Does anyone have a good source on the science of conditioning? I'm trying to understand what is really happening and how temperature and other factors may affect it. Like, why is my stout better at 3 months vs. 4 weeks? If I keg a beer and cool it, does that slow conditioning, change it or stop it? If I rack my beer of of the trub, does that affect conditioning? Is conditioning affected by pressure at all?
What is conditioning, really?
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Doctor_Wily
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https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/conditioning-367468/ was asked the other day, we're still waiting to see if anyone drops science bombs.
Doctor_Wily said:
Thanks! I'll keep an eye on it. BTW, I brewed a partial mash of that Brewers Best Summer Ale in September (it was my first home brew). How'd yours turn out? Despite following the directions by the letter, I ended up with a really low OG. Added another pound of DME and 8oz of honey to get the ABV up. Still ended up with a session beer but its good. I keg'ed it and it got clearer over several weeks, but I'm sure that's just gravity working. But the flavor has definitely changed over that time, as well. Really want to know what's going on, so I can TRY to control it on future brews.
Thanks again!
Doctor_Wily
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Mine came out alright, i kinda messed it up though (drank a few too many while brewing :-o) but it's not terrible. It had a rough apple-y flavor at first but it has since mellowed in the bottle. It's not a bad beer, but I probably won't make it again.
Conditioning not only lets the flavors mellow,but become more well defined too. It usually takes about a week longer than carbonation in my average gravity ales. But higher gravity/ABV can make it take longer. Months for some stouts,& the like...years for barleywines.
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