r/Homebrewing • u/blackarrow_1990 • 1d ago

Question Drinking fresh beer vs. maturing

Hello,

I am still beginner in brewing and recently switched to kegs. After the gravity is stable I do transfer to kegs and leave beer to carbonate cold. The beer becomes clearer and carbonates well in two weeks at about 4 C.

What I often read is that a lot of beers should be drank fresh. Basically, after a week of carbing or even days when rolling the keg etc.

Well, I had few beers in keg and they are (at least for my taste) not nearly finished after a week. Two weeks is better or even longer.

Is it dependend on type of beer? I do not brew strong beers, all of them are 4-6% ABV. Mostly around 5%.

How long do you mature beer and at which temperature? Does your beer really taste good after a week only?

Thanks.

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u/SaltyPockets 1d ago

I use a sealed, pressure fermenter with a spunding valve set at 5-10psi. My schedule is -

  • Temp controlled fridge at 18C until gravity is stable, maybe a day or two longer. Takes up to a couple of weeks.
  • Raise temp to 22-24C for 48 hours (diacetyl rest/yeast cleanup)
  • Cold crash to 3C for 48 hours, in the fermenter, to clarify
  • Keg it and shove it in the kegerator at 3C

Usually the beer is ready to drink once it has carbonated fully, which can take a week or so. The last two batches have been pretty excellent, and I kegged a batch of red ipa at the weekend which I'm going to sample later to see if it's ready.

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u/blackarrow_1990 1d ago

I do not brew IPAs, did you brew some dark ales or lagers and how it looks like with maturing?

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u/SaltyPockets 1d ago edited 1d ago

Never tried a lager. I'm still learning my techniques with the current setup and Lager has nowhere to hide if you mess up :)

I did a British Best/Special type of beer last brew, which was delicious. Malt forward, it was made just with pale and crystal malts, some torrified wheat, and using Fuggles, EKG and Bramling cross in the boil. No whirlpool or dry hop, safale S04 for the yeast. It came out as nut-brown as it was supposed to be, with a very Fullers ESB type of taste.

I drank it over the course of 2-3 months and I think it was a little better when very fresh, but there's not a lot in it. I think I even enjoyed the pint I poured myself directly from the fermenter the most, but then I'm a fan of real ales so a naturally low-carbed fresh pour suits the style.

Now my current cider... I made that from granny-smith juice and it came out tasting nice but smelling like an overused toilet at a music festival on day 3. Two months under gas and that has mellowed very nicely, it's now quite fragrant and delicious.

Basically, YMMV, but I think you get the most aroma and hoppiness early, if that's what you're after, and CO2 will tend to mellow things out a little over time.

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u/4skinlive 14h ago

I use a similar setup and felt my lagers clear up much more at about week 4 after moving to my serving keg. Taste wise however, I haven't noticed a major difference.

When I brew I always ferment in a corny keg with a sounding valve and am drinking fully carbonated beer by day 21.