Aging beers

[Mismost]

gave a buddy a couple of six packs of beers i had made...Pilsner, Octoberfest, cariboo Slobber, Cream Ale....just a mix. Well he is like me, not much of a drinker! All these were at least 6-12 months old.

They had a Little BBQ over the week end and he put those beers out. Another friend was there and he is a beer making guru with the trophies to prove it. I knew he brewed but had never had him try my beers. He went nuts over all of them! Just got off the phone with him...he is super pi$$ed that they are all extract based beers! Heck, I have never done an all grain brew.

Kinda made my day. Frankly, I thought they were just OK beers...except the Slobber, I do really like that one. I gotta think that all that "soak time" must have really helped them out. I'm gonna go bottle diving in my beer Closet and see what else I have in there with some age on it.

I always bottle condition since I don't keg. But, do you guys notice an improvement with aging?

 

[jburtner]

I was going to ask about bottle conditioning. I grew up in Germany so am quite partial to a beer every now and then... If you make it up fresh either with mslt extracts or AG then you typically can age up to a year where they then start to decline. Always better with Trub left in and bottle conditioned IMO but that's just me...

My opinion!
Cheers,
johann

 

[ceeaton]

I always bottle condition since I don't keg. But, do you guys notice an improvement with aging?

It improves either way (kegged or bottled; extract or all grain). I just "re-tapped" a keg of Dry Stout that took second fiddle to a kegged Oktoberfest I had, and there was quite the difference even just adding another month of aging. I had made the batch at the end of February. I normally make English style bitters/pale ales/porters and tend to sample them within a few weeks (or hours) of kegging. There is something to be said about a nice young fresh bitter ale, but there is more to be said about a well made and aged beer that's approaching 6 months to a year, just so smooth and well integrated, a harmonic balance; poetry in the glass (or red solo cup).

 

[spaniel]

Really depends on the type. A lot of IPAs are made to drink quite fresh, and aging is counter-productive. On the converse, a high ABV barrel aged stout might improve for a number of years.

I once had a bottle of Trois Pistoles I'd bought and gifted to a friend, who gifted to another friend, who brought it to a Super Bowl gathering about 4-5 years after I bought it. It was AMAZING. Way better than a fresh one.

I've got some Dark Lord here (if you're not familiar look it up. Yes, I was luck enough to attend the event). I don't plan on touching it for 2-3 years.

 

[Redbird1]

Spaniel and ceeaton are spot on. I've found a couple of odd bottles here and there while cleaning, and my stouts usually see a noticeable improvement through at least the first year. I also sadly found a bottle of my Two-Hearted clone about 6 months late and it paled in comparison to the fresh stuff.

 

[Mismost]

I was going to ask about bottle conditioning. I grew up in Germany so am quite partial to a beer every now and then... If you make it up fresh either with mslt extracts or AG then you typically can age up to a year where they then start to decline. Always better with Trub left in and bottle conditioned IMO but that's just me...

My opinion!
Cheers,
johann

Finished my time in the Army in Germany back in the early 70's. I liked the German beers....that is reason I started making beer....I wanted a beer that tasted like the ones I had in Germany. Then wine making just followed as an extension of the hobby.

I was a kid back then. But I want to make a beer like the HoffBrau (sp) I had over there. Forty years later I find out HoffBrau means House Beer and there lots of different styles of HoffBrau! I do remember the Christmas beer being different, stronger.

The beer I am still trying to create or re-create is very bready, malt forward, thick....almost more like a food compared to the watery yellow CMB crap we have over here. Could you hazard a guess as to what type of beer I'm thinking about? I've done Kolsch...too light, Octoberfest...not bready enough.

Still trying find that flavor...and after 40 years, I may not be remembering it right. I've tried most of the German imports, but frankly they never taste as good as the real thing in Germany....I do remember that.

 

[jburtner]

Ha Ha!

Beer is good food! That's a real thing! In reality it is liquid bread and goes with everything.... The Germans take beer breaks at their normal jobs.

Where were you @ in Germany? I lived eight years from 15-23 in Heidelberg.

You might be thinking of a Salvatore style beer that is brewed in the spring. The monks drink this during lent and do not eat during that time (40 days). It's a heavy and strong beer - Dark. Doppel Bock is what they sometimes call it.

Was it a dark Bier that you remember or a golden colored Bier?

Prost und Zum Wohl!
-johann

 

[Mismost]

Ha Ha!

Beer is good food! That's a real thing! In reality it is liquid bread and goes with everything.... The Germans take beer breaks at their normal jobs.

Where were you @ in Germany? I lived eight years from 15-23 in Heidelberg.

You might be thinking of a Salvatore style beer that is brewed in the spring. The monks drink this during lent and do not eat during that time (40 days). It's a heavy and strong beer - Dark. Doppel Bock is what they sometimes call it.

Was it a dark Bier that you remember or a golden colored Bier?

Prost und Zum Wohl!
-johann

Was Golden...not dark

I remember the brewery was in Stuttgart. I was stationed in a little village called Nelligen...close by Essligen. Beautiful country, never did get the lingo down good...didn't have to, most Germans my age spoke English. Loved Europre, hated the Army.

 

[jswordy]

They had a Little BBQ over the week end and he put those beers out. Another friend was there and he is a beer making guru with the trophies to prove it. I knew he brewed but had never had him try my beers. He went nuts over all of them! Just got off the phone with him...he is super pi$$ed that they are all extract based beers! Heck, I have never done an all grain brew.

CONGRATULATIONS! That must have felt awesome. And yeah, you can fool lots of people if you just talk about how hard it was to get your grain bill right, how many times you had to adjust it, then fool with the sparge cycle and etc. Hahaha, they don't need to know! Thanks for confirming extract brew can be just as good or better! It has been my firm belief for awhile.

 

[jswordy]

Finished my time in the Army in Germany back in the early 70's. I liked the German beers....that is reason I started making beer....I wanted a beer that tasted like the ones I had in Germany. Then wine making just followed as an extension of the hobby.

I was a kid back then. But I want to make a beer like the HoffBrau (sp) I had over there. Forty years later I find out HoffBrau means House Beer and there lots of different styles of HoffBrau! I do remember the Christmas beer being different, stronger.

The beer I am still trying to create or re-create is very bready, malt forward, thick....almost more like a food compared to the watery yellow CMB crap we have over here. Could you hazard a guess as to what type of beer I'm thinking about? I've done Kolsch...too light, Octoberfest...not bready enough.

Still trying find that flavor...and after 40 years, I may not be remembering it right. I've tried most of the German imports, but frankly they never taste as good as the real thing in Germany....I do remember that.

I've made a very bready and food-like extract based ale using Belgian Biscuit malt, Crystal and two-row extract. Turned out a darkish amber. Drink two, and you are getting full. About 6% ABV or so. I have the recipe at home, if you'd like it. If you swap in some noble hops for the ones I used, you might get close to what you are after.

 

[Mismost]

I've made a very bready and food-like extract based ale using Belgian Biscuit malt, Crystal and two-row extract. Turned out a darkish amber. Drink two, and you are getting full. About 6% ABV or so. I have the recipe at home, if you'd like it. If you swap in some noble hops for the ones I used, you might get close to what you are after.

I'd like to try it Jim...your "biscuit" malt sounds like a move in the right direction....and I am now set to lagar if required.

 

[jswordy]

I'd like to try it Jim...your "biscuit" malt sounds like a move in the right direction....and I am now set to lagar if required.

OK - I'll look it up and post it.