Young Beer

[Cranny04]

Hey all,

I am currently drinking my 10 day old american stout ( admittedly it is on the small side of the style) and it is wonderful.

I'm just curious if others drink their beer this young. I normally turn an average sized beer from grain to glass in 14 days. What about y'all?

Cranny

 

[Cyclman]

I drink them young, and old. With bottle conditioning, they seem to age over a year and get better.

 

[Cranny04]

Yeah I guess when you bottle it's harder to drink them at 14 days... And my beer doesn't seem to last that long...

 

[inhousebrew]

Wow, ten days is killer turn around if it's good. What is your practice? Pitch a ton of yeast, cold crash and force carb at high PSI? Any additives?

 

[Cranny04]

Wow, ten days is killer turn around if it's good. What is your practice? Pitch a ton of yeast, cold crash and force carb at high PSI? Any additives?

Pretty much, I pitch a lot of healthy yeast
add servomyces during the boil
ferment the first 36 hours cool
rise temps slowly over the next several days
crash cool
transfer to a keg cold and add gelatin

I taste the beer along the way, and if its not ready it stays in the fermenter.

 

[AnOldUR]

pitch a lot of healthy yeast
add servomyces during the boil
ferment the first 36 hours cool
rise temps slowly over the next several days
crash cool
transfer to a keg cold and add gelatin

taste the beer along the way, and if its not ready it stays in the fermenter

Add "assure proper oxygen levels" to the top of this list and you have the perfect formula for fermentation. (Although the gelatin is optional.)

 

[Cranny04]

Add "assure proper oxygen levels" to the top of this list and you have the perfect formula for fermentation. (Although the gelatin is optional.)

Oh yeah, I forgot that one... I add 60-90 seconds of pure O2 at the time of pitch...

 

[progmac]

with bottle conditioning, 4 weeks is about the fastest i can turn them around. if i didn't care about clarity, maybe 3 weeks.

 

[eric19312]

I think the need to reduce grain to glass time is indicator of problem with pipeline planning. At least it is for me.

I'm a bottler so I shoot for minimum 6 weeks...3 in primary, 3 in bottle. I taste most at 2 weeks in the bottle. Most of the time they do get better from week 2 to 3. In fact, even waiting 3 weeks, most of those continue to improve as the batch is consumed, often tasting just about perfect right as they are all gone...

 

[progmac]

I think the need to reduce grain to glass time is indicator of problem with pipeline planning. At least it is for me.

I'm a bottler so I shoot for minimum 6 weeks...3 in primary, 3 in bottle. I taste most at 2 weeks in the bottle. Most of the time they do get better from week 2 to 3. In fact, even waiting 3 weeks, most of those continue to improve as the batch is consumed, often tasting just about perfect right as they are all gone...

i have noticed that my < 5% ales with darker or toasty grains do indeed take 4 to 6 weeks (1-3 weeks primary including cold crash, 2-4 weeks in bottle) to taste how i want them to. i notice improvement after a week in the fridge and then don't notice any significant improvements after that.

my basic pales with some hop character are usually as good at 2 weeks as at 6 and then go downhill as the hoppers fade. just my experience, anyways.

i have had a couple of oh **** type beers that needed 4 or even 6+ weeks in the bottle to be drinkable and then sometimes become really very good after that. what turned into one of my very favorite english IPAs was undrinkable at bottling.

 

[inhousebrew]

I'll also normally drink simple and hoppy beers quickly but other stuff (namely stouts) I wait. Mind posting your recipe that you're drinking now just to satisfy my curiousity.

 

[Cranny04]

I'll also normally drink simple and hoppy beers quickly but other stuff (namely stouts) I wait. Mind posting your recipe that you're drinking now just to satisfy my curiousity.

67.8% 2Row
10.37% Pale Chocolate
10.37% C120
9.97% Flaked Oats
1.5% Roasted Barley

65 IBU's CTZ

30g Cascade at flame out for 5 gallon batch

WLP013

 

[AnOldUR]

looks nice!
got kind of a maltier, british/american black ipa thing going on?
what's the mash temperature?

 

[Cranny04]

looks nice!
got kind of a maltier, british/american black ipa thing going on?
what's the mash temperature?

I think I mashed at 152ish. My OG was 1.057 FG was 1.016

The recipe is the basically Rogue Shakespeare stout clone from CYBI.

 

[jethro55]

You got me beat by 5 weeks. Keep up the great brewing!!!

 

[grasshopperfirestarter]

I tend to start drinking most of my brews at the 10-14 day marked with kegging. Some people say there must be a problem with the pipeline or something and why rush it? I say it's just good. If you like it then drink it.

 

[PseudoChef]

I, too, follow the healthy yeast/correct ferm temp approach and find it works just fine. There's no way I'd want to wait 6-8 weeks to drink a hoppy beer, but that's just my opinion. Two week old IPA is a beautiful thing.

I threw together an NEBA last year in 7 days (correct pitch, highly flocculating yeast, force carb), gave a sample to National level BJCP judge, and, while the setting was informal, he couldn't taste any issues and was pretty shocked when I told him.

