So, when can I taste it?

[TxBigHops]

Yeah, I know... be patient. But I'm sure you all have been there. Your first brew that is. Been pretty patient so far. Left it in primary for 14 days and another 10 days dry hopping in secondary. Been in the bottle for 11 more, but damn, it's killing me the closer it gets. Red hoppy ale with OG of 1.072 and FG of 1.014. Thing is, if I hadn't made so many blunders and ended up with a full batch, one beer wouldn't be that big of a deal. But I only ended up with 34 bottles out of what was supposed to be a 5 gallon batch, so every one is precious. Can't wait to try one, but would hate for it to be too soon and lose one.

 

[DSorenson]

My most sincere advice is to brew another beer right away and look forward to a properly cellared, carbonated, mature beer. I congratulate you on your patience. Patience is arguably the sign of a good brewer.

 

[DSorenson]

Also a note, if you have a beer of that high an original gravity I would consider aging it for a solid 28 days in the bottle, then give it a week in the fridge. It will be worth it!

 

[dsaavedra]

Hey, it's your beer you can do whatever you want. I was in the same boat last week... it actually may help you out if you just get it over with and try one and see what it is like. I did, and I found that I had virtually no carbonation after 11 days (likely to it being too cold for 7 of those days) and that made it easier for me to wait longer for them to properly carbonate.

 

[TxBigHops]

My most sincere advice is to brew another beer right away and look forward to a properly cellared, carbonated, mature beer. I congratulate you on your patience. Patience is arguably the sign of a good brewer.

Not to worry. The pipeline is under way. Batch #2 was right behind it, and was bottled last Saturday. I significantly reduced my mistakes and got 50 bottles. Batch #3 will be brewed this coming Saturday.

 

[DSorenson]

Not to worry. The pipeline is under way. Batch #2 was right behind it, and was bottled last Saturday. I significantly reduced my mistakes and got 50 bottles. Batch #3 will be brewed this coming Saturday.

Huzzah! Prost! Another brewmaster in the making.

 

[TxBigHops]

Also a note, if you have a beer of that high an original gravity I would consider aging it for a solid 28 days in the bottle, then give it a week in the fridge. It will be worth it!

I know that's the right answer, but damn!

 

[DSorenson]

Look at it this way: you only get one chance to enjoy your first homebrew. I am excited for you.

 

[butterpants]

I've been tasting my brews after 14 days using a wine thief, small plastic soda bottle and carbinator cap.

Sure you get some yeasty goodness but you can always cold crash the sample and decant. I find if there are any brewing flaws that early, they are super easy to detect.... plus it gives you a nice little preview to flavor town

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[TxBigHops]

I've been tasting my brews after 14 days using a wine thief, small plastic soda bottle and carbinator cap.

Sure you get some yeasty goodness but you can always cold crash the sample and decant. I find if there are any brewing flaws that early, they are super easy to detect.... plus it gives you a nice little preview to flavor town

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If you mean while it's still fermenting, then yeah, I did that each time a took a gravity reading. Plus on bottling day my last bottle was less than half full, so I stuck that in the fridge for a couple hours, then drank some of it. It was still pretty raw and harsh. I'm just anxious to know what the final product will taste like. So you guys have convinced me to give it another week or so before I try one. I'm thinking one week from tonight I'll stick one in the fridge, then drink it the following Saturday. Even if it's not ready I should still get a pretty good indication of where it's heading by then.

 

[m1batt1]

Being a higher gravity dry hopped brew your patience will pay off in the end. Just remember how unbalanced and powerful the hops were at bottling. They'll still be potent this early after carbing. But like you said it will give you an idea where you're headed.

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[skw]

I'm thinking one week from tonight I'll stick one in the fridge, then drink it the following Saturday. Even if it's not ready I should still get a pretty good indication of where it's heading by then.

Right now, I'm drinking a beer that's hasn't finished carbonating yet. I do this all the time, whenever I have a beer in the works, not a week goes by without me tasting it at least once. I taste the wort, I taste it during high krausen, I taste it before bottling, I taste them one week after bottling. How else am I supposed to know what beer tastes like that needs more time to condition?

 

[mgr_stl]

You should try one right now if you haven't already. Actually, put one in the fridge right now and drink it in two days. This will help you better understand how the beer develops and changes at different stages of being in the bottle.

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[DeBAD]

+1 to tasting one. IPAs are usually ready a little quicker anyway. At that OG it will be better at the 3 or 4 week mark but you will likely still be stoked how it tastes even after only 11 days. I've been tasting my IPAs after one week in the bottle and although they are a little green they still are pretty dang good. Then I taste them in one week intervals until they taste about right. 2 weeks (sometimes 3) for an IPA and they are good to go.

