What's your min time from brew to tap?

[Brewing Clamper]

I'm not trying to rush my beer or anything like that. I'm just curious how long it takes you from brew day to tap day on your favorite beer. Usually my pale ale is in primary for 5 days before I dry hop for 10 days and since I force carb, I can have it ready in a total of 17 or 18 days, though I rarely tap it before a month. A Belgian wit I can have on tap in just over 2 weeks. You?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Same day depending heavily on Murphy's law.

 

[rjwhite41]

My favorite beer takes a minimum of 4 weeks but doesn't become my favorite until 6. I have tapped a beer in 2 before and it was fine. I don't really try to minimize time though, I just try to make good beer.

 

[humann_brewing]

I am usually at 17 days for my bitter beer

~5-7 days of primary fermenting
toss dry hops in with a couple gravity points left for 7 days
crash cool for 24 hours,
add gelatin swirl gently and give it another day
transfer to keg and force carb.

Delicious fresh beer on day 17

 

[TheMan]

Humann, why the gelatin when you keg? My beer is crystal clear with no finings at all during or after the boil within 2 weeks. Is your method just to have it clearer quicker?

 

[Yooper]

It depends on the beer. My oatmeal stout is now a tad over one month old, on tap, and is really good! The steam beer was about 6 weeks old when I kegged it, after lagering. The APA is 3 weeks old, but it's been kegged for a while- it wasn't dryhopped so it was probably 10-12 days old when I kegged it.

Most of my IPAs are three weeks old or so when I put them on tap, depending on the dryhopping schedule. I usually leave them in primary for a week or two, then dryhop for a week and rack to keg. I don't age them, just chill them and put them on tap right away.

 

[coastwx]

I've been sticking to 3 weeks in the primary. I'll rack to keg with dryhop bag, chill and force carb for 3-4 days. I'll sample for those few days, mostly to remove sediment and to get a better idea of the new beers taste. The IPA's will hit prime taste a week or two after full carb. With a few batches ago I was really disappointed by one brew that had some odd off-flavor that was not real pleasant to drink, so when the next came online I unhooked that keg for 3 weeks. When I tried again, it came out as one of the best I've made.

 

[jlpred55]

I let the beer tell me when it is ready. Some are different but I can usually gauge when it is likely to be ready and adjust to that.

It is not uncommon for my cream ales, pale ales, ambers, bitters and blondes to be on tap in 2-4 weeks. The rest are anywhere from 5 weeks to 6 months...LOL

 

[Randar]

beers that don't need secondary (aka dry hopped or higher gravoity beers) are as little as 3 weeks till tap. That's about the lower bound for me, though. I like to give a little settling/cellaring time after 7-14 days in primary to help sedimentation/clearing and then a couple days in the fridge under a hefty CO2 pressure before pulling pints.

 

[tcory77]

Hmmmm........I guess I am really slow. I usually leave in the primary for 4 weeks, dry hopping the last week of the 4 if I dry hop. Then I put it on CO2 using the set it and forget it method. I usually don't draw a pint until 3 weeks after kegging.

I have had great success with this, but I imagine i could speed things up a little with the same results.

 

[KYB]

I've done 10 days. Good but definitely would be better with more time.

 

[SourHopHead]

10 days for a Wheat.

 

[Brewing Clamper]

I must agree that my beer tastes better if it conditions longer. I rarely tap a keg before a month from brewing and most usually it's closer to two months. I brewed a pale ale 10 days ago and I'm hoping that it will be decent by Xmas eve. We'll see.

 

[azscoob]

I usually give my APAs and IPAs 3 weeks, wheat beers and English milds are usually 7-12 days, and everything else is up in the air, as stated before, when its ready, its ready.

 

[tcory77]

When you guys are talking "tapping" are you talking about hooking up to the CO2 or actually pouring a pint and drinking? I see 7-12 days in previous posts. If I am reading it right, you guys are saying 7-12 after brewing you are drinking the beer? WOW!!!

 

[Brewing Clamper]

When you guys are talking "tapping" are you talking about hooking up to the CO2 or actually pouring a pint and drinking? I see 7-12 days in previous posts. If I am reading it right, you guys are saying 7-12 after brewing you are drinking the beer? WOW!!!

I hook up the co2 and let it sit for a while. What I mean by "tap" is actually hook up the Beer Out and pour a pint.

 

[RM-MN]

I've done one week in fermenter then one week in the bottles. Yup it was beer, nope it didn't taste real good. Yup it got better. Nope, after 2 months it didn't seem to improve any more.

Now I wait for 2 to 3 weeks in fermenter before I bottle and then wait a week to sample, a second week to sample again and ....... At about a month after bottling I notice that it seems to be mature or at least approaching maturity.

 

[Malticulous]

Mine depend most on my pipe line and consumption. 14 days has worked fine for me with a good number of ales (even out of a bottle.)

 

[wild]

6 days from kettle to mug with a 6.7% American Brown.
Always ready in a pinch.

 

[piteko]

I only bottle beers. From brew day, I:
- bottle around 4-8 weeks later (depending on the beer);
- start tasting 2 weeks after bottling;
- usually on top after 8 weeks after bottling;
- I keep 4 bottles to taste the beer after 1 year.

Cheers!
Piteko