How Long to keep in bottle before drinking?

[Criag Ayers]

ALL,

Thx again in advance.

I am new and just bottled my first brew (American Pale Ale) into 740ml (i believe this is correct) bottles purchased from BrewArt.

I have read where you should leave 2 weeks?

I have also read where maybe you should keep longer?

i know that it is all a personal preference but I would love some feedback to get a feel for what others have done and how long they have waited before drinking? Thoughts?

With all that being said, my 2nd brew is "Four Leaf Stout" and I would love feedback on the waiting time after bottling also, Thx

[Rob Courtney]

Hi Craig,

2 weeks is the time needed to give it carbonation, whether using carb tabs or sugar and it is certainly drinkable a that time but most people think it improves with age. A good experiment to do is to have a bottle at 2 weeks, 3, etc etc to notice the  difference in taste.

My first brew was a Czech Pilsner, which I had started on at 2 weeks (just couldn't wait) and my first few sips were a little disappointing as I was looking for" pub quality " and it wasn't there but it was still an OK drink. I left the second keg til five weeks and noticed a fair difference in taste and quality.

Whilst some beers drink well early ( and this is personal taste) the sweet spot appears to be around that 8 week mark, whilst waiting 8 weeks seems extreme, I decided to buy some beers and let my brews get to that mark so then my brewing schedule matched.

Now, I did a four leaf stout a while back now, really hits its stride at 12 weeks but is an enjoyable brew that can be drunk earlier than that             

[Criag Ayers]

Rob C,

Thx so much for the thoughts.

One question...When you mention waiting 8 weeks (for some beers) or 12 weeks (for the Stout)...Is that from time of starting brew or time from when you kegged/bottled?

Thx again

[Criag Ayers]

12 minutes ago, Rob Courtney said:

Hi Craig,

2 weeks is the time needed to give it carbonation, whether using carb tabs or sugar and it is certainly drinkable a that time but most people think it improves with age. A good experiment to do is to have a bottle at 2 weeks, 3, etc etc to notice the  difference in taste.

My first brew was a Czech Pilsner, which I had started on at 2 weeks (just couldn't wait) and my first few sips were a little disappointing as I was looking for" pub quality " and it wasn't there but it was still an OK drink. I left the second keg til five weeks and noticed a fair difference in taste and quality.

Whilst some beers drink well early ( and this is personal taste) the sweet spot appears to be around that 8 week mark, whilst waiting 8 weeks seems extreme, I decided to buy some beers and let my brews get to that mark so then my brewing schedule matched.

Now, I did a four leaf stout a while back now, really hits its stride at 12 weeks but is an enjoyable brew that can be drunk earlier than that             

Rob C,

Thx so much for the thoughts.

One question...When you mention waiting 8 weeks (for some beers) or 12 weeks (for the Stout)...Is that from time of starting brew or time from when you kegged/bottled?

Thx again

[Dustin Frothman]

Hi Craig and welcome to the forum.

The conditioning time - 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 weeks etc. is from the time when you bottled or kegged the brew.

In my experience using this system you will get the best results and the most enjoyment from your brews if you adopt the mantra that "good beer takes time".

You really can't go wrong brewing with this system and you'll have a lot of fun learning along the way. Plenty of great tips and tricks to be found here from some very experienced and knowledgeable brewers like @Captain 3 Droids

Please keep us updated with your progress.

Cheers!

[Captain 3 Droids]

2 hours ago, Criag Ayers said:

ALL,

Thx again in advance.

I am new and just bottled my first brew (American Pale Ale) into 740ml (i believe this is correct) bottles purchased from BrewArt.

I have read where you should leave 2 weeks?

I have also read where maybe you should keep longer?

i know that it is all a personal preference but I would love some feedback to get a feel for what others have done and how long they have waited before drinking? Thoughts?

With all that being said, my 2nd brew is "Four Leaf Stout" and I would love feedback on the waiting time after bottling also, Thx

He is a copy of a sampling method I did from the main topic heading “BrewArt Banter” under the thread “Bottled Beer Consumption Times?”

”

I number of people are not quite sure when to start consuming their bottled brews particularly those just starting out. Most brews will mature well over time, some take longer than others, eg. some lagers can be enjoyed early whilst stouts and high alcohol brews are best left for a considerable time.

It is best to keep some basic notes so you know what your thoughts have been. They don’t need to be complex and can be as simple as gas noise on opening (soft, loud -to indicate carbonation level), aroma, head retention in the glass, bubble activity in the glass (big bubbles, small, carbonation good) appearance (clear, see through, cloudy,- for those other than stout etc) and of course taste, then you can rate it (score out of ten). The process in general :-

Now crack a bottle at 2 weeks when carbonation should be complete (you want to anyone)
then 1 at 2 weeks, 3 weeks, say 2 at 4 weeks, and 5 weeks and 3 at 6weeks  and rest at 7 weeks and 8 weeks. (or hold for longer with stouts, high alcohol etc)
You will be surprised at the changes. At first it’s a bit of a pain but you do need to build stocks. Most of us would brew brew brew and drink purchase beers until stocks were able to keep up with consumption. You’ll read recommendations of 6 to 8 weeks as best for most consumption however I think it’s important to establish the best time period to suit yourself. I drink some lagers at early, like 3/4 weeks as that how I like them but I have done the test.”

Cheers

[Captain 3 Droids]

A great brew evaluation sheet thanks to @Thagomizer

https://community.brewart.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=1564&key=febeee60d01025c8a7393230d2a171e9