The last bottle is the best - Beers you drunk before their prime

[black_labb]

I just found 2 stubbies of a belgian IPA I brewed a while back, bottled 15 months ago before going overseas from memory. It was an IPA with vienna/pale malt for the base and late hopped with a fair wack of nelson sauvin with centennial and bittered with saaz. It was fermented on 1388 belgian strong ale.

The first bottle was opened after 3 months in the bottle and I was a bit dissapointed. There was a touch of a hot alcohol coming through that brought out the nelson sauvin "catpiss" flavour. The phenols from the yeast and the bitterness/late hops overpowered the malt leaving the beer quite harsh. I'm being overly critical and it was still an enjoyable beer but it was lacking in some areas. It was drunk fairly regularly but it wasn't one that I felt I needed to savour.

I decided to pick around the back milkcrate that doesn't get much attention and was surprised to find 2 stubbies of it in there. I opened one and was surprised how nice it had become. The slight harsh alcohol bite all but disappeared and the nelson sauvin had mellowed to not being catpissy leaving that excellent grape flavour. The vienna malt was more prominent and the phenols that were a bit out of place a while ago were now giving a nice bubble gum flavour. Basically a grape bubblegum IPA with a nice malty background and a perfectly dry finish. I'm tempted to open that second bottle right now.

What beers unexpectedly turned out really well after having drunk all but the last bottle?

 

[poggor]

this exact thing has happened to me: I brewed some mini mash brews in 2012 and they were ok but not great. I even have tasting notes from about 4 weeks after bottling saying they were a bit thin and harsh. Then i found a couple of bottles in the shed two years later and they were AWESOME! go figure. definitely worth being patient for... having said that I haven't tasted the difference between 6 months and 18 months- i have a tendency to taste way too early (like 3 weeks!)

 

[Moad]

I brewed a RIS to put away until next winter but I couldn't help myself and cracked one after a month.

Really like the way its shaping up, slight alcohol flavour but smooth and creamy from some oats. Planning to try one every 2 months to see how it changes

 

[poggor]

On the flipside, which beers have you brewed that were great shortly after bottling?

 

[MastersBrewery]

I still find this kegging, though it just means the second keg is awesome

 

[Kingy]

I brewed an esb and couldn't drink it in the keg so pulled it out and stuck it in the corner of my shed. A few months later my hbs closed down and I was running out of beer and stuck said keg back in the fridge and the taste was unbelievable. Liquid gold I enjoyed every schooner.
I lost the recipe for that one to which is a bummer as I'd like to do it again and bottle.

 

[Tahoose]

I went a little too hard with Nelson Sauvin on a golden ale and chucked it in the garage over winter as it was undrinkable.

Put it back on tap a few weeks ago and it was wonderful, avoiding that tap atm, I'm sure there is only about 5 pints left.

 

[panzerd18]

So it seems some beers taste worse with ages? Lagers or Pilsners?

While some beers taste much better with ages, such as stronger ales?

 

[Yob]

Hoppy beers drink fast, hops fade with time..

most of my beers last ~1month in the keg and are gone.

Bigger Imperial beers, Barlywines and Stouts age well.

 

[Grott]

I like to age my various stouts and its great referring back on previous tasting notes as to their development. it can be quite suprising.

 

[black_labb]

Sounds like nelson has been responsible for a couple beers that ended up better than they started.

On the flipside, which beers have you brewed that were great shortly after bottling?

It's usually suggested that low alcohol, pale and hoppy beers are drunk fresher. High alcohol, malty and dark/roasty beers are better with a bit of age. I find it is pretty accurate.

 

[Nicko_Cairns]

I brewed Ross' NS Summer Ale, it had a bitterness kick initially that then mellowed but not too much, it was really enjoyable. I found the aroma was fading fast so I threw in a hop tea and a couple of weeks later the beer has completely changed.. it was probably changing anyway, but I've found it's now more of a fruity tasting beer. I'm new to AG, dry hopping, hop teas etc but I was surprised at how much of a difference the hop tea made.

I think my main issue is I can't drink beers quick enough, really that brew would have been best if the keg was emptied in six weeks or less. Just my $0.02c; I'm definitely brewing it again but I'll bottle some this time, it will be interesting to see how the flavours change/mature in a bottle. Probably still needs to be emptied pretty quickly though right?

I'm going to start filling half a keg, much more manageable.. I need to invite my mates around more often obviously, word of my yummy AG brews hasn't spread yet.

 

[philmud]

I've made a couple of saisons that were ok young (4-8 weeks) but developed beautifully. One in particular was delish by the time I was down to the last 6 bottles.

On the flip side, an Amarillo wheat beer I did last year was lovely young, but after sitting in the garage over a week of heat wave temps it was awful. Most of the batch undrinkable!

 

[Steve]

I keep two longnecks from every batch. I put them in the "vault" and leave them for a special occasion...Christmas day or what ever. Its great drinking something that's 6 odd months old and remember what they were like drinking them at 2 weeks!.

 

[hoppy2B]

I did a Belgian with WB06 back in autumn which was not very nice because of the phenolics when it was fresh but is much better now the phenolics have faded.

 

[black_labb]

I keep two longnecks from every batch. I put them in the "vault" and leave them for a special occasion...Christmas day or what ever. Its great drinking something that's 6 odd months old and remember what they were like drinking them at 2 weeks!.

I've got a severe brewing habit, if it goes into the bottle I'll have some around for a long while simply because I brew to the excess. I've been trying to cut back and focus on the drinking but a bit of inspiration sends me back down the downward spiral of excess. I used to do it for the social aspect, an experience to share. Now I try to convince myself I'll slow down, this is the last batch for a while. Sometimes it works for a bit but I always come crawling back. Once a brewer always a brewer. I just can't control myself.

 

[Grott]

As black-labb says - "I've got a severe brewing habit", "I'll slow down, this is the last batch for a while", "I just can't control myself."

Same here, just can't stand empty bottles. A waste of brewing time.