Tasting test bottle - How soon?

[Cinci-Brewing]

I just placed my test bottle into the fridge after carbonating for 1 week, the rest of the bottles will carbonate for 1 more week before i put them in the fridge.

What's the fastest time that the test bottle needs to sit in the fridge before i can try it?

I'm only drinking the test bottle to make sure everything went ok with this batch and to get a general idea of what it will taste like.

 

[jescholler]

When I'm trying that type of thing, just long enough for it to get cold (a couple of hours). But remember your beer will get better with time, so it's not something you want to do a lot or make a whole lot of judgment based on. I've heard that 2 weeks or more in the fridge is ideal.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

You could taste it now, but your beer will likely taste different (in a good way) after the rest of the bottles condition for another week to three.

 

[android]

IMHO, there's nothing wrong with tasting one each week. it can be educational for sure. usually when i try one, i just put it in the freezer for a half hour or so and then pop it open. usually you can get a good gauge on where the beer is headed, but you will always be surprised 3 or more weeks down the road.

 

[Cinci-Brewing]

Thanks, I'll try it later on.

I dont know if I'm allowed to since I'm not a paid member, but if i am, I'll post a picture of my brew on this forum for everyone to see.

 

[Cinci-Brewing]

I'm drinking the Cooper's Irish Stout as i post this. Their is hardly any head, now that I've been drinking it for a few, just some lacing around the top edge of the beer, but the beer taste great for a brew that's only 2 weeks old. The first taste was a strong roasted coffee taste, now that I'm down to the bottom of the pint glass, It's smooth. It's a little bit watery and i think it would be better if i used 2 lbs of DME instead of 1 lbs of DME, but It's not bad.

I want to drink some more but i cant, they need to carbonate for one more week.

 

[falc0n]

Did you only add 1 pound dme to the can? or did you also add dextrose as well?

 

[BogusOwnz]

I'll taste it during gravity tests and what not but after I bottle I rarely taste before 3 weeks.

 

[NorCalAngler]

I have tasted every batch before three weeks and I'm always glad I did. I have yet to open a beer at a week that is undrinkable or even unenjoyable. Even my coffee porter that will probably need 6 weeks in the bottle to mellow out was enjoyable, if a little astringent. I just tried my buddy's SN Torpedo clone that was in the bottle for five days and it was amazingly good already. I think pale ales and wheats can be enjoyed well before the 3 weeks at 70F standard often repeated on these boards.

 

[Cinci-Brewing]

Just 1 lbs of DME and 1 cup of sugar. If i brew a Coopers kit again, i will use 2 lbs of DME.

I dont know when i will brew a Coopers kit again, I'm to the point in home brewing were I'll pick a style of beer i want to brew, look at many recipes and come up with a recipe on my own that's unique.

Like the wheat beer I'm going to brew, i have just about all the ingredients for that batch. My goal is to brew a wheat beer that while keeping true to the German style due to the specific flavors from Wyeast Weihenstephan, is a little bit more hoppier then German wheat beers.

 

[Ohio-Ed]

I just placed my test bottle into the fridge after carbonating for 1 week, the rest of the bottles will carbonate for 1 more week before i put them in the fridge.

What's the fastest time that the test bottle needs to sit in the fridge before i can try it?

I'm only drinking the test bottle to make sure everything went ok with this batch and to get a general idea of what it will taste like.

To get an idea of aging... why don't you setup a schedule where you "test" one every few days.

If you write-off a 6 pack to testing and try one every 4-5 days, you get to sample the aging process and difference time makes.

My first couple batches, I tried one a week.

 

[l1ranger]

i try to taste about once a week.
i like to get it in the fridge a couple days early, but if i don't get that, about 30 minutes in the freezer and some time in the fridge after that is enough

 

[TheGeek]

I agree with android. I typically taste one a week as well as sip on any "left overs" I may have in my bucket on bottling day and take notes on the differences. 2-3 weeks generally is all it takes to stop getting much of a carbonation difference.

 

[Cinci-Brewing]

Thanks for the help. I'm going to brew my 2nd batch tonight and i have one more question. If adding corn sugar to boost abv, should you add the sugar before you add the LME, DME and start the 60 minute boil or near the end of the boil?.

I was thinking that adding it that early would cause the sugar to burn off during the boil, but lot of extract pre hopped can brewers do this all the time.

This recipe, I'm using 3.3 Ibs of no hopped LME and 2 Ibs of no hopped DME in 2.5 gallons (brew kettle volume) of water. I'm planning on using a 1 Ibs of corn sugar which i dont think would be to much sugar to ruin the batch. Remember reading somewere that you dont want to use to much corn sugar.

 

[ChshreCat]

You should give it at least 24 hours in the fridge for the CO2 in the headspace to absorb into the beer. Otherwise, you're not getting a true test of what the carb level is. Most of the CO2 the yeast have produced is sitting right under the cap and if you open it too soon it just escapes. If you haven't drank it yet, it should be ready about now.

 

[Cinci-Brewing]

I tasted it last night you can tell about the CO2 due to the head, but it tasted great.

Any word about when i should add the corn sugar if I'm doing a 60 minute boil with hops, someone on You Tube said something about adding the corn sugar to wort once the boil was finished to prevent it from caramelizing the sugar which i dont want since this will be a light ale?.

 

[Cinci-Brewing]

Just tried a second bottle of my Cooper's Irish Stout, this one is even better then the first.