Can I Sample After 1 Week In The Bottle

[Truman42]

Ive had my first BIAB bottled a week today and am hanging out to try it. A Sticks and Stones Pale ale on the recipe DB.

Will I have some carbonation by now, that I could chill one of these and sample it? Or am I being too hasty???

 

[Goofinder]

You can... it most probably won't be fully carbed up though. I used to crack the first bottle after a week but then try and leave the rest a bit longer.

 

[beerdrinkingbob]

Same here, I usually try them between 7 & 10 days, then leave them as much as I can for another two weeks.

 

[Lecterfan]

I make sure I bottle a few stubbies so I can taste them from early on. The catch with bottling AGs is that some them are at their best young and fresh but you still have to wait 2+ weeks for them to carbonate (which is why brewing AG ESBs is great - drinkable at 2 weeks generally).

So YES! Go for it - I'm drinking my second pint of a 2week old AIPA today that is still flat but is giving me a great indication of what's to come.

Due to cold conditioning and the ambient temps in Ballarat I find my bottles take between 4-6 weeks to carb up decently.

When I naturally carb the few kegs I have I bring them into the lounge room and they carb up a bit quicker...

Also, with AG brews I want to drink sooner I use plain brown sugar for bulk priming as in my experience (may differ for everyone else), plain sugar seems to get chewed out by yeast the quickest. One of my vicbrew entries is now 6 weeks old and still basically flat because when I read the notes I ran out of every suitable priming sugar and used light dry malt extract, which I personally HATE using to prime with in my situation...so that batch might not be carbed properly until xmas depending on the weather here!!!

Cheers mate, get into it!

 

[peaky]

Ive had my first BIAB bottled a week today and am hanging out to try it. A Sticks and Stones Pale ale on the recipe DB.

Will I have some carbonation by now, that I could chill one of these and sample it? Or am I being too hasty???

You're certainly being too hasty but there's nothing wrong with that if you only want a taste, it should have some carb if you've kept the bottles at room temp. The beer won't really taste like it will in another month but sometimes it's good to try it early. I do it sometimes. I opened an English IPA at 2 weeks not long ago and wasn't impressed but at 6 weeks it's not a bad drop, that's not unusual for an IPA though. Wheat beers are good young, although I don't brew wheats these days.

 

[Truman42]

Yes they were kept at room temperature in the bottom of the pantry for the last week. Well in the freezer its gone and Ill drag it out and pour in about 25 mins or so...Cheers..

My extract chocolate mahogany porter after one month in the bottle still tastes crap. Might chuck it all out?

 

[peaky]

Due to cold conditioning and the ambient temps in Ballarat I find my bottles take between 4-6 weeks to carb up decently.

Jeez, it must be cold up your way

Mine have carb in one week and fully carbed in 2-3 weeks. I use dex for priming though

 

[Liam_snorkel]

no! don't chuck it!

 

[peaky]

Yes they were kept at room temperature in the bottom of the pantry for the last week. Well in the freezer its gone and Ill drag it out and pour in about 25 mins or so...Cheers..

My extract chocolate mahogany porter after one month in the bottle still tastes crap. Might chuck it all out?

Nah, don't chuck it. Unless you need the bottles for another brew. Hang onto it and try it again in another month

 

[going down a hill]

My extract chocolate mahogany porter after one month in the bottle still tastes crap. Might chuck it all out?

If you can put a slab of it away for next May when it starts getting cooler. You will most likly be quite impressed.

 

[Truman42]

Ok will do. Its got what I think is really bad kit twang and from what Ive learned is because my brew temps dropped below 14C most days

 

[Truman42]

Well it had some slight carbonation that disappeared quite quickly though.

Tasted ok but certainly has potential to become better. At least I could drink the entire long neck unlike my extract brew.

View attachment 48753

 

[bcp]

Well it had some slight carbonation that disappeared quite quickly though.

Tasted ok but certainly has potential to become better. At least I could drink the entire long neck unlike my extract brew.

View attachment 48753

I can never resist trying one early. It's not just carbonation that isn't usually 100% - the flavours tend to mellow out and mature over weeks and months depending on the brew. I had an american pale ale that in the first four weeks was undrinkable - the hops were almost catty. After about 2.5-3months it's just perfect - my wife's favourite.

 

[Truman42]

Well this is certainly not ready but certainly very moreish. Im tempted to put another 3-4 in the fridge but have to pick the missus up from work tonight. I wonder if she can catch a taxi...LOL. Cant wait until its about a month old. Will be good for our house warming as were moving soon..

 

[peaky]

I just opened an APA that I bottled 9 days ago. It's probably close to 3 quarters carbed and tastes quite nice. I used 190 grams of Cascade in the boil and a further 120 grams Cascade dry hopped so I was a little apprehensive. It's all good. But it'll be better in a couple of months I'm sure

 

[Truman42]

I just opened an APA that I bottled 9 days ago. It's probably close to 3 quarters carbed and tastes quite nice. I used 190 grams of Cascade in the boil and a further 120 grams Cascade dry hopped so I was a little apprehensive. It's all good. But it'll be better in a couple of months I'm sure

Sounds good mate...

 

[Lecterfan]

Jeez, it must be cold up your way

Mine have carb in one week and fully carbed in 2-3 weeks. I use dex for priming though

All my beers now get 2weeks min cold conditioning, on top of that through autumn/winter/spring the nights are generally all less than 6c, and with the insulation in the rooms they are kept in even if the days warm up to a balmy 18c (which is a delightful day in Ballarat through the aforementioned seasons) then they still don't get much of a chance. Plus my lounge room is tiny and full of shit already so it doesn't need crates of beer bottles in it haha.

Ballarat is south of the divide and north of the coast so we don't get the sunny benefits of the former or the moderating effects of the latter. :icon_cheers:

 

[Truman42]

If you can put a slab of it away for next May when it starts getting cooler. You will most likly be quite impressed.

I can do that but will it last that long? I thought it would go off before then?

 

[going down a hill]

If you store it well it should be fine in that sort of time frame. Stouts last years when you look after them correctly, so a porter will be fine.

BTW Coopers say "best after" not "best before".

 

[pk.sax]

Considering my BIAB comes out cloudy as hell's cataracts, I consider them carbed when the bottle goes clear room temp. I can actually pour them clear if I leave ~ 1cm of it back.