Hello out there. Quick question: when do you find that your bottled beer hits its prime? I have found that with the last two batches - a hoppy amber with an ABV of 8.4% and a 7.1% IPA with Cascade, Chinook and Centennial - the beer has taken much longer than usual to round out. I had even written them off. In the past, after two weeks of bottle conditioning the beers were good to go - hoppy, lively... These were just nondescript with an alcohol heat finish. The amber is from January and now has a robust malt taste (as opposed to a candy-like sweetness) with a good amount of hop character. The IPA, after 4 weeks, finally has some fruitiness and the alcohol heat is gone. Could the Verdant yeast have anything to do with it? It's my first time using it. I know they say IPAs drop off after three months, but after one this one seems to be just hitting its stride. Thanks.
Some of us in this forum believe that hoppy beers will exhibit a 'green' character for about two weeks before the hops begin to shine, and then improvement for a few months before they start to decline. I personally think some varieties of hops will have a different time period before starting to decline, and then a different rate that it drops off. I have no evidence of that, just personal observations.
never used verdant yeast my ipas/pales do drop off hoppyness after 1 month, but also seem to be more balanced. stouts or burton ales get better after 3 months for me
I brew a lot of IPAs, typically 5-6 batches a year, and consistently those bottle conditioned beers reach their prime somewhere between 4-5 weeks in the bottle. And then the beer experiences hop aroma fade and later hop flavor fade over the next 2-3 months. I make it a point to consumed IPAs quickly (less than 3-4 months from bottling). Cheers!
my extract brews didn't come into their own until 6-8 weeks in the bottle all-grain be like 4 - 6 weeks
There's no one answer to this. Every beer, even to the same recipe, will behave a little bit differently. In general, though, hoppy beers usually take a week or two of conditioning after carb, then will hang out for a while before the hops fade. Again, it can be different, especially depending on air exposure. Darker beers will often take a bit longer to really meld, but they'll often last longer, especially higher alcohol and darker stouts.
