1st Bottle Opening What To Look For?

[carl_p]

Hi again
OK so I have carbed the bottles and let sit for 2 weeks once I have cooled a
couple of trail bottles in the fridge what exactly am I looking for on opening?
And how do I know the batch has been shelved for long enough?

 

[brocky_555]

If the brew is not a wheat beer i would let it sit a few more weeks before you open it, unless you have a burning desire to see what green beer tastes like.

 

[johnyb]

Yes i agree, at 2 weeks it's young, at 4 weeks better, and at 6 weeks much much better (bigger head and less sweet).

 

[jyo]

Definitely try one. It will help you to understand the different changes in flavour your beer goes through. It will be sweet. Then crack one at 3 weeks, then one at 4. By 6 weeks, you will see a completely different beer. Then leave a few for 3 months (if you can) and try those :icon_cheers:
Cheers, John.

 

[Wolfy]

... what exactly am I looking for on opening?
And how do I know the batch has been shelved for long enough?

You're looking for good beer that you enjoy. :icon_chickcheers:
Ignore what everyone says and try one, if you like it then that's the major point about HB, making stuff that YOU like.
If it's a bit flat, has no head or carbonation, then leave it in the bottle longer (and take the ones out of the fridge to warm up again).

Sometimes you may have enough carbonation in 1 week, and you should have enough in 2, having said that your beer should still improve and 4-6+ weeks would be an ideal drinking age, but have some before then and some after so you can determine what's best for you and your system.

 

[manticle]

Yes i agree, at 2 weeks it's young, at 4 weeks better, and at 6 weeks much much better (bigger head and less sweet).

Doesn't that depend entirely on the beer and its fermentation processes?

A hoppy aromatic APA that's been conditioned and matured in the fermenter won't have the same level of flavour at 6 or 8 weeks that a dubbel or oatmeal stout might.

Definitely crack one - see what you think. Just do yourself a favour and set a few aside so you can learn how they age and which point is optimum, which point is green and which point is stale.

 

[Hatchy]

The main reason I bottle 1/2 a carton in stubbies is so I can waste 330ml after it's been in the bottles a week instead of wasting 750ml. I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone else do it but I do. If it's been bottled a fortnight I'd say drink 1 & go buy a carton of coopers longnecks or little creatures & try yr best to forget the home brew is there for a while. Again, do what I say, what I do.

More importantly, is yr fermenter full at the moment? The key to not drinking green beer is to make more or drink less. I make more.

 

[Wolfy]

The main reason I bottle 1/2 a carton in stubbies is so I can waste 330ml after it's been in the bottles a week instead of wasting 750ml. I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone else do it but I do.

I'm impatient and think its a great idea, I do the same myself.
Only I've noticed that the 330ml stubbies carbonate much quicker than the 750ml longnecks so they're not a great indicator of overall progress.
However the process does satisfy my impatience by allowing me to try a stubby without wasting a full bottle of what may (or may not) be still green under-carbonated beer.

 

[johnyb]

I'm impatient and think its a great idea, I do the same myself.
Only I've noticed that the 330ml stubbies carbonate much quicker than the 750ml longnecks so they're not a great indicator of overall progress.
However the process does satisfy my impatience by allowing me to try a stubby without wasting a full bottle of what may (or may not) be still green under-carbonated beer.

My LHBS owner tells me that he has clients who drink it straight from the fermenter (ie. not bottled or kegged, just put in the fridge and decanted out and into it for a few days), so why wait at all, get into it green! Green Ginger wine at $2 a bottle would get the job done quickerm but some people just enjoy brewing i suppose...

 

[Pete2501]

Yeah dude don't wait. Try it and if you like it do it again. If not wait and try it again in 7 days.

 

[enuun]

after reading this I tapped out 1/2 a pint of 6 day old wort (I wouldn't dare to call it a beer yet), dropped some cubes into it and drank it while watching the cars drive by. All I can say is I love the taste of success!

 

[Wolfy]

after reading this I tapped out 1/2 a pint of 6 day old wort (I wouldn't dare to call it a beer yet), dropped some cubes into it and drank it while watching the cars drive by. All I can say is I love the taste of success!

While tasting your 'beer' at every stage of the process is highly recommended, that seems to be taking the concept a little over-board.

 

[zoidbergmerc]

My LHBS owner tells me that he has clients who drink it straight from the fermenter (ie. not bottled or kegged, just put in the fridge and decanted out and into it for a few days), so why wait at all, get into it green! Green Ginger wine at $2 a bottle would get the job done quickerm but some people just enjoy brewing i suppose...

I drink my wheat beer from straight from the fermenter, it's the best. I get my 2 kegs out and just drink the rest that night! All my other beers I'll have a mouthful from the fermenter but I'll usually get a keg out and bottle the rest.

 

[bcp]

Whilst i prefer to bottle in glass, i always have some PET bottles from my original cooper's kit. You can tell level of carbonation by giving them a squeeze - bit like a bike tyre. I've had some batches carbonate in a few days, others take a couple of weeks. Depends on temperature, amount of sugar, etc.

But that's just carbonation. The flavours definitely change over time. Some taste good early, others really need to wait. I remember the original cooper's lager tasted a lot better after a few weeks.

 

[phinnsfotos]

When I'm bottling I always tip the fermenter heavily at the end and bottle a couple "dregs" bottles. They carb up more quickly than the others and I test them after a week or two (one a week that sort of thing). Satisfies the curiosity and doesn't use up the main batch.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

"Men, you're lucky men. Soon you will all be fighting for your planet. Many of you will be dying for your planet. A few of you will be forced through a fine mesh screen for your planet. They will be the luckiest of all." Zapp Brannigan

Couldn't have said it better myself!