Brewing Timelines

[MustangCF]

When I look at this chart, I wonder a few things.

I look at it and I see that some styles need time to come around and be ready to drink. The Imperial Stout, obviously needs time for the flavors to round out to optimal levels. But what I don't understand is where does that aging take place? Should the beer just sit in the fermenter for that long? Or do I let it ferment for...say... a month and then bottle it and then it sits in the bottle for the remainder of the months?

Just trying to plan out some brews for the coming months and would love some input.

Thanks so much!

 

[BrewSRQ]

Bulk aging is nice for big beers, but it never hurts to bottle and let those site on their own for a bit. I tend to brew to what I want next (or in three beers depending on my pipeline). I also keep in mind what my and family/friend consumption rates are. While a huge RIS goes nicely with a cold night, do I need 50 of them around for myself since no one else that I tend to drink with cares too much for them? I scale batches to the need. Bigger beers can generally be aged, but it all depends on what you want.

The main thing I have learned brewing is that if you make what your drinking cohorts like, you get to brew more and that's what I enjoy doing.

 

[h22lude]

Both really. It wouldn't hurt for a bigger beer to sit in the fermentor for longer than your would for a lower gravity beer. You will also want it to condition longer.

 

[55x11]

When I look at this chart, I wonder a few things.

I look at it and I see that some styles need time to come around and be ready to drink. The Imperial Stout, obviously needs time for the flavors to round out to optimal levels. But what I don't understand is where does that aging take place? Should the beer just sit in the fermenter for that long? Or do I let it ferment for...say... a month and then bottle it and then it sits in the bottle for the remainder of the months?

Just trying to plan out some brews for the coming months and would love some input.

Thanks so much!

For imperial stout, I would: brew, let ferment for at least ~3 weeks on yeast or until done. Then transfer off yeast and into a smaller fermenter with less or no headspace ideally. This is one of the few times when transferring is justified IMPO - otherwise you may start oxidizing the beer if headspace is too much (as yeast slows down to a crawl amount of CO2 it produces will be very small and oxygen can permeate back in). Also perhaps you risk autolysis after a few months on yeast cake, but I worry less about it.
I would age like that for another 4-10 weeks or so. Then bottle it.
Or keg it. I prefer bottling for these type of beers since beer gets drunk faster in kegs and I don't like tying up kegs with beers that take many many months or years+ to drink. I like bottling after ~3 months or so, otherwise it ties up my fermentor for too long, and I see not much benefit from bulk aging much longer than this. Only exception is maybe sour beers. It surprises me lambics are listed as 3 month in that table.

Store bottles at 50-65F if possible. By all means avoid 75F+ and direct sun.

Open a bottle once in a while to taste the difference. Keep taste notes and compare to previous tastings. Stash away at least a few bottles for long-term tasting (1 year, 2 years, 3 years etc.). It's fun!

 

[chickypad]

I would say how/where you age the beer depends on your equipment, space, etc. I like bulk aging as well, but as 55x11 mentioned one of the risks of long aging is oxidation so you want a proper vessel with almost no headspace. If you can't do that you might be better off aging in bottles. I pretty much age and lager everything directly in kegs to eliminate the oxidation issue, the downside as mentioned is it ties up your kegs. Works for me because I've got a pretty good supply so tying up a couple for months to a year or more isn't a big deal.