 

[rodwha]

I've had an IPA taste quite similar to Ranger at the 3 week mark, but on the fourth week, when my friend was able to stop by and try it, it was nothing like Ranger and had smoothed out nicely. It was great, but made a liar out of me. Since then I give most of my beers 4 weeks to ferment and 4 weeks to condition, as well as 1 week to chill.

 

[rodwha]

Tasting them early may give you an idea of how they may change, but I prefer to just drink them when they are done.

For me drinking one early is maybe shaving off 1-3 days from my 4/4/1 routine.

 

[m1batt1]

I'm not afraid to taste mine earlier than I know I should so like most have said I can see how its coming along but as TxBigHops noted in the OP he came up short on his batch and so every bottle is precious. With that said I say he waits it out and let the bottles condition for as long as he can stand it. That way he ends up with more of the good finished product tasting like it should than sampling it when its not ready yet.

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[rodwha]

As Revvy once said:

Originally Posted by Revvy View Post
...tasting a beer at 1 week, and again at 2....that to me just means there 2 less beers that are actually tasting good and are ready at the end.

 

[mgr_stl]

I can see applying that logic when you have a healthy pipeline, but seeing how this is his first brew he should just try one!

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[SeeAliceBrewery]

Yeah, I know... be patient. But I'm sure you all have been there. Your first brew that is. Been pretty patient so far. Left it in primary for 14 days and another 10 days dry hopping in secondary. Been in the bottle for 11 more, but damn, it's killing me the closer it gets. Red hoppy ale with OG of 1.072 and FG of 1.014. Thing is, if I hadn't made so many blunders and ended up with a full batch, one beer wouldn't be that big of a deal. But I only ended up with 34 bottles out of what was supposed to be a 5 gallon batch, so every one is precious. Can't wait to try one, but would hate for it to be too soon and lose one.

Not to be Nosy...but I am still learning. What mistake did you make that resulted in just 34 bottles?

 

[rodwha]

I see both sides of the logic, but agree with Revvy. I'd prefer to drink a few more beers that are ready and good.

 

[TxBigHops]

Not to be Nosy...but I am still learning. What mistake did you make that resulted in just 34 bottles?

The summarized version:

1. Only put 5 gallons total in the carboy. That included a bunch of hop material from the boil. After all the mass of tub and hops settled out, there was probably less than 4.5 gallons of beer. Solution: I will either filter out the hops or build a hop spyder, and future beers will start out with 5.5 gallons in the carboy.
2. I lost a little more when I racked to secondary to dry hop. In the future I will generally dry hop in the primary.
3. Bottling day was a disaster. I had major siphon issues and left a lot of beer behind. There was an air leak between the tubing and the racking cane causing the siphon to stop and have to be restarted numerous times. I solved this on my second beer buy purchasing the proper tubing for my auto siphon and a clip to attach the auto siphon to the top of the carboy, freeing up one of my hands.
4. And in a final bonehead move, while siphoning with the wrong tubing which was too short, my bottling bucket was setting on a box and a kettle to get it up high enough. I bumped it off this platform and knocked it to the floor, spilling 2-3 bottles worth as well as sloshing the beer quite a bit. Who knows how much impact this aeration will have on the final product.

If you want more details, read these threads:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/my-first-brew-few-questions-450969/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/isnt-using-auto-siphon-supposed-easy-455773/

 

[TxBigHops]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions! I do see both sides of the coin. For this beer, I think I will stick with my plan of putting one in the fridge next week. After a few days in the fridge it will be 22 days since bottling when I taste it. That's still a good week to week and a half early, so I'll have given it a chance to carb up, and also get a good idea where it's going. I've already learned so much from this beer. I'll wait for a later beer once all my other processes are dialed in to analyze the bottle conditioning process.

 

[rodwha]

You in SA (not San Angelo)? I wouldn't mind helping you test out this beer!

 

[skw]

As Revvy once said:

Originally Posted by Revvy View Post
...tasting a beer at 1 week, and again at 2....that to me just means there 2 less beers that are actually tasting good and are ready at the end.

Small bottles help. You don't have to put everything in small bottles, but about five or so will help with the initial curiosity.

 

[fmr_army]

I suggest throwing caution to the wind. Chill one and savor it. As you're sipping it, proclaim yourself king of the world and primo brewmaster. Even if it sucks, it's your beer which means it doesn't suck. Well done, man, well done. Welcome to the hobby - lots of good advice here, and lots of opinions. However, the final opinion that matters for your brew...is your opinion.

I was beside myself with anticipation for my first several batches. I couldn't take the wait, and drank some beer before its time. Yes, I had fewer bottles when it was at the peak of perfection, but I also got to scratch my itch.

