The Fear Of Hops Hopping Along

[unyeasted]

Hey all,

I’ve got a hop heavy pale ale conditioning in bottles, today marks day 7 of being in the bottle. Yesterday I was too curious and needed to know how the beer was coming along. Out of the fermenter the beer had a strong bitterness that, despite my love for hops, was bordering unpleasant. But yesterday, when I tasted it, it was magnificent. I finally made a beer I loved the taste of! Strange, too, because it was only just short of a week in the bottle!

But now I have a fear that the strong hop punch (now very pleasant), might diminish from here, as I have read happening to others. Do I enjoy this beer now, or let them sit for another couple of weeks??

What’s everyone else’s experience?

Cheers!

 

[Brewman_]

Hi unyeasted,
When I do hoppy ales, they are for early drinking.

Don't rush the ferment, and taste before you decide to bottle or keg.

And yes, my IPA's are quite bitter at kegging.

I condition these in the fridge immediately and charge with CO2 for about a week.

Then start tasting. The hop / bitterness tails off pretty fast into a smoother beer, the bitterness softens... to a point.

But at least in the keg, the hop aroma / flavour hangs in there for quite a while. Like I have never had one go to the point of losing hop character and I am talking many many months, (In the keg).

In bottles, its a little different, but once they are carbonated, I wouldn't sit on them. Start tasting and when they taste good, I would drink them, or get them in the fridge. A couple weeks should be OK in my opinion.

Cheers Steve

 

[unyeasted]

Hi unyeasted,
When I do hoppy ales, they are for early drinking.

Don't rush the ferment, and taste before you decide to bottle or keg.

And yes, my IPA's are quite bitter at kegging.

I condition these in the fridge immediately and charge with CO2 for about a week.

Then start tasting. The hop / bitterness tails off pretty fast into a smoother beer, the bitterness softens... to a point.

But at least in the keg, the hop aroma / flavour hangs in there for quite a while. Like I have never had one go to the point of losing hop character and I am talking many many months, (In the keg).

In bottles, its a little different, but once they are carbonated, I wouldn't sit on them. Start tasting and when they taste good, I would drink them, or get them in the fridge. A couple weeks should be OK in my opinion.

Cheers Steve

Thank you Steve!! They’re all Going straight to the fridge now. Beautifully carbonated.

Another reason to keg then [emoji848]

 

[onemorecell]

Bottling is not the end of the world... your beer doesn't turn to shit after being in a bottle for a few weeks or even months.

I've got pale ales that are still fine after being in the bottle for months. They're not the same as when made, but it's not like they taste bad.

RDWHAHB