Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Beer Conditioning

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Beer Conditioning

    My beer conditioning consists of two stages, of storing my beer in what is essentially a fermenter in a dark room with a constant temperature and then bottle conditioning.
    How do you guys condition your beer and what do you consider as the 'perfect' conditioning period?
    Do you guys prefer conditioning your beer in the bottle or tank?
    Primary: Bohemian Lager
    Secondary: Bohemian lager/ Ale fusion - Added US-05 to secondary
    Next up: Bohemian Lager
    Then: Bohemian Lager
    And Then: Bohemian Lager
    Conditioning: Chucked Fruit Ale

    "What he doth, he doth by rule of Thumb, and not by Art."
    "What's the use of having a mind when you can't change it?"

  • #2
    I used to bottle condition, but as far as I understood, the reason for conditioning is to allow for the yeast to create enough CO2. After that you are simply aging/lagering.
    As for preference; 2 weeks to condition, 1 month aging.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by AtronSeige View Post
      I used to bottle condition, but as far as I understood, the reason for conditioning is to allow for the yeast to create enough CO2. After that you are simply aging/lagering.
      As for preference; 2 weeks to condition, 1 month aging.
      Lagering and aging are not the same thing

      Lagering is cold storage to allow the lager yeast, which has low flocculation, to settle out properly, and get that crisp lager finish. This you do before packaging (keg or bottle). Aging is allowing the beer time to mellow and flavours to develop. There are two schools of thought on this, one to age in secondary, and the other in the bottle.

      My preference would be aging in secondary with all air purged from the system, but I don't really have the ability to do that at the moment due to space constraints, so it gets done in the bottle for a month or so, and the length of time depends on the beer. IPA's and other hoppy things get conditioned with little aging, and others may be up to 6 months
      Give a man a beer, waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and waste a lifetime!

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by SimonB View Post
        Lagering and aging are not the same thing

        Lagering is cold storage to allow the lager yeast, which has low flocculation, to settle out properly, and get that crisp lager finish. This you do before packaging (keg or bottle). Aging is allowing the beer time to mellow and flavours to develop.
        Thanks for the explanation/expansion. It makes more sense now.

        Regarding your IPA comment; Hop flavours and aromas drop out quite quickly. Do not age IPA's for long periods, as you may just end up with an Pale Ale. A lot of the American breweries specify that their IPAs and APAs should be consumed within 3 months of brewdate, otherwise the taste/aroma is not what they intended.

        I have a barley wine that is aging now for 6 months. We tasted it this weekend at the homebrewers meeting and it was getting better.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by AtronSeige View Post
          I have a barley wine that is aging now for 6 months. We tasted it this weekend at the homebrewers meeting and it was getting better.
          According to style, the barley wines contain a lot of alcohol. My 6.5 % cream ale conditioned for a few months. I brewed it in April, but it only just got better.
          Primary: Bohemian Lager
          Secondary: Bohemian lager/ Ale fusion - Added US-05 to secondary
          Next up: Bohemian Lager
          Then: Bohemian Lager
          And Then: Bohemian Lager
          Conditioning: Chucked Fruit Ale

          "What he doth, he doth by rule of Thumb, and not by Art."
          "What's the use of having a mind when you can't change it?"

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by SimonB View Post
            My preference would be aging in secondary with all air purged from the system, but I don't really have the ability to do that at the moment due to space constraints, so it gets done in the bottle for a month or so, and the length of time depends on the beer. IPA's and other hoppy things get conditioned with little aging, and others may be up to 6 months
            I would prefer a stainless steel tank instead I'm left with the plastic container. One day I would like to use oak casks to condition my beer.
            Primary: Bohemian Lager
            Secondary: Bohemian lager/ Ale fusion - Added US-05 to secondary
            Next up: Bohemian Lager
            Then: Bohemian Lager
            And Then: Bohemian Lager
            Conditioning: Chucked Fruit Ale

            "What he doth, he doth by rule of Thumb, and not by Art."
            "What's the use of having a mind when you can't change it?"

            Comment

            Working...
            X