When does beer hit its stride

[AndDrink916]

So, conventional wisdom would be "Fresh beer is better beer" maybe it isn't conventional wisdom and just my impression. But it seems most of my bottled beers (I am still bottling) tends to go from good to GREAT in months of sitting in my beer closet vs once I feel it is carbed enough. I am finally feeling preferential towards my home brew verses having a commercial brand in the fridge. Well lets face it, a nice commercial craft IPA is nice too. but I digress.


Let me know what you guys think. Am I way off here.

 

[TastyAdventure]

Yeah I'd say my beers get better around a month-month and half. Depending on the style it could just get better. My Belgian Dubbel went from meh to awesome between 9 and 12 months.

 

[ArcLight]

I've had many a beer (other than IPAs which do fade) taste a lot better after several months.

 

[MattyIce]

I make a double IPA that takes about a month after Kegging to lose the green.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

best is in the eye of the beer holder. there are many factors to the question. most importantly: personal taste. I've heard the "all beer is best fresh" a lot. even on a different forum from a celebrated "home brew guru". to me, that's like saying all beer is best ice cold. I think it changes from style to style and what temp it's held at. but most importantly: how it tastes to you.

 

[unionrdr]

Or how much of what off flavors it has before it sits long enough. Or too much roasted malt in stouts that needs mellowing, yeast esters, etc. Mine seem to be best on average when it's been 4 weeks in the bottles.

 

[Psylocide]

I'd say it's best right around the time it goes in ma belly.

2 weeks in the keg seems to be the ticket on all these hoppy fruit/citrus bombs I've been making.

 

[brewbama]

I've had one take a while but mostly a few weeks in the fermenter and a cpl in the keg fridge is good.

 

[RM-MN]

So, conventional wisdom would be "Fresh beer is better beer" maybe it isn't conventional wisdom and just my impression. But it seems most of my bottled beers (I am still bottling) tends to go from good to GREAT in months of sitting in my beer closet vs once I feel it is carbed enough. I am finally feeling preferential towards my home brew verses having a commercial brand in the fridge. Well lets face it, a nice commercial craft IPA is nice too. but I digress.


Let me know what you guys think. Am I way off here.

Beers mature at different rates depending on the grains used and the amount of alcohol. You can't make a blanket statement like beer matures in 3 weeks or 4 months because it depends on the beer with the darker colors and higher alcohol beers taking way longer than the low alcohol, light color beers.

I'll make a wheat beer with 4% alcohol that will be ready to drink about as soon as it is carbonated. I also made a strong stout that will not be ready to start drinking for nearly a year and will probably be at its peak at 2 to 3 years.

 

[wobdee]

I've found 4-5 weeks my Lagers are ready but 6-8 weeks they really improve and are at their best.

 

[TastyAdventure]

Related question: when do you all think this beer will hit its peak, and when will it noticeably go downhill?

OG: 1.060
FG: 1.015
ABV: 6%
SRM 18
1.5 oz of flavoring hops (10 gal)
Small amounts of caramel and pale chocolate malts, Maris otter base

 

[Billy-Klubb]

Related question: when do you all think this beer will hit its peak, and when will it noticeably go downhill?

OG: 1.060
FG: 1.015
ABV: 6%
SRM 18
1.5 oz of flavoring hops (10 gal)
Small amounts of caramel and pale chocolate malts, Maris otter base

it will hit its' peak when you have a six pack left. it will instantly go downhill fast as soon as you only have 2 bottles left. this is the laws.

 

[Brettomomyces]

Related question: when do you all think this beer will hit its peak, and when will it noticeably go downhill?

OG: 1.060
FG: 1.015
ABV: 6%
SRM 18
1.5 oz of flavoring hops (10 gal)
Small amounts of caramel and pale chocolate malts, Maris otter base

Stride probably at 6 weeks, downhill probably 12 though that all depends on good fermentation, storage temp and oxygen contact

 

[LongEZBrew]

Many times my beer is hitting its peek just about the time I get to the last six pack. I do not know how it works out that way. I "lost" 12 bottles of a gingered ale once and when I discovered it three month later it was superb. I really regretted not saving more of it.

 

[blackbeer]

i don't think i've ever had one get worse. different and better, yes, but none worse. i've had various laying around a year or so and they all tasted good or great to me. i just drank a year old 1.051 stout that would rival or surpass any micro of the same style. now if i can just find the other bottles i have somewhere.

 

[madscientist451]

You'd have to make the beer and do taste tests to determine when you like it best. I've made hoppy beers that are just too harsh right after they are carbed up. In a few weeks they'll settle down and be good, but then a month later they start to fade. Some hybrid pale ale type beers I've made are good right away. Porters and stouts can be the same but the malt harshness is different that hop harshness. I believe the storage temperature can make a difference, but I haven't done any real tests to prove that. I have some saisons that continue to evolve as time goes on. The bottom line is that there isn't any easy answer, you have to get to know a certain recipe and get to know how the beer changes and is affected by different storage conditions.

 

[kh54s10]

it really depends on the style. IPA's will start losing the hop aroma and flavor relatively quickly. A Barleywine might not be good for a year and may last 5-10 years before degrading.

I had a winter warmer that I brewed in October 2011. It was barely drinkable until April 2012. It got pretty good in July 2012. I think it peaked in 2014 and I finished the last of them in January 2015.

On the other hand I have had some IPA's and Pale Ales that were best at about 1 month. The good ones only last another month after that.

 

[noblesquirrel]

I think there's a misconception here. Fresh is not the same as young. Freshness is when a beer is ready and well taken care of. Not old or stale. Certain beers take longer to be ready, that's just the nature of brewing. I'd also say that there are a lot of people that are serving beer far too young. IPAs at 3 weeks tend to be wild and not quite tied together. A great IPA, in my experience, has longevity and the ability to remain "fresh/bright" for up to three months when properly maintained...

 

[bragona71]

I love my APA and IPA`s right around the mid 3rd week, The 4th week, unfortunately most of the time they are almost gone, since the neighbors get ahold of the keg and wont get their asses away from it.I did have a couple go into their 5th week with the no noticeable difference, I have never had an APA or IPA lose anything but they are gone in 5 weeks.My winter Brown however I wont even introduce until its 5thweek just to carb and get it ready for drinking.7th week on that baby is incredible!! might have lost a little something after a couple months I bottled a few bombers and tried them a month apart. brewed in November ready for xmas, had one in late jan perfect one in late feb and the last in late march and can say it lost some of the vanilla and coco nib flavor by march

 

[rmyurick]

Like pretty much everyone has said, it depends. Made a raspberry beer once that was still good after ~2 years. I think something about the fruit helped preserve it--antioxidants from the skins or seeds, maybe.