 

[beeber]

5 days after I bottle an ale it's ready for testing. If it's good, away we go. If not, I'll wait another week and repeat.

 

[pernox]

Depends on the beer for me.

My house mild is best young - it's odd to not be in the glass ten days after brewing.

On the other hand, I have a keg of barleywine that I brewed in 2011 (or was it 2010?) still sitting in the back hall. Maybe I'll tap it for my birthday in November this year. Maybe I'll wait for my kid's 21st in ten years. I've sampled some every few months over the last couple years, and it's gotten better each time.

I really think this is style and process dependent - an Irish Red is going to be smoother after lagering for a few weeks, which you want.. An IPA is going to be at its best fresh, a stout may need time in the keg/bottle to smooth out - or it may not depending on your preference. A sour may be a three year project, and a moderate gravity Pale Ale is probably best to start drinking inside a month before it starts losing too much hop presence.

 

[Cranny04]

Depends on the beer for me.

My house mild is best young - it's odd to not be in the glass ten days after brewing.

On the other hand, I have a keg of barleywine that I brewed in 2011 (or was it 2010?) still sitting in the back hall. Maybe I'll tap it for my birthday in November this year. Maybe I'll wait for my kid's 21st in ten years. I've sampled some every few months over the last couple years, and it's gotten better each time.

I really think this is style and process dependent - an Irish Red is going to be smoother after lagering for a few weeks, which you want.. An IPA is going to be at its best fresh, a stout may need time in the keg/bottle to smooth out - or it may not depending on your preference. A sour may be a three year project, and a moderate gravity Pale Ale is probably best to start drinking inside a month before it starts losing too much hop presence.

I totally agree:

I brewed a mild (the first pitch of my WLP013) that I added some Bret C to in the keg. This will age for a few months until it tastes right.

Then I brewer my Stout (Gen 2 of WlP013) this was the beer that inspired this thread.

Now I have a barleywine in primary (OG 1.109, my last pitch of WLP013) that I also pitched a pack of Wyeast Old Ale Blend. This will age for 9-12 months; it may age longer. Depends on the taste.

 

[progmac]

this thread inspired me to crack a lager that i brewed less than five weeks ago. one week primary, two weeks lagering in the primary, and ten days in the bottle. it was delicious and crystal clear with no off-flavors.

 

[Cranny04]

this thread inspired me to crack a lager that i brewed less than five weeks ago. one week primary, two weeks lagering in the primary, and ten days in the bottle. it was delicious and crystal clear with no off-flavors.

Nice, did it still have the nice creamy lager mouthfeel?

 

[progmac]

Nice, did it still have the nice creamy lager mouthfeel?

Poignant question. I think I would describe the mouthfeel as effervescent and crisp more than creamy. Man, now I want another and it's 8 in the morning!

 

[PseudoChef]

Depends on the beer for me.

My house mild is best young - it's odd to not be in the glass ten days after brewing.

On the other hand, I have a keg of barleywine that I brewed in 2011 (or was it 2010?) still sitting in the back hall. Maybe I'll tap it for my birthday in November this year. Maybe I'll wait for my kid's 21st in ten years. I've sampled some every few months over the last couple years, and it's gotten better each time.

I really think this is style and process dependent - an Irish Red is going to be smoother after lagering for a few weeks, which you want.. An IPA is going to be at its best fresh, a stout may need time in the keg/bottle to smooth out - or it may not depending on your preference. A sour may be a three year project, and a moderate gravity Pale Ale is probably best to start drinking inside a month before it starts losing too much hop presence.

Very well said! I brewed a Belgian Golden Strong back in September that I just kegged this past weekend. I'll carb it up, bottle some for some upcoming comps, and then forget about it again (feedback notwithstanding, perhaps!)

Brewed my Barleywine back in November and, aside from making sure it finished fermentation then racking it, I haven't touched it. Probably won't until, well, October to start dry-hopping, then taste in November/December.

And on the converse, I should be drinking my IPA by week 3 (mainly due to the rigors of dry-hopping), and I'll probably brew an APA tomorrow that I hope to have on tap in 10 days. Yum hops.

 

[CoalCracker]

My beers usually sit in primary for a minimum of 3 weeks. Then I'll move to the keg and let it sit for another 2-3 weeks to carb up. No green beer in my house!!

 

[Vigo_Carpathian]

My beers usually sit in primary for a minimum of 3 weeks. Then I'll move to the keg and let it sit for another 2-3 weeks to carb up. No green beer in my house!!

Yes this. I've built up a pretty good pipeline, so I'm in no rush to drink beer before it's got some age. I want to drink my beer when it's at it's best. I find that a month can make a world of difference in taste.

 

[eric19312]

In the interest of science I opened a 12 days in the bottle last night and took some tasting notes. Will try it again at 21 days and then compare the notes.

 

[landshark]

I got a Wheat from Grain to Glass in 10 days. It wasn't properly carbed for a Hef but was still tasty. Pitch big starters, oxygenate, and temperature control and it can be done.