Should I do it?????

[Ernie3]

Well....... after 4 weeks in the primary I finally got to bottle my first brew on Monday the first of December. It is a True Brew Porter kit. I was thinking about putting a bottle in the fridge tonight to chill down for Monday night.

What I am wondering is if this is not a good idea? Should I wait a few weeks before sampling? I know it will only improve with age but I am getting really anxious..............BTY thanks for all the great info here

 

[flyangler18]

Sampling along the way is a good idea- one a week. No more than that.

 

[nealf]

If it were me I would give one a try just to see how the aging process changes the beer... yeah... that's it... research.

 

[Tenchiro]

I always sample one per week to see how they progress. No harm in that.

 

[Kilgore_Trout]

You can give it a taste but I'd go as long as you can without one . It will taste much better after a few more weeks in the bottle to carbonate. I tasted my first few brews weekly just to get used to how they change, I really wouldn't recommend it this early on a porter, my porters and stouts always take at least 6 weeks total to really come around.

 

[Shonuff]

One bottles not going to hurt anything. Hell put it in the fridge right now and try it in a few hours.

 

[IowaHarry]

Quality control requires regular sampling.
You might need to sample 3 or 4.
It is your responsibility.
Git-r-done

 

[dontman]

Here's the problem. What do you do if you sample one and there is a metallic twang in the background. Or Sour apples? or butter, or . . . etc ad nauseum. I'll tell you what you do. You obsess over that twang or off flavor for the next 2 or 3 or 5 weeks and lose sleep and start threads and in general worry about it until finally when it is apporopriately aged you realize that it was all for nothing.

That exact thing happened to me recently. I thought I was innocently trying a beer "a little early" and I REALLY obsessed over a metallic flavor that seemed to be in the beer. I wondered about my equipment, my sanitation, some airborne particles etc.

Cut to three weeks later (5 weeks in bottle) and it is honestly one of the best beers I have ever had. Period. I don't mean homebrews or commercial. I mean top 1 or 2 all-time.

All that said. I still say go ahead and try it. WTH right?

 

[Ernie3]

Such Decisions..............................Still unsure, after reading Dontmans post I think he is right, if it tastes like crap I am going to be worried I did something wrong. Maybe I should just hold out.

 

[ChshreCat]

I didn't sample until after 3 weeks for (mostly) that exact reason. If it tastes bad, what can I do about it at that point?

 

[Tripod]

I like to sample after about two weeks - not just for flavor but to be sure I'm getting some carbonation. Wait as long as you can stand but don't be afraid to try one out.

The more experience you have with brewing, the less likely you are to obsess over something that tastes "off" early on. Experience will help you determine if what you taste is really "off" or just "green".

-Tripod