How long to condition?

[mountainbrewdude]

Hey guys, I brewed a pumpkin porter back in September or October, and it was fairly complex. Up until 2 weeks ago I had given up on it, it tasted absolutely terrible, like sugary cough syrup with NO carbonation. Then I went to a friends house and had one she took home and viola! It was delicious, very good head and retention, nice and thick and spicy! This is a big beer too, so I can only have a few before I call it quits. My question is why exactly does it take these bigger beers to mature and carb up, I know its been posted here somewhere before, and also, how long can I let these condition, will this fall be too long? Thanks in advance

 

[Kayos]

The longer, the better with dark beers. I try to save one bottle for a year from now on each batch I make and those are usually the best one. It lets all the prominent flavors (roasty) get together and meld.

 

[optimatored]

i go with a general rule of thumb... 1 week per 10 gravity points for an ale and maybe 2 weeks per 10 gravity points for a lager. but depends on my mood and if I care to wait... a big lager I will def condition for 2-3 weeks per 10 gravity points.