premature sampling...

[obsoletist]

So, even though it's a bit early to do so, I just broke down and cracked open a bottle of my first home brew, an all-malt amber. It's only been bottled for 5 days, but curiosity was eating me alive, so I decided to test one out and see how the carbonation is coming along.

I got a pretty decent 'pffst' sound when I popped the cap; poured it into a frosted glass with about 1/4" of head and some steady bubbles coming up from the bottom...well, for a few minutes anyway. Obviously the beer is not fully carbonated (it was flat by the time I finished it), but seems to be well on its way! Tastes good, conservatively rich in flavor, a little sweet, with a somewhat hoppy finish that I expect will mellow with age.

Hooray, I made beer! Can't wait to try it again when it's REALLY ready!

As for all the rest of you homebrewers, new and old: have you ever done this? Do you still do it? Do you think there are any benefits to trying out your beer while it's still "green" or do you think of it as 'one less beer you could've enjoyed at its full potential?'

 

[dale1038]

Oh, I do that all the time. It's better when its on tap cause you can have just a little taste here and there.

 

[Yooper]

Oh, I drink green beer often. I sample all through the process- the wort, after fermentation, and right after kegging (I keg most of my beers nowadays). I just took about a 2 ounce sample of an IPA I kegged on Saturday. I really love seeing how the beer progresses and seeing how it develops.

 

[remman4]

I sample early if my inventory is low and I will speed up carbonation by putting a few bottles on top of the fridge!

It is a good experiment in seeing how the beer ages over time

 

[unionrdr]

I did that once on my 1st batch. I then waited 3 weeks to sample. Now I wait 4-6 weeks to try one,or more,depending on how dark it is or the gravity.

 

[obsoletist]

Oh, I drink green beer often. I sample all through the process- the wort, after fermentation, and right after kegging (I keg most of my beers nowadays). I just took about a 2 ounce sample of an IPA I kegged on Saturday. I really love seeing how the beer progresses and seeing how it develops.

I didn't sample the wort. Tried the last couple ounces left over from bottling; the beer I just had tastes the same except now it's slightly carbonated. Tasty though! Would love to keg someday once I've got some more experience under my belt.

off-topic: sorry about your Pack. I'm not a fan, but even less of a Giants fan..

 

[R2-D2]

Absolutely. Going to do that tonight with a Dunkelweiss I bottled last Wednesday. I find the evolution of a bottle conditioned beer interesting and no two beers are the same.

 

[Tommy1858]

i did it today with my first all grain. its going into the keg wednsday and i will sample it off and on for a couple of weeks . this beer brewing hobby really is addicting lol

 

[imrook]

When I first started brewing, I was always drinking my beer early. I noticed the low carbonation like you, but didn't mind. The first time I used Nottingham yeast was on an amber ale that I hadn't brewed before. After 2 weeks in the bottle I had good carbonation, but still a bit of yeast bite / sourness to the beer. I chalked it up to a combination of Nottingham's natural flavor and the somewhat hot fermentation temps. The beer wasn't bad, so I kept drinking it. By the last six pack, the yeast bite was gone, the flavor profile had smoothed out nicely and the beer was absolutely wonderful. I learned something important with that batch: I was consuming faster than I was making. So I bought another fermenter and started brewing more often. Once I had a nice pipeline of beer, I was able to quit drinking the green stuff. I still pull a sample here and there, but for the most part, I don't start drinking 'till 4-6 weeks in the bottle.

 

[saintdog327]

I bottled my first batch of beer yesterday and I can tell you know I will be testing it within the next week for "scientific purposes". hehe But really, it's nice to know how your beer evolves through time in taste, carbonation, flavorings, texture, odor, etc.

 

[Malticulous]

It's never too early to sample. Patience it over rated and not very educational. I don't like beer at high kraeusen though.