[erich]

The best beer I have drank is always the freshest. From NEIPA (obviously), "traditional" IPAs west east and english, Lagers,Wheat Beer, Dunkels, Pale Ales and just about any other style you can think of have always aged poorly and tasted best only weeks old with dimensioning returns on aging those beers for the generally "perceived proper taste of a style".
Not sure why we cling to the age old adage of age your beer to get the best flavor or wait 6-8-10 weeks for when your beer will be at its best. If you think I'm wrong, please make a batch of your favorite brew and drink it maybe 3 days after its carbed and ready for consumption and then try it at 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks, 6 weeks you get the picture and see for yourself.
In my 15+ years of homebrewing I have found that anything longer than a month old, beer starts to deteriorate in taste and flavor and all beers should be drank fresh to get the full "life" and flavor of your creation. Drinking bottled beer in the USA sent from around country and also Germany, Mexico and UK that is usually drank fresh always tastes sad, like a beer that should be full of life and celebration now reduced to and old, Flat (not carbonation just flat in taste) lifeless product.
I regularly make beer that I consume in a short time of about 10-14 days and it is always the best tasting when drank fresh. From IPA's I ferment at 60 degrees/15.5C with wlp001 my house yeast to GY054 for NEIPA than cold crash at 34f/1.1c and quick keg after 2 days with 35psi in only 5 minutes to perfect carb levels that are drinkable right away. The homebrew industry still scares all the new possible home brewers away with telling them they have to wait 6-8 weeks from packaging their brews. I'm here to challenge that time sync and think you can make the best beer way before that time and want to hear others that think I'm right or wrong.

Oh yeah, its my first post so in advance thanks for the welcome.

[erich]

I'm just trying to say the commercial stuff we drink is subpar and beer should be drank freshest as possible for max flavor and taste.

[Big Monk]

As long as we make the distinction between “young” beer and fresh beer, I’m inclined to agree.

Much of what people are trying to age out of a beer is the product of poor fermentation, etc. The exception is of course when people brew very high ABV beers on purpose. Those beers do need to sit for a while to get all the flavors to meld.

[BrewBama]

The best selling lager in the UK has a very short grain to package cycle. The thought is with modern techniques and equipment long lagering is no longer required. They want to fill the package and sell it as quickly as possible. They’re very successful in their effort.

In my homebrewery, lagering/conditioning/maturing of either ale or lager lasts until the beer is bright and carbonated. I see no need to let it sit longer than that, other than to wait for an open tap. Yeast determine the fermentation length. But with a proper pitch of healthy yeast in a nutritious wort, ales average ~4 days and lagers ~6 days to complete fermentation. It’s not uncommon to be drinking a beer ~10 days grain to glass.  The current Czech Pils on tap was 11 days grain to glass.

Of course, there are some exceptions. Some beers do require long storage. Barley Wine comes to mind but I rarely brew them.

However, if your beers are going stale quickly, you may want to address oxygenation especially post fermentation.  Package without picking up O2 (or as little as possible) and keep the beer cold are two of the best things we can do for the beer.  I’ve even read of some who use additives to drive off any inadvertent O2 pickup in packaging. And of course, packaging with some yeast and place a spund on the keg is another technique.


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[Die Beerery]

The best beer I have drank is always the freshest. From NEIPA (obviously), "traditional" IPAs west east and english, Lagers,Wheat Beer, Dunkels, Pale Ales and just about any other style you can think of have always aged poorly and tasted best only weeks old with dimensioning returns on aging those beers for the generally "perceived proper taste of a style".
Not sure why we cling to the age old adage of age your beer to get the best flavor or wait 6-8-10 weeks for when your beer will be at its best. If you think I'm wrong, please make a batch of your favorite brew and drink it maybe 3 days after its carbed and ready for consumption and then try it at 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks, 6 weeks you get the picture and see for yourself.
In my 15+ years of homebrewing I have found that anything longer than a month old, beer starts to deteriorate in taste and flavor and all beers should be drank fresh to get the full "life" and flavor of your creation. Drinking bottled beer in the USA sent from around country and also Germany, Mexico and UK that is usually drank fresh always tastes sad, like a beer that should be full of life and celebration now reduced to and old, Flat (not carbonation just flat in taste) lifeless product.
I regularly make beer that I consume in a short time of about 10-14 days and it is always the best tasting when drank fresh. From IPA's I ferment at 60 degrees/15.5C with wlp001 my house yeast to GY054 for NEIPA than cold crash at 34f/1.1c and quick keg after 2 days with 35psi in only 5 minutes to perfect carb levels that are drinkable right away. The homebrew industry still scares all the new possible home brewers away with telling them they have to wait 6-8 weeks from packaging their brews. I'm here to challenge that time sync and think you can make the best beer way before that time and want to hear others that think I'm right or wrong.

