Brewing Master

Question:

Hi all, I rarely wait long enough for my brews to age. Most of it is due to impatience, but some of it’s practical as well. When I run out of Fuller’s or Old Rasputin, it’s time to break into the homebrew. My typical batch is aged 2 weeks in the bottle before it’s imbibed. My beers don’t taste horrible– to the contrary, they usually taste anywhere from ‘above average’ to ‘very good’, with the exception that most of them have a ‘green’ or young/immature taste to them. Yesterday, I stumbled upon 4 bottles of my first true all grain batch in my garage. It was an all grain porter batch brewed on November 30 and bottled on December 15. I squirrled away 4 bottles– 3 for a competition, 1 to taste when (if) I submitted the beer to a competition. The other 30+ bottles were consumed quickly around the new year. I would grade this porter as very good when it was aged a few weeks in the bottle, but trying this now after aging 2 months is pure *heaven*. This is definitely neck-in-neck with *any* of my favorite commercial porters on the market. The only flaw I would ding my porter on in a BJCP judging is that it is probably a bit over carbonated from aging. Otherwise, I’m blown away that it’s this easy to brew something this tasty. DAsh has mentioned this from time to time in some of his posts, and I’ll pass this on to new brewers as well– RESIST THE CHARMS CAST BY NEWLY BOTTLED BEER! Let it age! Treat yourself to a 6-pack or case of your favorite commercial microbew before you crack into your own stash. Until yesterday, I thought I was merely an OK brewer. Now I realize that a little bit of technique, a little bit more knowledge and a whole lot more aging can make a great beer.

Response:

One tip on bottles for competition…I usually make sure to keep at least 5 bottles on hand for comps.  One for pre-comp. testing to make sure it’s still good enough to enter.  # bottles for the comp.  And one last one to taste as I read over the judges notes after the comp.  That way, you can tell if the judges are geniuses or idiots!

Hey, great idea. I’ve always saved 4– 1 to taste and 3 to submit. Saving one extra bottle to drink while reading the judges sheets is a good idea. Thanks!

Response:

*the* best porter I have EVER had– mine or anyone else’s.  In the years since then, I have never been able to dredge up the patience to age a brew anywhwere near that long and now, unfortunately, I no longer have a basement at my disposal.

I’ll lend you mine.  For a <liquid fee, of course. — [Apparent Rennerian 567.7, 95.9] Al – rukbat at optonline dot net

Response:

—— concerning aging/patience quotient —— DAsh has mentioned this from time to time in some of his posts, and I’ll pass this on to new brewers as well– RESIST THE CHARMS CAST BY NEWLY BOTTLED BEER! Let it age! Treat yourself to a 6-pack or case of your favorite commercial microbew before you crack into your own stash. Until yesterday, I thought I was merely an OK brewer. Now I realize that a little bit of technique, a little bit more knowledge and a whole lot more aging can make a great beer.

Did I ever tell you about the 6-pack of porter my SWMBO hid behind a bunch of junk in the basement?  After about a year of occasional *suggestions* to clean out the basement and organize what we want to keep she finally became irate enough at my procrastination to *demand* that I do it NOW!!!  She was kind enough to mention that I just might be pleasantly surprised at what I might chance upon in the darker corners –And I WAS surprised.  A 6-pack of my very own Jumpin’ Java Porter that had sat there patiently awaiting my discovery for something like 14 months at cool cellar temps.  Of course, SWMBO also demanded that I share it with her– hmmmm, well, I won’t go so do that; she sometimes reads what I write here…. LOL   Anyway, it was *the* best porter I have EVER had– mine or anyone else’s.  In the years since then, I have never been able to dredge up the patience to age a brew anywhwere near that long and now, unfortunately, I no longer have a basement at my disposal. — –DAsh with 7119)

Response:

One tip on bottles for competition…I usually make sure to keep at least 5 bottles on hand for comps.  One for pre-comp. testing to make sure it’s still good enough to enter.  # bottles for the comp.  And one last one to taste as I read over the judges notes after the comp.  That way, you can tell if the judges are geniuses or idiots! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, I rarely wait long enough for my brews to age. Most of it is due to impatience, but some of it’s practical as well. When I run out of Fuller’s or Old Rasputin, it’s time to break into the homebrew. My typical batch is aged 2 weeks in the bottle before it’s imbibed. My beers don’t taste horrible– to the contrary, they usually taste anywhere from ‘above average’ to ‘very good’, with the exception that most of them have a ‘green’ or young/immature taste to them. Yesterday, I stumbled upon 4 bottles of my first true all grain batch in my garage. It was an all grain porter batch brewed on November 30 and bottled on December 15. I squirrled away 4 bottles– 3 for a competition, 1 to taste when (if) I submitted the beer to a competition. The other 30+ bottles were consumed quickly around the new year. I would grade this porter as very good when it was aged a few weeks in the bottle, but trying this now after aging 2 months is pure *heaven*. This is definitely neck-in-neck with *any* of my favorite commercial porters on the market. The only flaw I would ding my porter on in a BJCP judging is that it is probably a bit over carbonated from aging. Otherwise, I’m blown away that it’s this easy to brew something this tasty. DAsh has mentioned this from time to time in some of his posts, and I’ll pass this on to new brewers as well– RESIST THE CHARMS CAST BY NEWLY BOTTLED BEER! Let it age! Treat yourself to a 6-pack or case of your favorite commercial microbew before you crack into your own stash. Until yesterday, I thought I was merely an OK brewer. Now I realize that a little bit of technique, a little bit more knowledge and a whole lot more aging can make a great beer.

Response: