What's the youngest beer you've drunk?

[brewman551]

I just popped a Westmalle Trappist Dubbel clone that is 13 days in the bottle, and really needs about 4 more weeks to mature, but it's raining and I hate buying beer anyways, so I'm drinking barely carbonated beer that's kind of sharp tasting. It's still pretty good by the way. What's the youngest beer you've drunk, besides the hydrometer sample? Those don't count.


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[j1n]

grain to glass is 14 days for me.

 

[fearwig]

13 for my belgian blond. It was way better than it was at 30.

 

[signpost]

I did a batch in 2 weeks once. Pretty sure it was a Spotted Cow clone. If memory serves me, it was done and ready. No 'green-ness' or anything.

 

[Warthaug]

I've done a 10-day berliner weiss that was OK at 10 days (kegged, not bottled, obviously). I've also taken the odd chug of fermenting beer, 2-3 days old, but I wouldn't recommend that...much.

Bryan

 

[FatDragon]

There's a stark contrast here between kegging and bottling. Bottling, few people are willing to even bottle before two weeks for fear of bottle bombs, then you typically need several days - at best - to carb up, so it's difficult to get a bottled beer from grain to glass any faster than about three weeks, and even then it's dicey. Brewers who keg and force carb can easily get lighter beers grain to glass in ten days, and I've heard of one-week turnaround beers - even if it's still a few gravity points from finished, it'll carb fine in the keg and there's no risk of bombs.

That said, as a bottler, the earliest I've cracked open one of my beers was after about a month, which was three weeks primary, one week in the bottle. I've done it with a couple brews, one of which was barely carbed at all, the other of which was nice and bubbly already. I could crack one of my Caramel Amber Ales today and beat that record by a week (two week primary, one week bottled), though I probably won't. On the other hand, the batch I've currently got fermenting will probably be bottled by the two-week point, and there's a good chance I'll crack one after a week.

 

[Yooper]

I'm pretty sure I never drank a beer less than 7 days old, but it's possible. Normally, I'm at about day 14-17 when I drink a beer like an IPA or APA, but for my British mild I"m drinking it by day 10.

 

[insanim8er]

Cream of three crops - about 10 days.

 

[roosmur]

If kegging, nothing wrong with a week. Some breweries who can really control their temperature well can get an English bitter brewed to fg in 3 days. 1 day fining and a couple carbing and you are set.


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[CadillacAndy]

I just finished a American pale ale, with dry hopping, in 8 days. Dry hopped at the 3 day mark for 3 days and ramped to 70F to finish, then cold crashed for 36 hours to drop mostly clear, racked to keg and force carbed and let it settle for 12 hours and I was drinking it that evening. That's about my record.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

I usually just drink it straight from the mash tun. I really hate waiting.

 

[ajdelange]

The absolute fastest ever for me was an Irish Stout that I pitched Sunday afternoon and had with dinner the following Wednesday. It certainly wasn't fully 'mature' at 3 days but was plenty good enough to serve as the evening's beverage.

 

[AnOldUR]

I try to brew more beer than will fit in the keg(s). Any remaining beer goes into PET bottles with a carbonator caps. Like Yooper, I'm drinking most kegged beers in less than three weeks, but that extra gallon or so is sampled in 7-10 days. I cold crash most beers, so the PET bottles are ready to drink right after transfer. For some APA/IPA's the fresh early hop flavor/aroma is outstanding.

 

[Yooper]

I try to brew more beer than will fit in the keg(s). Any remaining beer goes into PET bottles with a carbonator caps. Like Yooper, I'm drinking most kegged beers in less than three weeks, but that extra gallon or so is sampled in 7-10 days. I cold crash most beers, so the PET bottles are ready to drink right after transfer. For some APA/IPA's the fresh early hop flavor/aroma is outstanding.

You know, I lately have been doing 10 gallon batches. I got out of the habit of making 11 gallons and then kegging 10 and bottling 1 gallon in 2L bottles or my 20 OZ PET bottles. I don't know why- it's just as easy to make 11 gallons as it is 10! Thanks for the reminder.

 

[causeimthesquid]

I have made a saison on a Wednesday afternoon and served it at a BBQ that Saturday. Promised to make my brother a beer and totally forgot till the week before. Turned out good though, and I went home with an empty keg

 

[Takuie]

Kegged, I've had mine as little as 8 days, was a tad green, but everyone enjoyed it that weekend. So much so, 2 people that were at my party got them Mr. Beer kits. 1 quit about 3 months later, the other moved up to 5 gal all grain.

Bottled, 2 weeks was earliest for me. As an experiment I made a yeast starter from dry yeast 24 hours before brew day (when pitched had bubbler activity in 40 minutes). Took gravity readings daily, bottled on day 4, drank on day 13.

Both recipes were German wheat beer recipes.

 

[Grossy]

I had this sweet Belgian Blond once, I swear that Blond looked old enough to me!!!

 

[Weezy]

1.030 dark mild was done in 2, let sit for 2 more to be sure, cold crashed, kegged and started drinking after 2 days when it started getting some fizz (I carb it low anyways). It's best after two but it's fine in a week.