Then, DON'T HAVE ANY MORE UNTIL IT'S probably READY! Once you get the pipeline going, you will be less and less tempted to sneak a bottle out.

 

[rodwha]

Where does one find small bottles?

I've dumped a bit of beer as I've had 12 oz bottles that I couldn't get full enough, not to mention the bit I'll leave behind as I sucked up a little trub. I've often thought how nice it would be to have a few small bottles, which could also work as the tasters to see what I think after the time has elapsed.

 

[TxBigHops]

You in SA (not San Angelo)? I wouldn't mind helping you test out this beer!

I wish. I did live in SA for a few years, and love the city, but had to come back to Houston for work.

Are you a music fan? Local blues guitarist Ruben V is one of my favorite musicians, and I consider him a friend as well. Awesome dude who can really lay down some licks on the guitar. My wife and I probably miss him more than anything else in SA.

 

[rodwha]

SWMBO and I often go to Austin for New Years just because we love the blues!

Where might one go to listen to your friend Rueben?

 

[rodwha]

Are you near The Woodlands? There's another brewer I've become friends with who lives there.

I've often considered how cool it would be to have brewing friends nearby so that we could go in on bulk ingredients and such, and save a little money, not to mention have people that you can samples beers with. And maybe even make batches together and split so that you can make/try a variety of things collectively.

I have a good friend who lives in Tom Ball, but he doesn't seem to be quite as outgoing these days for some reason. I tried to get him to help out that guy in T.W., but he never did (Mr Beer fermentors he hadn't been using). Oh well...

 

[Malty_Dog]

Just an observation because I know every recipe is different, but perhaps you can shorten the waiting next time by reducing the number of days dry hopping. Not sure how much more you gain by going longer than 5 days or so. Totally JMHO but I can identify with wanting to taste asap. Can't wait to taste my screwed up Belgian in case I made the greatest beer ever by accident, lol

 

[placated]

Like another posted said, it's your beer drink it whenever the hell you want. I tasted my first batch every 4 days or so. It was interesting to note how the flavor changed as the beer conditioned longer.


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[petrolSpice]

Try one now, and another in a week, and so on. If anything it will give you more appreciation of bottling conditioning and aging. I tried my first brew after being in the bottle for only 8 days. It was delicious, but now I'm looking forward to how it will (hopefully) improve with time.

 

[TxBigHops]

SWMBO and I often go to Austin for New Years just because we love the blues!

Where might one go to listen to your friend Rueben?

Tried to send you a PM, but your inbox is full.

 

[TxBigHops]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions! I do see both sides of the coin. For this beer, I think I will stick with my plan of putting one in the fridge next week. After a few days in the fridge it will be 22 days since bottling when I taste it. That's still a good week to week and a half early, so I'll have given it a chance to carb up, and also get a good idea where it's going. I've already learned so much from this beer. I'll wait for a later beer once all my other processes are dialed in to analyze the bottle conditioning process.

Well, I have capitulated to the pressure. Stuck one in the fridge this morning. 14 days in the bottle ought to have given it enough time to at least tell me something. If it's pretty close, I'll give it another week. If not, I'll give it two more. Stay tuned for tasting notes, and maybe even pics!!!

So how long does it need to chill? Obviously it will be cold enough to drink when I get home from work tonight, but I see recommendations to leave it chilling for 3-5 days or more. What is the purpose of the longer chill times? Is it just appearance, or will it impact the taste?

 

[m1batt1]

The colder it is the easier co2 dissolves into solution. And the longer it sits cold the more that is dissolved. So opening a warm or barely chilled beer may make it seem like its not carbonated when it really is but it just escapes when you pop the top. I would say you're good for a tasting for sure with it in the fridge all day.

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[rodwha]

Something I've seen mentioned was to place it in the freezer for 20 mins or so. I tried it, but it didn't work for me… In theory it makes sense though.

I even tried freezer prior to opening, and freezer one day and drink the next.

Were it me I'd leave it 48 hours or more. 3 days would be much better as that's the rule of thumb anyway.

 

[TxBigHops]

So, I've got one vote for open it tonight (about 12 hours in the fridge), and one for keeping it in the fridge at least 48 hours. Anybody want to break the tie, or offer another suggestion? Leaving work right now and I'll be cracking something open in about an hour.

 

[m1batt1]

Looks like your vote broke the tie lol.

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[rodwha]

If you do decide to open it tonight might I suggest what others have suggested, which is to place it in the freezer for ~20 mins? It seemed to work for them, though I didn't notice it, but the theory seems a bit sound, and it certainly can't hurt.