Homebrew taste and freshness

[dogslapbrewery]

My average grain to glass is about month and half before it's flowing out of the tap. I've noticed with a typical 5% pale ale the first couple weeks it's good but doesnt seem fully matured. Once it hits around the 3rd week of being kegged the hop aroma dulls out a bit. It really takes on more of a craft beer taste you'd get with store bought brews. I prefer the more matured hoppy beer, but I think it's just that's what my pallet is custom to based on what you get at the pubs. Would you guys say that the earlier stage would be the brew in its prime hoppy fresh goodness and if the big brewer could achieve that freshness they would or you think it's just a green brew? Everyone always says hoppy beers drink up fast for that freshness. When they state this you think they mean down lay it down like a barley for 6-12 months? What's your take on optimal hoppy beer drinkage?

 

[chickypad]

The younger the better for sure. I try to be grain to glass in about 2.5 to 3 wks for pale hoppy beers, and they definitely are at their best young. I see the same with commercial beers, and I'm pretty anal about checking packaging dates before buying. I think it's pretty clear that many of the big brewers do pay attention to that - i.e the enjoy by series from Stone, the warnings on Pliny that say do not age, etc.

 

[ricshayne]

+1 on dat

 

[flatlanderHQ]

Yep, hop aroma is very volatile an dissipates quickly. Like the above poster said, pale ales, IPAs with massive dry hopping are best fresh. I usually have my pales ready in 3 weeks which includes a 3 - 4 day dry hop at room temps. It may not be perfectly clear at the start...but I don't care about that when taste is what I am after.

 

[Iseneye]

Are you kegging? If so then keg hop. I've got a pale ale that is a couple of months old in the keg and the aroma at week 8 is just as good as week 3. I'll keg hop all future APAs / IPAs.

 

[ram5ey]

I've found my pale hoppy beers to be at their peak in the 3-8 week range. That said nothing generally makes it out of freshness on my taps.

 

[dogslapbrewery]

It's almost like you don't really get to experience that fresh hoppy flavor through the store and you question yourself of its just a "green" beer or is that the taste of fresh.

 

[chickypad]

It's almost like you don't really get to experience that fresh hoppy flavor through the store and you question yourself of its just a "green" beer or is that the taste of fresh.

Green is not the same as fresh in my mind. I think of green as maybe having some off flavors, or a beer where the flavors haven't come together yet, like a dark complex beer. On the other hand fresh to me means hop aroma and flavor is strong, the malt and hop flavors "pop" or are clean and just, well, fresh tasting.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Well, I recently beat my all time grain to glass. Brewed a blonde ale with 2 row, Vienna and centennial on 7/31, and served it at my friends party on 8/8. Yup only 8 days grain to glass. It was likely only 4% with moderate centennial hopping. Healthy ferment after pitching plenty of fresh yeast slurry was done in 3-4 days then cold in the keg with gelatin for 3-4 days. Transferred to a fresh keg before moving and serving. It was tasty, 1/4 keg finished.

I have the 2nd half of the 15 gal batch in the keezer, will be interesting to see how it tastes in the next few weeks.

 

[dogslapbrewery]

Green is not the same as fresh in my mind. I think of green as maybe having some off flavors, or a beer where the flavors haven't come together yet, like a dark complex beer. On the other hand fresh to me means hop aroma and flavor is strong, the malt and hop flavors "pop" or are clean and just, well, fresh tasting.

I've just noticed with my hoppy brews by the time the flavors have come together a lot of that punch you in the face hop aroma and flavor is gone.

 

[dogslapbrewery]

Green is not the same as fresh in my mind. I think of green as maybe having some off flavors, or a beer where the flavors haven't come together yet, like a dark complex beer. On the other hand fresh to me means hop aroma and flavor is strong, the malt and hop flavors "pop" or are clean and just, well, fresh tasting.

I've just noticed with my hoppy brews by the time the flavors have come together a lot of that punch you in the face hop aroma and flavor is gone.