I guess it does pay to wait...

[MisterOJ]

So after I bottled my first brew - and extra hoppy IPA - I couldn't wait to taste it. It tasted good at bottling (just flat) but I knew after reading on here that it wouldn't be that good after a week.

I was wrong. It was perfectly carbed and ready to drink after a week. So, I had a couple, but then waited another week. I didn't really see a big change. It was still a tasty American-style IPA.

Fast forward to my second brew - an ESB. I bottled it last weekend. It tasted good at bottling. I put one in the fridge yesterday morning to try. I popped it late last night... and it was almost undrinkable. It just tasted really harsh. Not good at all. Plenty of head and bubbles, but just bad flavor all around. I'm guessing (hoping) another week or two in the bottle will cause it to mellow out.

But now I'm wondering if my first brew was just a fluke being ready so soon? Or was it just because of the style?

 

[Yooper]

IPAs are really best when fresh, as the hops "nose" and that in-your-face hops flavor and aroma fades. Hops also cover some other off-flavors, so maybe if there was some aroma of chlorophenols or esters for example, the hops would help cover it up.

 

[Kahler]

Personally, i dont taste a beer before its been in the bottle for a minimum of 3 weeks.

 

[Borisbbadd]

Sometimes a little time doe's wonders for a beer.

 

[acuenca]

May have been a fluke... Bottle priming is a function of yeast activity. If your first one conditioned a bit warmer (by 1-5 degrees) the production of CO2 may have been more rapid and may be the reason why the first was probably decently carb'd. Did you use different dextrose amts? An ESB per style should have less carb than Amercian IPA... Also, what's the alcohol differential between the two beers? Higher alcohol beers will carb slower...

All in all, I like 2-3 weeks at ambient then at least 48 hours in the fridge... gives me great consistent results... Some of the heavier beers have taken a month to properly carb... but I still give it 48 hrs-week in the fridge for the CO2 to dissolve and equilibrate into the the beer... Hope this helps...