How long from mash to mouth
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Brewedout
Well-Known Member
7 days for my fastest which is a 3% dark mild, 2 years for my Russian Imperial Stout 10-11%
EskiBrew
Regular.
troutie said:
This is an interesting question and one that can cause disagreement :?
Let's assume we are talking ales rather than lagers since obviously the work lager means "to store".
Breweries, cannot generally afford to mature for a long time therefore the larger ones (mega breweries) often whirlpool and filter beer so they can get it to market quickly. Smaller breweries and micros cannot go to the same lengths but also do not tend to mature standard strength ales for a long time - it is often only in the brewery until the final gravity is reached then it is sampled, casked (and usually fined) and delivered ASAP. Having said that, once a cask is delivered to a pub, it will be put on stillage in the cellar for a couple of days then tapped and drunk usually within a week - there is little time for the beer to change significantly between leaving the brewery and being drunk so if the brewer is happy, the punters will most likely be happy.
When we talk about home brewed beer, people tend to go on the rule of thumb of maturing for 1 week for every 10 points of initial gravity. I'm not entirely sure now where this rule originates but In my experience this is a rule of thumb that I do not often stick to. Perhaps it is based on the fact that we often take a comparatively long time to consume a batch from start to finish :hmm:
I do like to drink young beers and I am happy and interested to notice the flavour and character change during the time between starting the cornie and finishing it. :thumb:
Dr Mike
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There's an interview with Fuller's head brewer on The Brewing Network where he says that the bottled version of ESB gets 4 weeks maturation in bulk at 13C followed by a week or two at 0C for chill proofing before filtering, pasteurising and bottling.
But as eskimobob says, cask conditioned ales are released much younger.
But as eskimobob says, cask conditioned ales are released much younger.
That's a very comprehensive answer eskimobob :thumb: The Black Country brewery Bank's slogan is that their cask ale is fresher than the pint of milk in your fridge, and best consumed within 3 days of opening see here http://www.bankssbeer.co.uk/, it's a very good beer as well.
I bottle and I find most of my pale ales can be drunk young, and although they do change taste over the weeks, they all taste good but flavour can drop off after 6-8 weeks. I find darker beers do need some time to be at their best, more to round off the flavours of the darker malts, although flavour can deteriorate by keeping them too long. American IPA's and IIPA's are best drunk young and fresh to appreciate the hops. Lagers, I've found do keep very well, I have a cellar at about 10C at the moment which helps and still have some Helles that is nearly 6 months old.
I bottle and I find most of my pale ales can be drunk young, and although they do change taste over the weeks, they all taste good but flavour can drop off after 6-8 weeks. I find darker beers do need some time to be at their best, more to round off the flavours of the darker malts, although flavour can deteriorate by keeping them too long. American IPA's and IIPA's are best drunk young and fresh to appreciate the hops. Lagers, I've found do keep very well, I have a cellar at about 10C at the moment which helps and still have some Helles that is nearly 6 months old.
bunkerbrewer
Regular.
Brewedout said:
Interesting - what's your process for a 7-day mild? I like to have a low-ABV mild available, but for me it's still 2 weeks in the FV and minimum 4 weeks conditioning. Do you package straight from 1 week in the FV without priming? Or do a little bit of force carbonation in a cornie?
For an ale about 8 weeks however I tried a bottled wheat beer I mashed about 16 days ago just to make sure it was carbed. Put it in the freezer to chill for an hour and it was surprisingly good, put the rest in the garage and will start drinking it in about two weeks.
Brewedout
Well-Known Member
bunkerbrewer said:
Because its a low OG combined with wlp002 yeast which settles quickly the ferment normally finishes in 3 days, 4 days to clean up then force carbonate in a corny. One of my favourite brews.
SABMiller rep confessed it takes 12 days from grain to bottle (with their mass lagers like Tyskie or Lech).
Heineken now extended their maturation period for Zywiec Porter to 180 days (from 120). Fermentation takes up to 18 days, but usually 14.
In smaller breweries it's more like 6-8 weeks for standard strength beers (og ~1.048-1.051).
