Beer tastes better over time? Why?

Two batches of beer in the keg have shown me that beer seems to *dramatically* change taste over time. A seemingly scorched extract batch has lost that burnt taste, as it carbs up and ages. The more extreme flavors are being moderated, but why?

What exactly is happening? A chemical process?

billpaustin said:

What exactly is happening? A chemical process?

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Yes. When you consider all of the wonderful organic compounds present in home brewed beer, it's not surprising that letting it age changes the character profile.

I've noticed a difference in just a 3-day period in some amber ale right after I had put in my keezer. Two more weeks later, it was superb.

BigFloyd said:

Yes. When you consider all of the wonderful organic compounds present in home brewed beer, it's not surprising that letting it age changes the character profile.

I've noticed a difference in just a 3-day period in some amber ale right after I had put in my keezer. Two more weeks later, it was superb.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is what I am seeing. I brewed a full LME Dunkel-weizen, and being a new person, I boiled that extract for a long time. When done, it tasted bad, like, "I cannot drink this!"

Now, it is more like "Hey, this is not bad."

So something has changed, but as an engineer, I want to know what

billpaustin said:

So something has changed, but as an engineer, I want to know what

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LOL. My son the Mech.E. would appreciate that. Unfortunately, I don't think you can quantify it.

I had a glass of delicious cream ale home brew a few months ago. The friend who brewed it said that until it was almost 18 months old, it tasted like barnyard scrapings. Go figure.