What does age do to homebrewed beer?

[kieran]

As the topic states, what does age do to a homebrewed beer?

 

 

 

I had some disappointing results at my first competition yesterday, and I know its because one of my beers had its 19 month birthday a few weeks ago; and the other was 8 months old. I don't necessarily think all the judges were experienced enough to acquire some of the characteristics they said they did after judging close to 60 beers in a 3.5 hour period during the day.. but age did change the colour, and a lot of protein seemed to have dropped out of solution, and the head retention really really really suffered through ageing. What is the chemistry of ageing, and how does that change affect the beer qualities such as aroma (assumed to weaken), bitterness, mouthfeel, head retention, colour, aftertaste, etc.

 

 

 

I'm just wondering what some of the people who have experimented with ageing have found.

 

 

 

cheers,

 

kieran

[Frank]

I'm sure PB2 will post a comprehensive reply, but I'll stick my two cents worth in as well:

 

 

 

In my experience, the bigger the beer, the longer and flatter the "aging curve". In other words, a big stout or strong ale that is well balanced will continue to improve with age for several years at least. I'm not just talking about flavour, but other parameters such as bead size and head retention also continue to improve and stabilise over a long period of time compared with lighter ales and lagers. There is a lot of complex chemistry going on and as with red wine, a stable, cool environment is imperative to successful aging.

 

 

 

An "Australian Pale Ale" with plenty of malt driven fruity esters on the other hand, is probably at its best earlier on, say at three to six months of age. That's not to say that the beer won't be quite palatable after several years, it will just change over time and probably lose a lot of that fruit character as those chemicals change over time.

 

 

 

Cheers, Frank.

[PB2]

I think Frank has a good point when describing an "Australian Pale Ale" because it displays characters, when young, that appeal to most. Over time, those lovely esters are lost. Given even more time, interesting honey characters develop - although, I think this is somewhat an acquired taste.

 

 

 

The one big bonus with bottle conditioned brews is they should have very low dissolved oxygen levels (due to the yeast mopping up oxygen during secondary fermentation) so they are less likely to have oxidised flavours.

 

 

 

Kieran, maybe your recipes were intended for a "drinking fresh" beer?? So the beer, when fresh, displayed a balance of bitterness, hop aroma, other esters, etc. - but with age the bitterness, hop aroma and esters all reduced to a point where the beer became unbalanced and/or other characters that were always present, were no longer masked, perhaps??

 

 

 

We tend to find that aged home brew shows improved head retention but this may not be the case if too many yeast cells were carried over into the bottle. I am told that, with age, yeast can deteriorate releasing protolitic enzymes and this will reduce head retention. Also, too much yeast may cause "yeast bite" to develop.

 

 

 

As for the protein dropping out of solution. How long was your boil (assuming you mashed) and what temp and length of time was your cold conditioning?

[kieran]

Thankyou for your replies.

 

 

 

I will go into more detail later - but I think my biggest mistake was that there was nil cold conditioning. Both were at RT for that entire time (in a dark cupboard - but not actual refrigeration temps). There was a lot of yeast (or something) as well, plus both were not strong ales or dark's. They were both reasonably fruity American pale ales.. I admit that they went down hill a long way, but I'm still convinced that 14/50 and 24/50 isn't a particularly accurate score.

 

However, it is a learning process and I take what the judgest said onboard. I think most of their gripes with it, are definately due to flavours that have since developed due to Yeast ageing, room temp storage, age, no cold conditioning, etc. Its a shame because the stuff was amazing early on, and it has deteriorated a lot.

 

I think I did just about everything wrong in that respect. :( But this is what it's all about, I will learn and improve!!! :D :D

 

 

 

The one that got 24 was a mash, and the boil was around an hour, and we used an immersion cooler. The conditioning at fridge temperature was, as I said, zero.

 

What can I expect to gain from cold conditioning?

[PB2]

I was thinking of cold conditioning before transfer to the bottle. Might reduce the amount of protein carried over to the bottle - definitely would if you filtered and artificially carbonated it!! As you probably know, when cold conditioning, the yeast cell count can drop to very low numbers and extend the time the beer takes to come up to condition in the bottle.

[kieran]

I haven't the means to CC really. I don't have a fridge big enough to put the fermenter in, and I don't have a "Cube" (not really sure what they are, but they sound like they're a cuboid toy box).

 

 

 

I will definately give this a go with my next brew. Somehow or other (perhaps if I buy a dozen red roses for Belinda first :twisted: ) I normally rack but leave it at RT - would racking at 4C be as good as (or actually really be) a CC treatment?

 

 

 

cheers

 

 

 

PS. I think my next beer will have to be a real creamy beer. :)

[Kai]

They were both reasonably fruity American pale ales.. I admit that they went down hill a long way' date=' but I'm still convinced that 14/50 and 24/50 isn't a particularly accurate score.[/quote']

 

 

 

APA's deteriorate markedly with age, that unique hop flavour goes downhill fast. In my opinion / experience, any more than a month or two and a good APA is past its prime already. May I ask what the competition was?

 

 

 

As for what age does to a beer, there are many complex reactions involved and it is heavily dependent on what you brew and how you are brewing. There are a few general rules though, as far as I see it:

 

 

 

[*]The beer oxidises over time, putting flavours like cardboard and sherry into the brew.[/*:m]

[*]Hop flavour declines and harsher bitterness smooths out a little (part of oxidation?).[/*:m]

[*]Other aromatics/volatiles such as yeast qualities decline in strength[/*:m]

[*]Head improves over a period then declines after further time.[/*:m]

[*]Infections can increase and predominate.[/*:m]

[*]Carbonation increases in unpasteurised beer, and the body will consequently dry out a little.[/*:m][/list:u]

 

 

 

There's a lot more to it than just that, and all factors affect the flavour profile of the beer. Basically your babies are still alive and changing in the bottle, and like people every batch is different. A normal-strength apa will suffer hugely after a year or so, but a barleywine or an imperial stout will not necessarily, because those stronger styles age more gracefully. Also, your brewing practices are a factor; if you're splashing your wort around excessively then you are risking oxidation, and there are infection factors to consider also.

 

 

 

Or, the short answer to your question is "it depends"