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1
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2answers
71 views

How foolish is it to try to make up for my tripel's shortish secondary by bottle conditioning it longer?

I'm attempting to brew a wide variety of beers (both 2.5 & 5 gallon batches depending on style) in a shortish time span in order to serve at a family reunion in the summer, and now it looks like I ...
2
votes
2answers
101 views

Will bitterness from a flameout coffee addition fade with age?

I recently brewed an Imperial Stout with some coffee additions. While I didn't boil the coffee for long (warm steeped 3oz beans and pitched grounds and two cups of brew at flameout), it did lend some ...
1
vote
2answers
191 views

What are the quickest styles from grain to glass

I know typically, hefeweizens and wits are best drunk while 'young', but what are the styles that are most conducive to a quick turnaround? I also know alcohol content is a factor. Have people had ...
3
votes
5answers
269 views

Can wine age too long?

So I started a batch of wine at the end of the summer, and I happen to have a bad habit of not following through on projects. Basically, I fermented it, moved it to the 2ndary after about a week, then ...
2
votes
1answer
210 views

Aging Breakfast Stout Clone

So I've had my breakfast stout in the primary for 16 days and I'm going to transfer it to my secondary tomorrow. The gravity is stable and its ready to move. I'm cold pressing some kona coffee tonight ...
5
votes
2answers
387 views

Very long primary in plastic

I've just started homebrewing. The guy at the local homebrew store swears that I don't need any secondary fermentors, that I should just leave my brews in the primary to age and then bottle condition ...
2
votes
1answer
226 views

Appropriate aging technique for high OG beers

I've seen a lot of talk about aging with several different options and techniques. I am a bit confused about what the correct method is. I am about to make a Russian Imperial Stout and I know it ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views

Once a beer is carbonated in the bottle, are there any benefits to aging it?

First time brewer. I have my beer in the bottle (for about 8 days now). Things are good -- yeast is precipitating out. The instructions that came with the kit suggested to put 1 bottle's worth of ...
4
votes
3answers
149 views

Is there anything different I need to do to age a mead for an extreme amount of time?

I was thinking about doing a very long-term aging on a batch of mead. The original idea was that when I have children in the future, I'd brew a batch as soon as Jr. comes home, and age it until ...
5
votes
12answers
922 views

Best beer to brew that will last a long time

I have just started brewing so I apologize for my stupidity. My nephew was just born today and I want celebrate by brewing a batch and storing it until his 21st birthday. I think it would be cool to ...
8
votes
3answers
143 views

I find my wines to be too “juicy”

I've been making wine (mostly red) at home for about a year now and find that even though I ferment them dry I still find them to taste too much like fresh fruit. Any thoughts on getting to that aged ...
4
votes
2answers
220 views

Aging a beer bottled from the keg

I have a Russian Imperial Stout that I want to age for a full year. I currently have it in kegs, uncarbonated. I like to bottle from kegs that have been force carbonated due to the lack of sediment ...
2
votes
1answer
507 views

How long should a Belgian Strong Dark Ale be aged?

How long should a clone of Gulden Draak be aged before comparing it to the real stuff? Our club is trying to get our clone recipe as close as possible, so want to tweak the recipe to get it closer to ...
3
votes
1answer
148 views

Are my aged hops ready?

I've got about 3oz of cascade hops that spent 2 years in the freezer before I decided around January 2011 to take them out, put them in a paper bag, and let them sit at room temperature to age so I ...
6
votes
3answers
735 views

How long should Belgian Blonde beer be aged?

I'd like to reuse my Belgian yeast (Zymoferm Z039 Belgische Klosterbiere und Ales) and I'm looking for information on how long various Belgian beers should be matured. My cellar capacity is very ...
12
votes
2answers
404 views

Is a taste-test at bottling time indicative of the end result?

If I were to do a taste-test of the beer at racking/bottling time, how indicative of the end result would it be?
3
votes
2answers
439 views

Does bourbon flavor decrease with time in the bottle?

My first attempt with both oak and bourbon is currently sitting in my carboys, and will for another month and a half, when I'll at least get to taste a little as I bottle. Then the plan is to let it ...
3
votes
2answers
256 views

When to dry hop a barley wine

I was planning on aging my barley wine in a carboy. Is it appropriate to dry hop upon transfer to the secondary for aging. Or would it be better to dry hop after I consider the aging process to be ...
10
votes
5answers
6k views

Why do all my beers taste better after having aged for a couple months?

My impression is that ales are typically best drunk within a couple weeks of brew day. It's my experience that letting them age in the bottles for 2-3 months yields the best beer, both improving body, ...
5
votes
1answer
610 views

How long should a Shiraz age?

I made a Shiraz from a kit early this spring (bottled in April). I also made a Johannesburg Riesling. I know reds take longer than whites to age, but we've been enjoying the Riesling for some time now ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views

How long should a barleywine be aged before bottling?

I generally rack my beers to secondary for about a week before bottling just to clarify them a bit, but as I understand it, barleywines should be aged much longer to allow some flavors to develop and ...
4
votes
1answer
413 views

Aging a naturally carbonated ale that was bottled from a keg

Okay, let's see if I can keep this question brief--I have a lot of followup questions that go with this so it may be difficult. Background: Last year I decided to start doing an annual Birthday Brew ...
5
votes
2answers
220 views

Detecting differences in the type of whiskey used to soak oak

I'm about to add oak chips to my scotch ale. I was thinking about what sort of scotch to soak the chips in before hand. And then I thought, how much does it really matter? At what point can one tell ...
3
votes
2answers
779 views

Does aging the beer make a huge difference?

I made a Blonde Ale about 3 months ago, and it had a really bitter and strange taste to it. It was drinkable and ok, but not great. I thought the problem was that there was sanitizer flavor in my ...
6
votes
4answers
954 views

Re-racking in a Buffalo Trace whiskey barrel

The story is; We have 5-6 home brewer's who will be doing 6 batches of 5 gallon beer. We will be bringing the fermentators/carboys over to my house and re-racking all 30 gallons into a Buffalo Trace ...
6
votes
3answers
918 views

Thawing Frozen Beer

I have a couple kegs of beer that froze out in the garage this winter. What effects should I expect on flavor, head retention and body after thawing? My beer was relatively sediment free, but would ...
9
votes
4answers
2k views

Alpha acids vs. beta acids in aging?

Can someone explain the difference in hop bitterness between alpha acids in my wort vs. beta acids bittering during aging? And is it predictable enough to plan for in recipe formulation?