I don't do many IPAs, and do try to drink or give away those within 6 months.
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I plan on beers above 8%ish being okay for a year or two. To make it any longer, it needs to be higher alcohol or really not dependent on hop flavor. Probably the most depressing beer to drink is an old IPA.
I've been the unlucky recipient of some "cellared" beers from a beer nut (even moreso than myself). These are beers deliberately saved for this purpose. There have been both pricey and high alcohol beers among them. Every single one has been terrible.
thehaze
Well-Known Member
Fresh, crisp, hoppy styles, maybe a few months, bt as others said, they do not last that long.
10 days ago I just tried a bottle of a Dark Ale I brewed last November and it was delicious. So darker styles will hold up better, provided they are not infected, contaminated, etc.
10 days ago I just tried a bottle of a Dark Ale I brewed last November and it was delicious. So darker styles will hold up better, provided they are not infected, contaminated, etc.
You might try brewing smaller batches. That way you can brew frequently, try different methods and styles, and not be buried in beer.
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I kept a belgian quad and a strong dopple for over 5 years and they were both great.
Depends on the beer and how good your process is. When bottling homebrew the shelf life of hop-forward beers will be relatively poor. To really keep hoppy beer fresh for a while even simply kegging often isn't good enough- one needs to get into pressurized closed transfers.
Apart from that, I've got bottles of homebrew (sours and wild beers) pushing on 8 years old that are still wonderful. The older non-sour strong beers (a Barleywine and a Belgian Quad notably, others I didn't keep as long and drank faster) made it a about 5 years in the bottle before going downhill.
Your average non-strong ale, I would say 6-9 months is probably max shelf life, give or take depending on storage conditions (cool/cold and stable will last far longer than warm/hot and fluctuating).
Additionally, if your bottling process isn't sound, you'll get far less shelf life.
Apart from that, I've got bottles of homebrew (sours and wild beers) pushing on 8 years old that are still wonderful. The older non-sour strong beers (a Barleywine and a Belgian Quad notably, others I didn't keep as long and drank faster) made it a about 5 years in the bottle before going downhill.
Your average non-strong ale, I would say 6-9 months is probably max shelf life, give or take depending on storage conditions (cool/cold and stable will last far longer than warm/hot and fluctuating).
Additionally, if your bottling process isn't sound, you'll get far less shelf life.
devils4ever
Well-Known Member
I had a barleywine that was decent after 10 years. It was over 10% though!
rough guide:
Ipa: good after 2 weeks carbing and a few days fridge to settle, will be tasty for 3-4 months.
pale ales 4-7%: good after 2 weeks carbing and week in the fridge, tasty for 3-6 months
Lager and basic dark ales: good after 2 weeks carbing and a week in the fridge, will improve over 3-4 months and stay good for 1+years.
belgian quads, barleywine, sours etc: benefit from long aging/mellowing, usually drinkable after 3-4 months in the bottle might improve over the years.
Ipa: good after 2 weeks carbing and a few days fridge to settle, will be tasty for 3-4 months.
pale ales 4-7%: good after 2 weeks carbing and week in the fridge, tasty for 3-6 months
Lager and basic dark ales: good after 2 weeks carbing and a week in the fridge, will improve over 3-4 months and stay good for 1+years.
belgian quads, barleywine, sours etc: benefit from long aging/mellowing, usually drinkable after 3-4 months in the bottle might improve over the years.
My standards may be high. Said Quad was almost 14% and at 5 years was still by all accounts "decent" but had gone from kick-ass 100% medal-to-entry ratio beer to "pretty good". Had passed the "aged complexity" point and started declining. Never had a beer that doesn't eventually decline. Even if just loss of carb. Sours included. Have had a couple of 20 year old commercial sours that started to take on soy sauce notes and lost all carb.
might not want to go for a belgian quad though...bit on the hot alcohol side within 3 weeks.....I wouldn't know, I haven't had a batch that made it past 3 weeks after it was done