Heineken now extended their maturation period for Zywiec Porter to 180 days (from 120). Fermentation takes up to 18 days, but usually 14.
In smaller breweries it's more like 6-8 weeks for standard strength beers (og ~1.048-1.051).
bunkerbrewer
Regular.
Brewedout said:
Interesting... (again, sorry!), I like to hear about people doing things differently. Sounds like you're successfully doing a commercial process on a homebrew scale. Is clarity an issue, or something you're not bothered about?
GeeK
New Member
I've always stuck to the week per 10 OGs until last year, when supplies ran dangerously low... Since then I tend to let my English & US style ales mature for 1 -2 weeks, tops. I really prefer the fresh taste of a young beer. Right now, I'm finishing a brew of a US-style bitter that I made wayyyy back in January. It's still good, but not a patch on a similar brew (minus Cascade) that I made last Saturday (9th), barreled on Friday (15th) & which is still sitting in the kitchen, waiting for the secondary bubbles to form before it goes into the cellar (my garage)...
EskiBrew
Regular.
GeeK said:
Absolutely agree there :thumb:
Swazi
Regular.
I've recently brewed a Belgian Pale ale that fermented out in 4 days, was chilled for a day, fined and kegged. I brewed it on a sunday and the following sunday we were drinking it, bright and tasty.
GeeK
New Member
So there it is. Our beers are all different & so are our preferences. Don't that just make for a wonderful world.
You can tell I'm sitting in a pub (sadly, on my own) in London, enjoying some Greene King IPA Gold.
You can tell I'm sitting in a pub (sadly, on my own) in London, enjoying some Greene King IPA Gold.
cwiseman77
Landlord.
I just opened a bottle of ESB thats been in the bottle for 4 days and its blooming lovely. I try to give my beers 2 weeks in the warm then put them in the cellar(my back stairs....always very cool :thumb: ) for 2 weeks before I try. I just couldnt resist trying this one because I had a bit of a disaster on both my brew AND bottling days and was afraid I might have ruined it....can't wait to try one in a few weeks :party: :party: :party:
Dr Mike
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Based on my limited experience, I think bottle conditioned beers might go through a "getting worse before they get better" phase. My 1st AG (TT Landlord) tasted great at bottling, but was a bit dodgy when I opened the first bottle at 3 weeks. After 2 and a bit months in bottle though, it was 'king lovely.
cwiseman77
Landlord.
Dr Mike said:
I've almost given up on beers before and then tasted a few months later and time has cleaned up any off tastes and left me with a lovely pint. On the contrary, some beers taste lovely young and go a bit stale after only a month or 2(particularly wheats)
Anyway I know I guy who owns and runs his own small brewing company and he only sells bottle conditioned beer, no casks/kegs. He delivers them to retailer after only 2 weeks of conditioning...and they are always lovely!
BIGJIM72
Landlord.
May just be me, but AG brews seem to condition faster than kits. Just supping a GW Golden Delicious that was made 4 weeks ago-carbed,clear & tastes fine.I find kit beers are best at 6-8 weeks conditioning.
I also like a young beer.I have an Old Peculier clone in a top tap KK that is drinking just fine after 2 weeks conditioning but may be at its best after 5.
If I was to give one of my beers away though I would make sure it had 6 weeks of bottle conditioning before it was consumed ( I normally stick a best after date on the bottle)
I also like a young beer.I have an Old Peculier clone in a top tap KK that is drinking just fine after 2 weeks conditioning but may be at its best after 5.
If I was to give one of my beers away though I would make sure it had 6 weeks of bottle conditioning before it was consumed ( I normally stick a best after date on the bottle)
EskiBrew
Regular.
BIGJIM72 said:
You could well be on to something there, I think it was Vossy who earlier suggested the "rule of thumb" dates back to the bad old days of single can kits with loads of added table sugar - in that case, the long maturation time is required to allow the brew to become drinkable as the sharp edges wear off in the bottle. Perhaps it is as simple as saying when you do a good AG brew, the rule is not as applicable :hmm:
