WOW...the benefits of patience

[rifraf]

I brewed my first beer on Jan. 3rd this year, and under the advice of many members threw a 12 pack in the basement to forget about until later. I still plan on keeping 6 for one more month, but HOLY COW.

This beer is DAMNED GOOD. It went from a kind of beer that I originally thought "Not bad for a first time, I'd probably buy this in a bar every now and then" to a "Holy Crap! I'd pay craft brew prices and return to bars that kept it in stock!" kind of beer.

This post is 50% THANK YOU to everyone who helped me get started and fall in love with this hobby (lifestyle?) and 50% encouragement for fellow newbs to resist the temptation to drink and throw some in a closet to forget about!!

I'm now off to put cases of beers 2, 3, and 4 in the basement. And accelerate my brew schedule...

 

[FastAndy]

Cheers and good job on waiting that long! Now get back to brewing to keep the pipeline flowing.

 

[Bob]

Well done!

Hypnotoad says:

"FILL THE PIPELINE. OBEY."

Cheers!

Bob

 

[brewjamin_Franklin]

I can't even imagine waiting that long. My first batch is about a month out after bottling and holy crap, I understand the whole green beer thing so much better. Turns out some people here know a thing or two about home brew. Compared to even a week or two ago the apa is significantly more drinkable. To everyone who said rdwhahb, I get it now

 

[WoolyBooger]

I made a double bock for my first batch... Stupid! It takes so long to condition! I gradually drank the first case after about a month of bottle conditioning. I have forced myself to put back the other case for at least a few months and I plan on keeping a 6 pack or two until next winter. It is going to be tough, but I know it will be worth the wait.

 

[rifraf]

I can't even imagine waiting that long. My first batch is about a month out after bottling and holy crap, I understand the whole green beer thing so much better. Turns out some people here know a thing or two about home brew. Compared to even a week or two ago the apa is significantly more drinkable. To everyone who said rdwhahb, I get it now

Yeah I drank most of it in a month but grabbed a six pack on day 1 and threw it in the basement and forgot about it...not easy though!

 

[rowanredbeard]

Sitting right there with ya. My first brew was in January, too - a 1 gallon full grain chocolate maple porter kit, and it was reasonably drinkable. My second was my own recipe for a coffee stout (backed up by some advice from a friend), and it, too, was good enough to keep me in the hobby. Neither was fantastic, mind you, but both were respectable enough.

My third batch was an oatmeal stout, and, while I nailed the fermentation, I got a much lower efficiency and starting and final gravities that I wanted. But I bottled it anyway. A week later, I cracked open one of the bottles (the last, that hadn't quite filled full). It was flattish, sweet, and just barely drinkable. I wrinkled my nose and wondered if I'd have to toss the batch. I came back here, read Revvy's great posts about being patient, went back down to the basement and put the bottles back in a 70 degree spot, and forgot them for a few weeks.

We opened a couple bottles tonight, and ... yeah. Patience. The carbonation was a bit exuberant, but when it settled down, it was a very fine brew. Oh, sure, it's not Anderson Valley's Barney Flats, by any means, but it's definitely the best of my brews so far, and I will quite happily drink the rest of the batch whilst it gives me inspiration for the next brew.