Ageing beers

[Glass]

I'm pondering on this beer thing. Considering what is going on around me and in the online home brew community. I think the idea of Home brewing should be expanded to include micro breweries. Or better still Craft brewers could cover both. Home brewers are brewing using just add water concentrates like me through to soaking/steeping your own fresh ground grains in a traditional process or somewhere in between. Craft brewing outfits are using the same spectrum of methods.

I think it's a boom industry. A lot of people moving into home brew and craft/micro brewery operations. Probably from a lot of people getting laid off and starting up.

Some people I know are very excited about the quality you can get and are seriously thinking of getting into the game. Craft is fairly niche but if you can get a following you can do well out of it. Mostly they either start a micro brewery and open a restaurant or sell packaged into a supply chain. Probably sell out to the supply chain when they had enough. I would do it different myself.

The big guys are all into producing craft beers too and it's hard to tell its' a macro until you have the first one.

Couple times in the last week the question of ageing beers came up. Barley wine was one time. Mead. Stouts. Everyone saying at least 1 year. My small experience agrees time will tell.

I'm wondering if this is a niche. Good aged beer. Taking in to account all the other stuff you need to get right but aiming to be like some of the best distillers of aged spirits but for beer.

[Glass]

I also saw this Coopers beer kit of the month. Extra strong vintage ale (https://store.coopers.com.au/extra-strong-vintage-ale-14.html) recipe


We've already perfected the 2014 Extra Strong Vintage Ale (ESVA), now it's your turn.
Our DIY interpretation of ESVA ‘14 carries an exciting hop trio of Bravo, Ella and Galaxy - all highly aromatic hop varieties! When young, it displays a blend of esters and overt hop aromatics with some alcohol heat and a firm bitter finish. Ageing over months and years will see the esters, hops and alcohol meld together, the bitterness soften and toffee/sherry like characters develop.



They have some good recipes'. They sell out quick most times. I might see if I can grab this one. Looks interesting.

[Libertytree]

This seems like a good thread for this.

I made my last 20 case batch in Jan. I decided to hold a couple 2-3 cases back with the hopes that time might help it out, it was good but...it just seemed like it could be better. Today I decided to give it a ride and I'm pretty happy. The head on it is much more refined and lasts. The taste is the same but much mellower, not so much Newcastle Brown Ale now but still in that same vein.

So, to add to this discussion, there is something to be said for ageing brews, IMHO.

[Bigjon]

When it comes to aging beer I have a tale to tell. Sometime around 1982/3 I started drinking lienenkugel and thought it was the best beer I had ever had. I had some friends over and we all agreed that it was one fine beer. It was a unique beer in that it had very little taste when it was in your mouth, it was just smooth and slid down your throat and then came a rush of pure malt flavor that followed it down your throat. Not bitter but with an edge that made it taste clean and malty. Well my friends and I finished that case off and I ran down to the local liquor store and bought another case.

I brought it home and we all opened another beer and yuck god damn what was this swill, it was awful, green and harsh it tasted like bad apple cider. I packed up what remained of the case and storming mad went back to the damn liquor store to find the real stuff, that I had been drinking. Turns out they said I was the only customer they had who was drinking Lienenkugel's and I had worked my way through the pallet they had and they had got a new pallet in.

Long story short is I put that case aside and a month later it was the fine beer I wanted. Lienie's bottled their beer green. According to German purity laws (as I remember) Water, malt, yeast and hops plus aging for at least 90 days before serving.

[Libertytree]

When it comes to aging beer I have a tale to tell. Sometime around 1982/3 I started drinking lienenkugel and thought it was the best beer I had ever had. I had some friends over and we all agreed that it was one fine beer. It was a unique beer in that it had very little taste when it was in your mouth, it was just smooth and slid down your throat and then came a rush of pure malt flavor that followed it down your throat. Not bitter but with an edge that made it taste clean and malty. Well my friends and I finished that case off and I ran down to the local liquor store and bought another case.

I brought it home and we all opened another beer and yuck god damn what was this swill, it was awful, green and harsh it tasted like bad apple cider. I packed up what remained of the case and storming mad went back to the damn liquor store to find the real stuff, that I had been drinking. Turns out they said I was the only customer they had who was drinking Lienenkugel's and I had worked my way through the pallet they had and they had got a new pallet in.

Long story short is I put that case aside and a month later it was the fine beer I wanted. Lienie's bottled their beer green. According to German purity laws (as I remember) Water, malt, yeast and hops plus aging for at least 90 days before serving.

Kudos bro...for working your way through a pallet!