Shelf life

[hotrodbrew]

How long will beer last without hops? I know that beer with enough hops will last for years but I plan to make several differnt types of gruit ales but I am concerned with how long they will last without hops. Any input would be great.

 

[TomSD]

If they are bottled properly or kegged they will last for years. The main issue though is how well they age... the flavors will change the longer they are stored. For some beers this is good for some it is bad. Depends on the style.

 

[biochemedic]

I've made 2 gruit ales, and they both kept fine...I'd even venture to say that one of them (heather, mugwort, and yarrow in a Scottish ale base) aged exquisitely! It truly gave credence to the proverb: "Q: When is aged homebrew best? A: Right after you open the last bottle!"

Granted, they were both ~8% ABV, so I'm sure that enters into the equation somewhat...you can age pretty much anything of that ABV or higher and it will be fine...

Come to think of it, perhaps I should do another gruit...I was on a kick there for a few batches during the hop shortage a couple years back, but it's fallen to the wayside now that you don't have to buy 2 batches worth of ingredients to get your LHBS to sell you 4 oz of hops!

 

[hotrodbrew]

I have done heather ales before but I added hops. I have mugwort and wormwood and I have sweet gale and mandrake root on the way. I have read some of the other very opinionated posts on here about gruits so I will be careful what I say, but none the less I am very excited to experiment without hops. I just wanted to make sure my beer would keep because I know one of the advantges of hops is the fact that they are a preservative and without them I am concerned with how fast I need to drink my beer, altho the problem I normally have is that I drink my beer too fast.

 

[hotrodbrew]

Last night I brewed two gruits. I brewed a mugwort which was 24 oz. molasis, 3 pounds brown sugar, and 2 oz of mugwort. the other was 3 lbs light LME, 1 lbs of light DME, 1 lbs. maltodextrin, 1 lbs honey, and 3/4 oz. wormwood. I am hoping the maltodextrin will help off set some of the bitterness of the wormwood because i hear it is pretty nasty stuff.