Calling Eggman

[Popspicker]

Ok mate
Was just wondering, as you say you always have a rolling stock going, what would you say was the optimum time for the beer to be at it's best ?
Another thing that has been worrying me, at what point do you give up on a brew ?
If you try a beer after 3 weeks and it tastes bad, does it always improve with age or is there a cut off point of say, 2 months and if it's not tasting good by that time, it isn't going to improve ?
Would hate to think of wasting time on something that could be replaced.

Thanks

...so many questions, so little time.

 

[craigite]

For me there's no set answer, but here's a few of my thoughts.
Hoppy brews quiet down with time.
Lower alc brews seem best when young.
Higher alc brews mature well.
Dark beer like stout, the harch note from black grains mellow.

After saying that, sometimes setting a beer to the side for 4 weeks will do the trick.

Surely it's not that bad to drink while you brew another? :)

 

[Vossy1]

what would you say was the optimum time for the beer to be at it's best ?

As a rule of thumb you should allow 1 week conditioning for every 10 gravity points, so a 1.040 beer should be left for 4 weeks minimum.

Another thing that has been worrying me, at what point do you give up on a brew ?

When the froth turns green :lol: ...seriously though, you'll know if it no good. If the taste's getting worse it usually ends up down the drain. Having said that, a haze can sometimes be the first sign of an infection and any taste flaws can take time to develope, ie, you could still drink the beer before it goes 'bad'

 

[Popspicker]

Thanks man...both for dropping me in the right boxes and your help.
Greatly appreciated !

 

[eggman]

I try to aim for 6 weeks from fermenting to drinking, but as the other posts said it kinda depends what type of brew it is. I brewed an Admirals Reserve short to 34 pints instead of 40 and whacked in some extra sugar and because the starting gravity was so high it's taken ages to mellow out ( won't be doing that again )
Luckily in my short brewing time i've not had a brew go bad, but as vossy said if it was bad you would know because it'd taste like vinegar, if it just tastes a bit tangy i'd leave it to come good and get some more brews on the go :drunk:

 

[Popspicker]

Thanks for the reply mate

Yeah ..that's a good expression mate, a bit tangy.
I think that's how I would describe it, I did add some hop extract because I like the hoppy after taste, hope that doesn't prove to be a mistake.
Made a brew from a dry kit in a KK about 20 years ago and that was pretty good.
I'm a bit worried about the water changing over that time though...bottled water and more DME next time.
I'm trying to cut out the potential spoiling risks

 

[markp]

I'm trying to cut out the potential spoiling risks

In my experience spoilage is usually the result of poor housekeeping. Keep everything nice and clean and then sanitize properly before it comes in to contact with the beer.
Don't leave fermenters open for extended periods, make sure kegs have a good seal......just common sense stuff really.
The other 'spoiler' is oxidation; aim for as little splashing as possible once the beer is fermented and you are transferring to another vessell or bottling.

Hope that helps :)

 

[eggman]

No worries mate, we're all here to help each other :

In my experience spoilage is usually the result of poor housekeeping. Keep everything nice and clean and then sanitize properly before it comes in to contact with the beer.

+1 to that mark

 

[Popspicker]

Thanks Markp
I think I was pretty careful about the cleanliness side and I had read about the splashing thing, so I'm hoping patience will improve this one