How long do you wait before drinking your brew

[RobWalker]

when it's carbonated. :lol:

 

[Duxuk]

I wait 2 weeks for it to carbonate then try it, unless curiosity gets the better of me!
I have 1 pressure barrel which I honestly think is better than bottles for maturing. It seems to be as good as it's going to get by the time it's all clear and fully carbonated. Bottles seem to keep improving in the first month and longer.

 

[BIGJIM72]

I like a green beer-sorry,I may be a peasant. At least 10-14 days in the FV. I normally give a KK a blast of CO2 when kegging,so if it went in clear I might try after a few days. Bottles at least a week.
TBH I made an all Galaxy brew before the summer that was massively dry hopped as well-it was nicer when it was just carbed (after about a week) than it was after giving a decent period to mature.So much of the hop hit was lost so quickly it was shocking,but still a good beer.

When you think about the speed some micros turn a brew out in I don't think drinking early is a bad thing with AG,although I would agree that kits take much longer to condition.

 

[graysalchemy]

I don't think its how fast you can condition it more how the flavours mellow and produce a more complex flavour. Unfortunately we are conditioned by breweries micros as well as multinationals to drink green beer as they cannot afford to age beer. Just as beaujolais is maketed as best drunk young, because it is produced quickly and cheaply wouldn't improve with age.

Having said all that I enjoy an APA with lots of C hops young it is different than when aged and perhaps better, but aged is different and still very good.

I challenge anyone to leave a few bottles for 6 months and I am pretty sure you will agree aged beer is better than green beer.

 

[Brewbob]

When I worked The Bell in Bath my boss would get a firkin of RCH Santa Fe, which comes in at 7.2%, then he'd leave it for about 4 months to settle and condition nicely. The result was a much drier rounded beer.
I think pale hoppy beers are fine when drunk green because of the freshness of the hops, but a darker maltier beer develops more complex flavours the longer it is left, just my HO. But now I've got a bit of stock I'm going to get a stout on the go, as I don't drink stout very often so I reckon I'll have some hanging about for a fair while...

 

[BIGJIM72]

Fair points Greys & Bob-at the moment I am mostly drinking pales with lots of C hops.

 

[graysalchemy]

:thumb: :thumb:

 

[Wezzel]

+1

I recently made a smash with MO and Cascade. It fermented to 1.008 within 10 days, carbed up in 5 or 6 days and I was drinking it 2 days later after chilling.

Bloody lovely. Really fresh and grapefruity. Still good now, a few weeks later. As you say, not better, just different.

 

[ericmark]

An interesting post for a new comer like me. Some really good points raised nice to hear I am not the only one to find the kits take longer than the instructions say. Also point about high %ABV taking longer. I now label the beer as I would select the wrong bottle some times and not drink in order of making and yes when only in bottle for a week it was not as good.

My problem is getting enough bottles and stock to be able to leave it longer in the bottle. Beginning of the year I was drinking it two weeks after bottling now it is more like 6 weeks. However I have also changed other things so as to if time or something else has improved the beer is unknown.

Two batches of Ginger Beer which seemed to take ages in the fermentor has resulted in a large gap in the age of bitter. So in the next few weeks there will be a jump of around 6 weeks in the age of beer in bottle. Family like the Ginger Beer but I drink very little.

So I will take note on how the brew changes when that 6 week jump happens. However my thanks to the other posters this has really helped as a new starter in what to look at.

 

[Pearlfisher]

I start sampling after 48 hours in the PB , I try a small amount each day thereafter and I'm always amazed at how the taste and smell of the beer changes.
Some brews have been at their tastiest after only 7 days and seem to diminish afterwards whereas some just seem to get better right to the bottom of the keg.

 

[matth]

I generally sample after 2 weeks bottle conditioning - then decide if i want to condition longer or not. generally darker stronger = longer, lighter weaker = sooner.

 

[BIGJIM72]

I start sampling after 48 hours in the PB , I try a small amount each day thereafter and I'm always amazed at how the taste and smell of the beer changes.
Some brews have been at their tastiest after only 7 days and seem to diminish afterwards whereas some just seem to get better right to the bottom of the keg.

+1 to that

 

[Awfers]

Waiting time depends on the beer style I would venture.

Generally 3 weeks for Ales and 6 for Lagers. A barley wine can take years :)

 

[booosh]

1 day max.

Then I feel disappointed in myself...

 

[Pearlfisher]

:thumb:

 

[Mulled]

A really interesting thread As a newbie i am frantically trying to build up stocks so that i don't drink my beer or wine too young. For the record, the earliest i drink my beer is 5 weeks from the start, that translates as one week in primary, two weeks in secondary and two in bottle. I am fairly sure the timing will move on as i get more equipment and space etc.

 

[Fil]

Im fussy and started brewing kits a while back when maturity aided flavour no end so have always considered patience the secret ingredient.

I will sample as early as a few weeks in the keg or bottle, but will often leave a brew months before its ready for supping in anger, I had one brew an early attempt at an american style ipa to which i added flaked rice to the mash which was quaffable after only a couple of weeks in the keg, so that was drunk quickly.

all depends on the beer and your thirst :)

 

[Leeds Chimp]

when I first started it was a couple of a weeks...now I can leave them alot longer....
I dont label any of my beers as i CBA to write or print them out and then get the label off.....So i use a "traffic light" system on the bottle tops which I started about 3/4 months ago starting with a red top...next batch had a orange/lighter red ..next had a yellow etc