Once its bottled how to max the flavour in shortest time

[Likefully]

I bottled an american amber ale last night which has been made for a party in 20 days (so 3 weeks from bottling).

Its surprisingly high alcohol, moderately hopped and i can taste it has plenty of body.

What is the best approach to getting the flavours ready in time for the party? I want the hops to shine!

I usually leave my beers for 5 weeks before opening and this sort of beer typically hits its prime after about 6 weeks.

I am thinking of keeping the bottles in a room that is warm enough for them to carb up in for 15 days and then at about 3C for the remaining five days.

 

[unionrdr]

15 days in a warm room is iffy, but possible. You can only push'em so fast.

 

[hanuswalrus]

I don't think there's any short cut to flavor development that comes from age. However, if it is a hop-forward beer, I have had success in the past with bottle conditioning for 2 weeks followed by 4-5 days in the fridge. The beer could have been a bit clearer with another day or two, but the beer did not taste "green" at all. It was actually one of my tastiest beers I've ever brewed.

How long did you let the beer ferment? And what temp are you planning on letting the bottles carb at? I wouldn't go any higher than 74-75F max, personally. I've had beers turn out waayy over-carbed when conditioned up around 78-80F.

 

[unionrdr]

You have to pay close attention the max Vco2 you want in a beer. I usually go middle of the road, so as to leave some wiggle room over time & warm weather temps.

 

[m00ps]

You can try laying the bottles on their side so there is more contact area with the yeast at the bottom. This seemed to work for me once where I needed to carb up a beer in like 6 days to give out at a festrival

 

[Psylocide]

The real answer to your question:

If you really want the hops to shine, and they don't already, they won't improve with conditioning.

 

[Likefully]

The real answer to your question:

If you really want the hops to shine, and they don't already, they won't improve with conditioning.

This I agree with.

My question is more along the lines of how do you bring them out in the shortest time? Once the beer is carbed, give as much time at ambient temperature (15-20C) before cooling or cool it as soon as it is carbed?

I am tending towards keeping it very cold once its carbed.

 

[Hello]

Most of my mid range abv beers have carbed up in 10-15 days. That's sitting at room temp or slightly higher. I test one after a full day or two in the fridge. So for you, 15 days and toss one in the fridge. If it's not quite carbonated then maybe wait a day, but you'd want to chill those for a good 2-3 days before serving.

 

[Spartan300man]

What is the recommendation for hop-forward beers that you have longer than 3-4 weeks? Keep them at room temp, or keep them in the fridge? I want to save a 6-pack that is already 4-5 weeks in the bottle, for an event in about 4 more weeks from now.

 

[hanuswalrus]

What is the recommendation for hop-forward beers that you have longer than 3-4 weeks? Keep them at room temp, or keep them in the fridge? I want to save a 6-pack that is already 4-5 weeks in the bottle, for an event in about 4 more weeks from now.

Put em in the fridge now.

 

[kh54s10]

In my experience, some of my beers had carbonation at 2 weeks (never opened one earlier) ALL of them tasted better at 3 weeks or longer. I have never noticed a difference between chilling for 24 hours or leaving them chilled longer.

I would condition at 70 degrees or a little warmer, then chill for just 2 days before your event. Laying the bottles on their sides might help but then you will get yeast in your pour.

 

[hanuswalrus]

The only reason I chill for longer periods of time is to drop the chill haze and get a clearer beer in the glass. I don't have any means of cold crashing so that's about the best I can do with my current set up.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, chill haze takes about 5 days to a week to form & settle out like a fog.