Oh yeah, its my first post so in advance thanks for the welcome.

Well, if you were not oxidizing the beer to high hell you wouldn’t have to worry about drinking it fresh.  Prove me wrong. 


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[lupulus]

Yes, except for very specific styles oxygen kills beer, and heat speeds up oxidation reactions.
In general, drink beer as soon as it is ready and use processes that scavenge all oxygen like container conditioning or spunding.

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[TXFlyGuy]

We agree, up to a point. Yes, drink the beer when fresh. But what is the definition of "fresh". It should be when the beer is at it's peak in flavor. That takes time. If aging was truly not required, ABINBEV / Boston Beer Co. / SAB-Miller would package the beer immediately and get it on the store shelves. It costs them money to store the beer for the aging process.

Our beers normally improve in flavor profile over a two week period of aging. Higher gravity / high alcohol content beers can improve over months of aging.

If lagering (aging) beer was totally a waste of time and money, the mega brewers would not do it.

[dbeechum]

Drinking bottled beer in the USA sent from around country and also Germany, Mexico and UK that is usually drank fresh always tastes sad, like a beer that should be full of life and celebration now reduced to and old, Flat (not carbonation just flat in taste) lifeless product.

I think you're putting more juice on the point than it needs, but I do find that particularly for bottled product we get from Europe that this is definitely the case!

[joe_meadmaker]

I have to disagree.  For some styles, sure, allowing the beer to mature may cause certain flavors to drop off or (undesirably) change.  In those cases drinking it while it's young is better.  For other beers, I think maturing is the best thing for them.  In April 2019 I brewed an imperial chocolate stout.  The beer was kegged the following month.  It was very good initially, but as it aged over the following months, I found myself liking it more every time I had it.  Sadly the keg kicked back in February of this year, and I would definitely say the last pour was the best one.  I wish it wasn't gone so I could see what it would have become.

I've brewed a Burton ale twice now as well.  And similarly I think that style starts coming in to its prime around the 3-4 month mark.  This will obviously vary based on the recipe and personal taste.

So the general statement that beer shouldn't be aged, I don't agree with.  That some styles are better when drank fresh, I definitely agree with.

[goose]

I agree that oxygenation during packaging is a problem that will stale beer quickly.  Erich, I agree that lighter beers like hefeweizens, pilsners, pale ales, and IPA's should be consumed fresh because they have a way shorter shelf life.  However, some of my darker beers like my RIS, wee heavy, barleywine, and even my black IPA are always a better with some aging.  My RIS and wee heavy, for example, don't start to hit the sweet spot until they are at least a couple months old.  Yes they are higher alcohol beers and, as Big Monk correctly says, they need more time for the flavors to marry.  My black IPA, currently on tap was brewed in late January for the NHC first round (which was cancelled). It is still damn good and it is only a 6 percenter. I also get together with a friend of mine every December and we brew a barleywine.  I have verticals of it going back to 2014 and these are always better with extensive age since they take on a bit of a sherry note which adds more complexity.

I have also noticed that my ESB always gets better after about 3-4 weeks of age.  The biscuit notes start to come out more in the beer with that amount of age.  But with all of the ones I have mentioned, I take extra care to minimize oxygen pick-up as much as possible when transferring and/or packaging.

Just my .02

[denny]

Drink your beer whenever the hell you want to drink it.

[Copymutt]

The beer calls the shot. Every brew is unique. The complexity of combinations need to be fathomed to time the peak. Not always easy to do. Tasting is the tool to use. Especially lagers.  My big peeve is microbrews served at restaurants at a super premium price and simply for lack of a better description taste green. “How dare you” This is the norm around here. Kegged and delivered, faster the better. The beer hasn't had time to become an adult, still has fusels and yeast by products forefront.  I’ve had beers b4 their time, I’ve seldom let a home brew get past its time.

[goose]

Drink your beer whenever the hell you want to drink it.

 

[Big Monk]

I have to disagree.  For some styles, sure, allowing the beer to mature may cause certain flavors to drop off or (undesirably) change.  In those cases drinking it while it's young is better.  For other beers, I think maturing is the best thing for them.  In April 2019 I brewed an imperial chocolate stout.  The beer was kegged the following month.  It was very good initially, but as it aged over the following months, I found myself liking it more every time I had it.

For the sake of curiosity and as a touchstone for a later comment, what was the OG and FG?

[BrewBama]

Drink your beer whenever the hell you want to drink it.

 

Anybody wonder what Denny thinks? 

FWIW, I agree! 


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