Flavour improves over time?

[kieran o connor]

It's been my impression, and I have no empirical data to back this up, but as I get down to the lower reaches of each keg, the flavour improves.
I would expect this after the first few pints/days of a new keg as the residual particulate matter settled down and got poured.
But I'm talking here about the bottom 1/3 of the keg. Let's say it takes me 3 weeks to see off a 19L keg. After two weeks, the flavour seems to hit a sweet spot.
Could be just my imagination, just wondering if anyone else has a similar experience?

 

[MHB]

There was a thread on just this a while ago "Does beer get better with age?"
Not sure there’s a consensus, my personal opinion varies between: -
Hefeweizen, best at around a week in keg
Big Stout, Barley Wine RIS... at least a year!
So answer is going to depend on personal taste and style.
Oh so often the best answer in brewing is a resounding Maybe!
Mark

 

[kieran o connor]

Thanks for the link. That discussion seems more around aging for months or longer. I don't have that kind of patience so my timeframes are much shorter, maybe 3-4 weeks to get through a keg of IPA or APA.

Next keg I'll try to wait a couple of weeks before pouring

 

[philrob]

I bottle my brews, and a couple of days ago I had a Belgian Dubbel I brewed about 15 months ago.
Absolutely brilliant.
Wouldn't do it with an APA, IPA, as my experience is that the desired hop flavours start to fade quickly after a few weeks only.
As for a Hefe, I agree with MHB. Still drinkable as they age, but it changes as it matures, and that lovely fresh Hefe character fades.

 

[Spacman]

I bottle my brews, and a couple of days ago I had a Belgian Dubbel I brewed about 15 months ago.
Absolutely brilliant.
Wouldn't do it with an APA, IPA, as my experience is that the desired hop flavours start to fade quickly after a few weeks only.
As for a Hefe, I agree with MHB. Still drinkable as they age, but it changes as it matures, and that lovely fresh Hefe character fades.

There's the key right there. Style dependent.